Restoration Program: Restoring Balance at Tryon Creek

Our Vision: A Thriving and Inclusive Community Connected to a Cherished Urban Forest

Friends of Tryon Creek envisions an inclusive community intricately connected to our cherished urban forest. A foundational aspect of this vision is the cultivation of a reciprocal relationship with the environment, with a focus on creating a healthy and sustainable ecosystem for future generations. We are dedicated to serving our diverse community, we want Tryon Creek to be a place where people can establish or rekindle their connection to the land and build upon the amazing restoration efforts that Friends and Oregon State Parks volunteers and staff have been doing for years.

Our Goal: Restoring Balance, Health, and Resilience of the Forest

Our overarching goal is for community members to foster a deep connection to the land, emphasizing reciprocity and intentionality in all our endeavors. We aim to implement practices that enhance the overall health and resilience of the urban forest and community. Traditional Western restoration approaches often exclude people from the land, whereas we choose to incorporate Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge, recognizing the inherent connection between people and the land.

Learn more about our latest restoration program efforts in this recent Trillium Times article, Restoration Update, Spring 2025.

Growth and Accomplishments

Building off decades of volunteer-led stewardship efforts that continue to focus on managing introduced plant species, primarily around the interior of the park.
Focuses restoration efforts along Tryon Creek’s riparian area, from Beaver Bridge to Red Fox Bridge. Removing introduced plant species and planting thousands of native shrubs and trees.
Establishing habitat monitoring programs to track plant phenology, freshwater mussels, and macroinvertebrates.
Hosting nearly 100 volunteer public Land Tending days, in addition to business, school, and partners.
Hosting Love the Land events to build community and share information on subjects like Seed Collecting/Swapping, Cultural Fire, and Home Fire Safety.
Completing a Park User Survey and Climate Vulnerability Assessment (see below)
Finalizing a Cultural Restoration Plan that centers Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

Planning that Prioritizes Collaboration

As we move forward with our restoration program, we wanted to engage and understand the park and the surrounding community. In spring 2024, with guidance from Dr Kari Norgaard, Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon, we conducted a Climate Vulnerability Assessment Survey.

Thank you for over 300 responses! You can now read the compiled survey results in our Fall/Winter 2024 Trillium Times article.

In 2025, we continued working with Dr Norgaard and the community to complete the full Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Tryon Creek State Natural Area. This is not just a scientific assessment, but a social and cultural assessment that encompasses all communities. We conducted interviews, surveys, and more to have all voices heard and the entire history of the park included, as it critically informs the current and future. See the document Acknowledgement page.

It highlights the incredible benefits of Tryon Creek being amidst the Portland Metro area, like providing cool temperatures and wildlife refugia, but also the risks facing the park with the changing climate and industrialization, such as increased wildfire risk and the Highway 43 culvert blocking fish passage.

We also identified 26 critically important, both ecologically and culturally, focal species that help guide the assessment. See direct links below:

Download the full Climate Vulnerability Assessment (181 page pdf) including chapters on:

Eco-cultural History and Context at Tryon Creek
Climate Trends
Climate & Human & Organizational Vulnerabilities
Humans as Ecosystem Components
Past, Present, and Future of Fire Activity

As a result of the CVA highlighting the strong suits of Tryon and the dangers it faces, we are now finishing an Eco-Cultural Restoration Plan informed by the findings. This plan is designed to provide tangible restoration projects to focus on in both the immediate years and longer into the future, to keep this natural area as a safe and healthy space for all life.

Implementing Land Practices in Community

Current on-the-ground activities include but are not limited to planting, seeding, harvesting, opportunistic plant & ladder fuel removal, monitoring, and maintenance. All efforts will be guided through a cultural-ecological practice, involving youth and families to build ecosystem resilience for future generations.

Community Opportunities: Find out how to join our volunteer Land Tending Days, Seed Collection, Phenology Walks, Monitoring efforts, and more on the Calendar or Volunteer Page.

Educational Programs: Attend our seasonal Love the Land outreach series events, see details our Calendar.