Crews and volunteers planted almost 200,000 native trees, shrubs and other vegetation throughout Metro's natural areas over the past month, giving a boost to habitats that provide critical food and shelter for wildlife, including native salmon runs.

Partners envision a 22-mile route connecting Sherwood, Tualatin and Wilsonville

Someday, the Ice Age Tonquin Trail will take you from the banks of the Willamette River in Wilsonville, through Graham Oaks Nature Park and the Villebois neighborhood, past kolk ponds and large boulders left by historic floods – onward to Old Town Sherwood, the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, and Tualatin’s Ki-a-Kuts bridge and Cook Park.

In less than three minutes on a rainy Monday in front of the Clackamas County Courthouse, Metro claimed the missing link in a stretch of bluffs it owns along the Willamette River.

Planting project assists with Metro’s broader restoration goals at the natural area

About 40 high school students from Oregon City Service Learning Academy helped stage a homecoming this month at Metro’s Canemah Bluff Natural Area – but not the kind you’re thinking of. The student volunteers replanted 150 native sword ferns that were temporarily removed from the natural area last year during restoration and stored in pots until they could be returned.

Clear Creek was running high and fast on a recent winter afternoon, splashing against the branches and debris caught against a log and surging downward to carve out a deep pool.

Log jams like this, whether the product of a winter storm or a busy beaver, play an important role in healthy woodland streams. While it looked naturally messy, this particular log jam is special. Designed by experts and put in place by chainsaw, helicopters, and thick cables, its purpose is to protect and restore threatened salmon runs and native fish habitat.

Metro and the City of Portland teamed up this week to protect 54 acres of wildlife habitat near the Columbia Slough in Northeast Portland. The acquisition is a partnership among Metro, the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and Portland Parks & Recreation, which will manage the site as a natural area.

Metro Councilors on Tuesday put a dollar figure on a potential levy to fund maintenance at the Portland region's parks and natural areas.

The councilors gave a unanimous thumbs-up to a tax rate of 9.6 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation for the potential levy. They're scheduled to decide later this month whether to put the levy on the May 2013 ballot.

Metro parks passes for 2013 are a useful and thoughtful holiday gift. A pass offers users year-long access to Metro's Oxbow and Blue Lake regional parks, Chinook Landing Marine Park and the M. James Gleason Boat Ramp.

Benefits for wildlife and people are multiplying as Metro continues to invest a 2006 bond measure in natural areas across the region, an independent citizen oversight committee reported Thursday.

If you love nature, enjoy working with children and have access to personal transportation, consider becoming a volunteer naturalist by attending Metro’s Nature University. Nature University is a 12-week training course that starts people along the path of becoming naturalists and teachers. Students are introduced to time-honored techniques of nature observation and principles of discovery learning, and learn about common wildlife and plants, the ecology of wetlands and ancient forests, and effective teaching techniques. At Nature University, students receive the training needed to become a qualified and confident Metro volunteer naturalist.

Nature University students learn the importance of careful observation and the use of field guides, skills that can be applied in a lifelong process of learning and sharing with others. No special experience is required, but a background in natural history and biology and working with groups is helpful. Metro is accepting applications through Nov. 5, 2012. Don’t delay!

Watch a video testimonial from Deborah Stokes, Nature University graduate.

Free training and resources include:

• first Aid/CPR training
• opportunities for continuing education and training on various natural history topics
• fees waived for attending Metro classes
• annual Metro parks pass ($40 value)
• ongoing guidance and support from Metro staff naturalists

Learn more about Nature University and download an application

Learn more about the Oregon Zoo’s premier conservation education program

Learn more about Metro parks

Find hundreds of nature activities, paddle trips, bike rides, bird walks, volunteer ventures and natural gardening workshops offered all around the region

Purchase an annual parks pass