Barbara Roberts

Local policies designed to preserve farmland and make livable neighborhoods have made the Portland area well prepared to reduce emissions related to climate change, but more work will be needed to meet state targets and maintain the quality of life the region is striving for.

Metro's Natural Areas Program has purchased 550 acres in western Multnomah County during the past two years, including a significant addition last month. As this network of wildlife habitat grows, so do the possibilities for restoration and recreation.

Members of the Metro Council and the Metro Exposition and Recreation Commission generally agree that there need to be more hotel rooms near the Metro-owned Oregon Convention Center. But it's unlikely that a massive, publicly financed "headquarters hotel" will be built in the Lloyd District.

Metro invites the region to view and comment on the upcoming four-year schedule of federal transportation investments in the Portland area. The four-year schedule, known as the 2012-2015 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program, encompasses all federal spending on transportation, including highways, public transit, pedestrian and bike projects in the three-county metropolitan area.

Metro planners are wrapping up the first phase of their study of the region's greenhouse gas emissions, focusing primarily on exhaust from cars and light trucks. The work was prompted by legislation at the state, which required the Portland region to reduce its per capita vehicle emissions by 20 percent by 2035.