Viewpoint enhances access to wildlife.

Byline: Scott Maben The Register-Guard

The city has opened a new portal to the 2,800 acre wetlands preserve in west Eugene.

Checkermallow Access leads directly to the Fern Ridge Path, Amazon Creek and the West Eugene Wetlands from a new viewpoint and parking lot along Royal Avenue east of Greenhill Road. There's room for 14 cars, bikes and a bus.

Visitors can take in one of the best vistas of the mosaic of wetlands and prairie that mingle with housing developments, farms and pockets of industry across a broad swath on the city's edge.

They can spy songbirds, waterfowl and dragonflies, soak up splashes of colorful wildflowers each spring, go for long walks or bike rides and gaze upon the south hills, Spencer Butte and, on a clear day, the Three Sisters in the Cascades.

The spot is a companion to the Meadowlark Prairie Overlook on Greenhill Road south of Royal that opened last year. Both viewpoints showcase the recently restored 400-acre Meadowlark Prairie.

"These are the two largest gateways we have to provide for human interaction with the wetlands," said Eric Wold, the city's wetlands program supervisor.

The city built Checkermallow Access for $195,000: $141,000 from development fees collected for transportation-related projects and $54,000 from city storm water fees.

Wold said it should be a popular stop for residents of the growing Bethel-Danebo neighborhoods as well as students from a half-dozen schools located within a mile and a half of the pullout. But he also thinks it will appeal to the community at large.

Avid bicyclists who have explored the latest extensions of the Fern Ridge Path have already discovered this natural treasure, Wold said.

"They've expressed appreciation and joy at being able to see this beautiful open space and the variety of plants and animals that are out here," he said. "This is really bringing wetlands to a new audience."

The projects also help visitors understand how wetlands function and why they're an important part of the valley ecosystem, Wold said.

Eight new signs spread along the path blend words and illustrations to interpret the wetlands ecosystem, the history of land use in the area and management techniques used by the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership, made up of the city and seven other agencies and organizations.

"I think this is one of the best examples of an expansive wet prairie," said Holly McCrea, environmental education specialist with the Willamette Resources and Educational Network, the newest member of the wetlands partnership.

Less than one-half of 1 percent of that type of habitat is left in the Willamette Valley, McCrea said, so the plants and animals associated with it are likewise limited.

Much of the wetlands was transformed - or lost - in the 1950s and '60s when Amazon Creek was straightened, deepened and lined with levies to control flooding. The partnership has been reversing some of that damage while maintaining flood control to developed areas.

Results of this work are evident at the Checkermallow viewpoint, where a weir in the creek backs up high winter flows to create ponds and wetlands.

The parking lot driveway there loops around to encircle a small wetland that's basically a mud bog now. But in the spring, it will bloom with 1,000 camas lilies, 1,500 checkermallow plants and native grasses and sedges recently planted by city crews. Nearby, transplanted Oregon ash, Piper's willow, Nootka rose and red osier dogwood are taking root.

The Fern Ridge Path doesn't actually reach Fern Ridge Lake - not yet. That's the ultimate goal, but for now it ends at the Meadowlark Prairie Overlook, which features parking, picnic tables and restrooms.

Other members of the wetlands partnership are the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Youth Conservation Corps, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and McKenzie River Trust.

CAPTION(S):

The city of Eugene recently opened Checkermallow Access, the latest in a series of public access points into the West Eugene Wetlands, off of West Royal Avenue. Signs at access points interpret the wetlands ecosystem.