Oregon
Zoo Director Tony Vecchio is pleased with the leadership
and vision Metro has demonstrated in the condor project. "Metro
is committed to conservation. By providing the land and
biological expertise, Metro is helping to ensure the future
of this critically
endangered species. We could not accomplish this important
goal without Metro’s generous support," notes Vecchio.
Metro’s
broad range of services, including land use planning,
waste management, the metropolitan greenspaces program and
the Oregon Zoo all share
a similar goal to protect and enhance fish and wildlife
habitat and our communities. Vecchio points out, “California
condors once inhabited areas of Oregon. Metro’s
role in the condor breeding program may one day result
in their return to this state.”
In
1995, voters of the region approved an open spaces, parks and
streams bond measure providing $135.6 million to purchase natural
area land from willing sellers as future nature parks, trail
corridors and habitat for fish and wildlife. To date, Metro has
acquired more than 7,960 acres of land in 252 separate property
transactions throughout the greater Portland metropolitan region.
These properties also protect over 70 miles of stream and river
frontage.
Metro
provides services for the 1.3 million people who live
in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties and the
24 cities
in the Portland
metropolitan region. A regional approach makes sense
when it comes to protecting open space, caring for parks,
planning
for
the best use of land, managing garbage disposal and increasing
recycling. Metro oversees world-class facilities – such
as the Oregon Zoo and the Oregon Convention Center – that
benefit the region’s economy and support the arts. For
more information, visit Metro’s
web site.
along
Clear Creek offers the necessary isolation and room for a successful
condor breeding program.