News Release from: Portland Parks & Recreation
PORTLAND PARKS & RECREATION PUBLISHES STUDY ON FOREST PARK WILDLIFE
Posted: January 4th, 2013 8:42 AM
Photo/sound file: http://www.flashalertnewswire.net/images/news/2013-01/1399/60641/PC237642.JPG (Photo: Portland Parks & Recreation's Forest Park. Courtesy: Portland Parks & Recreation, Portland, OR)
Year-Long Effort Reveals Dozens of Mammals, More than 100 Bird Species
(Portland, OR) -
Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) has published the result of the 2012 Forest Park Wildlife Report, a comprehensive inventory of wildlife in one of one of the largest urban parks in America.
Wildlife biologist John Deshler completed the study using the best available data, including historical, recent, and comprehensive research-based information. This study marks the first time PP&R has compiled all the information on the nearly 5,200 acre natural area in one report. Deshler says the study aimed to investigate not only the types of animals present in Forest Park, but if they are abundant, the threats they face, and determine knowledge gaps that may exist.
Deshler recently presented his findings to a crowd of about 75. The 2012 Forest Park Wildlife Report is now published online and can be read at http://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/53425
The park contains 45 species of mammals ranging from tiny deer mice to towering elk. Many of them are not always obvious, since they are either nocturnal, burrowing, or tend to hide under shrubs.
Mammals living in Forest Park include shrews, chipmunks, skunks, porcupine, elk, bobcats, coyotes, weasels, ten types of bats, and the rare mountain beaver (native only to the Northwest and previously unseen in the park for decades).
More than 100 bird species are evident, including owls, woodpeckers, and bald eagles. Nearly three dozen common bird species are in decline and others have disappeared from the park, including grouse and quail.
"The study revealed 104 avian and 45 mammalian species in Forest Park," says Emily Roth, senior environmental planner for Portland Parks & Recreation. "Of these, about 30% have been identified by the City of Portland as Terrestrial Ecology Enhancement Strategy (TEES) Special Status Species, and only a few are non-native."
Roth says the interior forest provides habitat for the special status species, and that non-native species were found only on the edges of the park, near residential areas.
The study also provides the first comprehensive look at invertebrate animal species in the park, with more than 400 different species recorded. Beetles and moths make up at least 340 of the 400 species.
"The study is a strong baseline for park stewards to plan future park research and management efforts," says Roth. "Some species that are gone today may be good candidates for reintroduction. And there is still much to learn about insects in Forest Park. It is possible that there are thousands more species than the ones we know about at this point!"
The Forest Park Wildlife Report is a result of data gathered from many sources, including a recent volunteer-driven "bioblitz" of Forest Park, the first survey conducted in the park.
See an OPB television story on the 2012 Forest Park BioBlitz here: http://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/53425
PP&R established relationships with new researchers, strengthened relationships with long-time researchers, and included the community in gathering this information through the Forest Park Wildlife Colloquium, Wildlife Bioblitz, and the Technical advisory committee. PP&R also worked closely with the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) on the information they have gathered through their monitoring of the park.
About Forest Park
http://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=ViewPark&ShowResults=yes&PropertyID=127
Forest Park is part of Oregon's Coast Range ecosystem, which extends a narrow finger into the City of Portland. Seven streams flow across Forest Park's nearly 5,200 acres. Forest Park habitat includes coniferous and deciduous forest, tree snags, and woody debris.
A critical aspect of the 1995 Forest Park Natural Resources Management Plan, the Desired Future Condition (DFC), and Forest Park Ecological Prescriptions will provide targets for ecological conditions that will be used to build yearly work plans and long-term action plans.
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