IBA of the Month: Jackson Bottom Wetlands
- Jackson Bottom Wetlands - tammi miller
Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve is a 725-acre wildlife preserve located within the city limits of Hillsboro, Oregon. The Preserve is a tranquil sanctuary for both people and animals. The quiet open waters, rolling meadows and upland ash and fir woods are home to thousands of ducks and geese, deer, otters, beavers, herons and eagles.
Jackson Bottom has always been a special place. Native peoples used the rich bottom lands to gather food and to hunt. Waterfowl passed through in great numbers. Early settlers homesteaded the uplands. Unfortunately, lack of understanding led to years of abuse and degradation of the wetlands. The wetlands were ditched and drained for agricultural purposes, cattle grazed on the native vegetation, and the wetlands were used over time for disposal of cannery wastes and construction debris.
Hyer Jackson, born in 1806, married Elizabeth Craig in 1831 and studied law in West Virginia, passing the bar in 1836. They moved to Indiana and in 1854 followed Hyer’s brothers and sister to Oregon. Hyer obtained land through the Oregon Donation Land Law. He wanted the site by the Tualatin River so he could establish a steamboat landing for the purpose of transportation of people and farm produce, although he was not a farmer. While he was Country Treasurer, he died of a heart attack in 1873. Read more about Hillsboro’s Jackson Family.
In 1910 the City of Hillsboro installed sewers in the downtown area and was connected to a septic tank located in the north end of Jackson Bottom. In 1935 the City constructed a sewage treatment plant along Highway 219 to replace the inadequate earlier system.
By the 1930s Hillsboro’s population had reached approximately 3,500 people and its economy was centered on cannery and lumbering activities. Cannery wastes were discharged directly into the Tualatin River, polluting the river to such an extent that the dairy farmers could no longer use the river water for their herds.
Many farmers were incensed about river pollution and at least a few threatened to sue the city. With the effects of the Depression prevalent in Oregon, money was tight and the City leaders were hesitant to take action against the canneries. In 1939 the largest cannery, Maling & Company, purchased the 120-acre Trent farm to eliminate the most vocal opponent of river pollution. The farm was then resold to the City and became the first publicly owned property in Jackson Bottom.
State and local pressure to clean up cannery waste increased and by 1945 the City of Hillsboro started experimenting with land disposal techniques. James Burns, the operator of the Hillsboro Sewer Farm from 1935 to 1969, returned from his World War II service in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with many innovative ideas about land disposal. He experimented with intermittent flooding, spray irrigation, crop production and pasture enhancement.
These activities proved successful and at one time the sewer farm employed over 200 people to grow, harvest, and process crops grown on the farm. At its peak, the project produced a $36,000 profit for the City. Additional private properties were acquired over the years and by 1956 the City owned most of the Jackson Bottom east of Highway 219. The City continued to operate the sewer farm into the early 1970s. Once intensive farming ceased, reed canary grass took over the area and was allowed to become pasture land.
The 1970s also spawned a lengthy chronicle of caring people working hard and
forming important partnerships to restore the Preserve to an area of growing
beauty and productivity. Dedicated individuals known as the Friends of
Jackson Bottom began a number of projects to improve the wetlands and increase
wildlife habitat. In 1989 the Jackson Bottom Coordinated Resource Management
Plan was completed to fulfill the goals identified by the Jackson Bottom
Steering Committee. This plan encouraged the creation of ponds for
wildlife enhancement in Jackson Bottom. To improve conditions, ponds were
constructed, forage and shelter vegetation planted, nesting boxes constructed,
and gambusia fish placed in the ponds to control mosquitoes.
The Friends of Jackson Bottom merged efforts and energies with the Steering Committee which obtained non-profit status in 1997. Soon after, one governing body with a common vision emerged — the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve Board. September 2003 marked the Board’s successful completion of a $2.5 million dollar capital campaign to build the Wetlands Education Center.
Today, Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve is managed under the City of Hillsboro Parks & Recreation Department helping to provide diverse, innovative and exceptional recreational and cultural opportunities for the public.
The Preserve is a premier resource center for information and services related to wetlands and aquatic education in the Pacific Northwest. Thousands of pre-school and school-aged children, bird watchers, university staff and students, researchers and others benefit from the programs and services provided by the Preserve.
Providing interpretive education on wetlands and wildlife, panoramic views, water quality, weather, natural resource management, trails, bird watching, recreation, exhibits, displays and an eagles nest, Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve is a treasure of the Hillsboro community.
Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States, is a 725-acre (293 ha) wetlands area along the Tualatin River in Washington County, Oregon. Located on the south end of the city along Highway 219, this lowland area is a designated Important Bird Area and hosts such birds as Buffleheads, Dusky Canada Geese, and Tundra Swans.[1]
History
The Atfalati band of the Kalapuya people, who were the first inhabitants of the area, hunted and gathered in the area including hunting waterfowl and digging up camas roots. Then when European pioneers settled the area beginning in the 1830s farms were established in the area, with the wetlands area usually not being used due to the annual flooding. However, bridges were built across the river and steamboats plied the river before the railroads came to the valley.[2]
In 1910 the city of Hillsboro began using the Jackson Bottom area for water waste disposal. By the 1930s farmers in the community protested the water pollution that resulted from waste dumping into the river. Then in 1939 the city purchased part of the area and began using it as a sewer farm that produced a variety of produce and the city made some money off the venture. By the 1970s the city had acquired most of the land in that area, stopped using the farm, and let the area become grassland.[2] Next, in 1980 the Jackson Bottom Coordinated Resource Management Plan was developed and the area was transformed into a wetlands area.[2] In 1999, the wetlands received a National Wetlands Award for Education and Outreach from the Environmental Law Institute.[3]
This area contains forest areas along the river bank, a forested wetland area, ponds, marshes, meadows, slough areas, and a forest section of mixed deciduous and conifer trees.[1] Jackson Bottom is home to a diverse group of plant and animal species. Animals that call the wetlands home include beavers, minks, nutria, ducks, blue and green herons, warblers, frogs, owls, red-tailed hawks, woodpeckers, opossums, deer, raccoons, newts, sparrows, finch, coyotes, and many other small rodents, birds, and reptiles. Migratory waterfowl include Northern Pintails, Canvasbacks, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Dusky Canada Geese, and Tundra Swans.[1] Plant life there includes, reed canary grass, dogwood trees, Douglas fir, white oak, cocklebur, Columbia River sedge, red willow, Oregon ash, and other grass and tree species.[2]
Human oriented features of Jackson Bottom include hiking trails,[4] an education center, environmental monitoring and research,[5] and bird watching.[6]
Education Center at Jackson Bottom
On September 27, 2003, an education center was opened at the preserve.[7] The 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) building is used to educate visitors of the wetlands. The Wetlands Education Center includes an exterior 3,000-square-foot (300 m2) deck that wraps around the structure.[7] This building houses a classroom, nature store, and exhibits.[6]
In January 2007 the education center received a new natural exhibit piece. Inside the building is an intact bald eagle nest. This 7-by-11-foot (2.1 by 3.4 m), 1,500 pound nest is believed to be the only intact nest on display in the United States. The nest was built in 2001 by an eagle family along the Tualatin River and removed in 2005 when the tree it was built on began falling down. Inside the nest are the remains of the animals the eagles dined on including fish and other birds.[8]
Jackson Bottom also conducts many education programs in cooperation with local schools, operates summer camp programs, and has a teacher education program. These are all designed to increase knowledge about wetlands, water resources, and preservation of the natural environment.[9]
Mule Deer
Elk (occasional visitor)
Carnivores
Bobcat
Feral House
Cat
Striped Skunk
Short-tailed Weasel
American Mink
Northern River
Otter
Northern Raccoon
Coyote
Rodents
American Beaver
Common Muskrat
Nutria
Deer Mouse
House Mouse
Townsend’s Vole
Townsend’s Chipmunk
Fox Squirrel
Bats
Little Brown Bat
Big Brown Bat
Hoary Bat
Insectivores, Opossums and Mole Family
Townsend’s Mole
Shrew sp.
Virginia Opossum
This checklist lists more than 130 species of birds sighted at Jackson Bottom since 1990.
Black-capped Chicadee
Marsh wren
Cedar waxwing
Yellow-rumped warbler
Common yellowthroat
Savannah sparrow
Song sparrow
Black headed grosbeak
Laz bunting—occasional in spring
Bullock’s oriole, occasional in spring
Red crossbill occasional in spring
Wood duck
Mallard
Cinnamon teal
Green winged teal
Ring-necked duck
Bufflehead
Common merganser
Gbhe
White tailed kite occasional fall winter
Sandhill crane occ spr fall
Killdeer
Longbilled dowitcher fall
Northern shrike occ fall winter
Tree violet green and barn swallow
Visit them at:
http://www.jacksonbottom.org/index.php/ for a wealth of information including an events calendar. The Preserve hosts a variety of fun and educational activities. Check this listing to find out what programs are coming up.
Free bird walks on Wednesday mornings 8:30 beg March 3 with Greg Gillson
