Saving Ross Island

Ross Island, extending south in the Willamette River from the Ross Island Bridge to Sellwood, could be the jewel of Portland’s park system. Instead it has been abused and now abandoned by Ross Island Sand and Gravel, which mined gravel on the island for 90 years. As a result of the mining, a deep lagoon remains, which is the source of annual harmful algae blooms contaminating the river downstream from the island just about every summer.

On ths episode of Locus Focus we talk with Mike Houck with the Urban Greenspaces Institute and Mary Lou Soscia, formerly with the EPA, about how to save and project Ross Island for future generations of people and wildlife.