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Tualatin River Watershed Council Projects
 Moonshadow Park Project
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 Why
are we working at Moonshadow Park?
Moonshadow Park is a 4.76-acre park straddling approximately
1500 feet of the middle reach of Ash Creek. The park is located
within a highly developed area, surrounded by single-family residences,
in Fanno Creek sub-basin of the Tualatin River watershed. This stretch
of Ash Creek is impacted by high stream temperatures due to the
negative impacts of runoff from urban development near the stream.
Non-native plants, especially Himalayan blackberry, English ivy,
and bittersweet nightshade, have dominated significant portions
of the riparian and adjacent upland habitats in Moonshadow Park,
degrading the riparian habitat in the park.
What is the Moonshadow Park Enhancement Project?
Starting in 1996, various Tualatin Basin partners and Tualatin
Hills Park and Recreation District (THPRD) have been working on
the Moonshadow Park Enhancement Project. The work has been
partially funded by grants from the Oregon Community Foundation,
Metro, and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB).
The project site covers approximately 3.5 acres: 2 acres are
in the riparian zone of the stream and 1.5 acres are in adjacent
upland habitat. This area is infested with large patches of non-native
plants, including Himalayan blackberry, English ivy, and bittersweet
nightshade. In addition, a small patch of
Japanese knotweed was discovered and subsequently treated in the
summer of 2005. The project has entailed major weed removal, extensive
native plant installation, in-stream fish habitat enhancement,
and restoration monitoring.
In 1997 the Metro grant funded a project implemented by Clean
Water Services (then known as Unified Sewerage Agency) to install
boulders and large woody debris in the Ash Creek stream channel
to create and improve fish habitat near an exposed sanitary sewer
line, as well as revegetate portions of the riparian area.
In 2001 SOLV stepped into the picture, adopting Moonshadow Park
as one of their Team Up For Watershed Health sites. As part of
this 8-year effort, numerous volunteer projects removed Himalayan
blackberries and other weeds in the riparian area of the stream,
and installed hundreds of native trees and shrubs.
In 2004 the Tualatin River Watershed Council and the Natural
Resources Department of the THPRD took over the final phase of
the SOLV Team Up project. Funded by an OWEB Small Grant, large patches
of invasive plant species were removed by contracted crews over
the summer and fall of 2006. The contractors used chain saws to
cut to the weeds down, and then the weeds were sprayed with herbicide
a couple months later for a one-two knockout punch prior to the
planting season.
Many dozens of volunteers have donated time to this project over
2005 and 2006, including church groups, local business volunteers
(such as Comcast employees for the Comcast Cares Day), and an
Eagle Scout project to clear blackberries and replant a slope
next to the stream. Additionally, volunteers from the Beaverton
High School Eco Club have participated on many of the project
days. But most importantly, the local community, and especially
the park neighbors, have shown up on every project workday, rain
or shine, and provided the ongoing enthusiasm, elbow grease, leadership
to make this project a great success. Over 2000 plants have been
installed and mulched in the areas cleared of weeds, and several
piles of trash and other debris have been removed from the site.
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| A volunteer removes blackberry from a conifer at
Moonshadow Park during a February 2005 work party |
To find out about the next maintenance work party scheduled, contact
Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District, http://www.thprd.com/volunteer/ot.cfm
or 503-629-6305.
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