The acquisition and restoration of a new outdoor space linking McDonald Forest to Bald Hill and beyond is in the works. Greenbelt Land Trust is currently raising funds through its “Heart of the Valley” campaign to acquire Oak Creek Preserve–a 144-acre property near the northwest corner of Oak Creek Dr. and Walnut Blvd.
Greenbelt has a vision for using the acquisition to further its goals of protecting and preserving “ecologically, agriculturally, and historically significant lands in the mid-Willamette Valley,” per the organization’s website.
Greenbelt is currently seeking donations to help it achieve a fund-raising goal of $7 million, of which $2 million is slated for the purchase of Oak Creek Preserve. Another $500,000 of that funding target would go toward trail-building efforts.
Of the $7 million, $4.5 million would go toward acquiring and managing properties as well as to pay for staffing to continue work “to be stronger advocates for conservation locally, regionally, and at the state level,” said Jessica McDonald, Greenbelt’s executive director.
“Right now, we’re at a time where we anticipate doubling the entire acres that we have protected over the last 33 years in the next five to maybe ten years,” McDonald said. “In order to do that, we need a broader base of financial support.”
The $7 million goal was not an arbitrary number, McDonald said, but instead a goal derived as part of a larger business plan to acquire additional properties and continue stewardship of Greenbelt’s existing lands. The opportunity to acquire Oak Creek Preserve presented itself as Greenbelt was developing its existing business plan, and so it was natural to include its acquisition in Greenbelt’s funding goal.
Greenbelt presently has an agreement to purchase the land from a private owner, McDonald said.
The $500,000 slated for trail-building at Oak Creek Preserve was determined by “cost per linear foot of the different types of trail that we envisioned putting in on this property as well as other infrastructure, education areas,” McDonald said. The proposed plan for Oak Creek Preserve includes an elevated boardwalk, picnic area, educational signage, as well as universally accessible paths.
To connect Oak Creek Preserve with adjoining managed lands, Greenbelt will work with Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, OSU Research Forests, the City of Corvallis, and private landowners.
Greenbelt anticipates purchasing the Oak Creek Preserve land by the summer of 2023, with habitat restoration and trail building occurring over the subsequent three to five years.
“Now is the time to do more for conservation, for climate action, for things like outdoor accessibility,” said Matt Benotsch, Greenbelt’s outreach manager. “There’s only so many places left in…the Valley that still have ecological value that we can protect, especially larger pieces like this that are connected and make a larger slice of habitat. Now is the time. It’s never been more clear that we need more work with land conservation…with increased wildfire, climate changes, the population of the Valley set to double–now is really important.”
“We’re thinking fast here,” McDonald said. “Conservation is this slow-moving ship until it’s not.”
The Oak Creek Preserve land until recently was used for cultivating annual ryegrass, but Greenbelt’s vision of habitat restoration includes transforming the property back into its natural habitat, including vernal pools, wetland prairie, and oak woodlands.
To determine how best to restore the land, Greenbelt is relying on conservation partners like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, McDonald said. Additionally, Greenbelt is utilizing historical aerial photography, knowledge from local landowners, as well as examining existing soil types, Benotsch added.
Greenbelt has plans to offer public tours of the property so folks can better envision Greenbelt’s planned transformation. “[We] certainly want to provide as many opportunities as people want to come out,” Benotsch said. “It is really much more tangible and powerful to come and actually stand here.”
Benotsch suggested folks check the Greenbelt Land Trust website at greenbeltlandtrust.org, sign up for the organization’s newsletter, or follow their social media channels to stay up-to-date on available tour dates. Due to upcoming holidays, weather, and current parking limitations, tours will likely become more consistent toward the end of January.
“Literally every single person that travels by or lives out here is going to see this property transform over the coming years,” McDonald said. “Whether they even come on the trails here or not, they’re going to witness the story of this property, and they’re going to see people loving it and being out here and the habitats transform.”
Greenbelt launched its current fundraising efforts in July 2021 and hopes to achieve its $7 million goal by 2023, McDonald said. “We’ve been very successful thanks to so many incredible donors giving at all levels and early big investors that have gotten us to over four and a half million dollars already.”
Though it’s impossible to say exactly when Greenbelt will meet its funding goal, McDonald said plans are already in place to proceed with the acquisition of Oak Creek Preserve.
For folks unable to contribute financially, McDonald suggested getting creative. “We have people that are reaching out already about being volunteers on the property–building the trail and habitat restoration. We have other organizations and other businesses coming forward and saying, ‘How can we partner?’ We have a big financial goal and the way that we get there is more people spreading awareness and being involved.”
To learn more about Greenbelt’s Heart of the Valley fund-raising campaign and to donate, visit their campaign website at https://iheartthevalley.org.
By Matt Gomez, a bicycling enthusiast and sometimes outdoors writer who works locally for Peak Sports.
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