Protect Trail Access at Rocky Point

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Click HERE for the most recent article posted on Feb. 21, 2022, from our Advocacy Director, Andrew Jansky.

A $475 million Metro Bond Measure (2019) could be used to purchase the Rocky Point property. The Northwest Trail Alliance’s current recreational lease agreement would end. A new agreement to manage the Rocky Point trail system is possible, but this would require: 1. Metro purchases the property, 2. Metro puts Trails and Access to Nature on their list of priorities for the purchase, and 3. Metro enters into a stewardship agreement with NWTA.

Currently Metro is emphasizing water quality and fish/wildlife habitat objectives, and excluding broader Bond Measure objectives like: 1. Investing in trails for biking and walking, and 2. Expanded access to nature. These latter two objectives are critical to maintaining access to the Rocky Point trail system .

Act Now using the Public Input Survey to let Metro know that both Biking and Walking trails, and Access to Nature should be listed as priority objectives for the acquisition of the Rocky Point property, and the Northwest Trail Alliance should be considered as a stewardship partner for the property. Metro refers to Rocky Point as TARGET AREA #17 MULTNOMAH CHANNEL HEADWATERS in the draft METRO PLAN and ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.

Complete the Survey by February 20th, 2022 and Share on Social Media (links bottom of page)

click to take Survey

NWTA supports Metro’s acquisition of the Rocky Point property (#17 MULTNOMAH CHANNEL HEADWATERS) but only if the acquisition also includes Biking and Walking trails, and Access to Nature as priority objectives for the use of the property.

Survey Guide

  • Question 1: (select No and leave a comment).
    • The process ignores decades of established recreational trail use of the property, and the potential for expanding access to nature in the future. 
    • This purchase should be pursued only with a prioritization of the value of access to nature and recreational trail use.
  • Question 2: (The ranking options do not include recreation/access-to-nature. These can be left blank if you would like to emphasize this)
  • Question 3: Hiking and Biking Trails and Access to Nature are not listed as priority objectives
    • Purchase of this property should acknowledge access to nature as a priority objective
    • Purchase of this property should acknowledge biking and walking trails as a priority objective
  • Question 4: The Northwest Trail Alliance (NWTA, nw-trail.org) is the current recreational lease holder and would be a good partner.
    • NWTA already builds and maintains trails on the property
    • NWTA has over 30 years of experience maintaining trails with multiple land management agencies
    • NWTA is already highly invested financially and with over 15,000 hours of volunteer work to maintain a 25 mile trail network on the property
  • Question 5: Several points you can make
    • The property has high value for the Bond’s Expanded Access to nature objective
    • The property has high value for the Bond’s Investing in Biking and Walking trails objectives
    • Recreational biking and hiking trails have existed on the property for 30 years
    • The existing trail system is a turnkey nature trail access operation
    • The property is the closest significant mountain bike trail system to Portland
    • Eliminating 25 miles of trails does not help with Metro’s “Invest in Trails for Biking and Walking” objective
    • Eliminating 3,000 acres of nature access does not help with Metro’s “Expand Access to Nature” objective
    • Recreating 25 miles of biking and hiking trails elsewhere in the Metro region would be very costly
    • Losing 25 miles of trails would displace over 5,000 trail users to other overcrowded trails
    • The wording of the measure adopted by the Metro council directly states in regard to the Multnomah Channel Headwaters that “This target area also provides opportunities to improve access to nature for people close to urbanized areas”. This objective should not have been removed from the refinement plan for the Multnomah Channel Headwaters.
    • The Multnomah Channel Headwaters includes the 5 miles or 13% of a Metro-proposed regional trail called the “Pacific Greenway Trail”. This trail will be impossible to realize without the acquisition of this property.

This is one of the most critical advocacy opportunities in the last decade for maintaining access to mountain bike trails. Please take the time to fill out the Survey and forward to as many people as you can. Make your voice heard and share with your social networks. The more people that support Trails and Access to Nature in the survey, the better our chances of PRESERVING ACCESS TO ROCKY POINT TRAILS.

Thank you,
The Northwest Trail Alliance
Contact email: [email protected]

Share these page links on Social media before February 20th, 2022 deadline

Email, Phone, or send a letter to you Metro councilor directly

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Metro Council Resolution

The official wording adopted by the Metro Council directly states in regard to the Multnomah Channel Headwaters that “This target area also provides opportunities to improve access to nature for people close to urbanized areas”. This objective should not have been removed from the refinement plan for the property.