Thousands of Gray whales are migrating south through Oregon’s waters later this month and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) invites visitors to the coast for the annual Winter Whale Watch Week Dec. 27 - 31.
Trained volunteers from the Whale Watching Spoken Here program will be stationed 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. each day at more than 20 of best whale watching sites on the coast, ready to help visitors spot whales and answer questions about the animals.
A map of volunteer-staffed sites is available on the official event webpage.
An estimated 25,000 Gray whales are expected to swim past Oregon’s shores over the next several weeks, part of their annual migration south to the warm calving lagoons near Baja, Mexico. The end of December is the peak time for their migration; roughly 30 whales pass by per hour.
The Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay will be open 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. Visitors to the center can enjoy interactive whale exhibits and take in the panoramic ocean views. Binoculars are provided. Park rangers will also be on hand to answer questions about the whales.
A live stream of whale activity in Depoe Bay returns this winter too; watch it on the Oregon State Parks YouTube channel during the event.
For more information about coast state parks and campgrounds, visit oregonstateparks.org.
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Editors: view and download an online gallery of whale and whale watching photos here. Credit Oregon State Parks.
BROOKINGS, Ore. – Beginning New Year’s Day the majority of campsites at Alfred A. Loeb State Park will be available for reservation for stays between Memorial Day and Sept. 30, 2020.
The park’s 53 total campsites have traditionally been first-come, first-served; however 48 of the sites will be available for reservation next summer. All sites will revert back to first come, first served for the winter season, beginning Oct. 1.
Campsite rates at the park will not change, however an $8 reservation fee will apply when booking a site.
Dani Padilla, park manager, says the new summer reservation option will help eliminate visitor guesswork about campsite availability.
“Loeb has always been a popular local campground but in recent years we’ve seen a dramatic rise in visitation, especially during summer months” says Padilla. “The result was an increasing number of campers arriving after-hours, expecting a site, and not finding one. The option to reserve a site will help give them peace of mind about their stay.”
All of the reservable sites have electricity and water. The park’s three cabins require reservations year-round. One cabin and one campsite at the park are accessible for people with disabilities.
Campsites at the park can be reserved online or by calling 800-452-5687.
Learn more about Alfred A. Loeb State Park on oregonstateparks.org.
BANDON, Ore. – The campground and overnight facilities at Bullards Beach State Park opened for reservations today for stays between Jan. 1, 2020 – March 9, 2020 after a construction project was postponed. All overnight facilities — including full-hookup campsites, electrical sites and yurts — are open through those months.
The campground, which is open year-round, had initially been slated for a winter closure due to a sewer line construction project. That project has been rescheduled for Nov. 16, 2020 -March 15, 2021. The campground will be closed during the project.
The sewer line project will modernize the system and allow for more consistent sewer operation in the campground, which translates to fewer disruptions in service for park visitors.
Campsites and other overnight facilities are able to be reserved in advance up to nine months before the first night of stay; for example, campsite reservations for November 2020 can be made as early as February 2020, and so on.
Find information about Bullards Beach and nearby state campgrounds at oregonstateparks.org or call the state parks info center at 800-551-6949.
CANNON BEACH, Ore. – Ecola State Park will be closed Dec. 10-12 while crews work along the park’s entrance road to remove hazard trees. The park is expected to reopen the morning of Dec. 13.
Park rangers have identified several hazard trees—dead, diseased or unstable trees that pose a safety risk to people or structures—on Ecola State Park Road. Hazard tree removal is a routine practice during the winter at most state parks.
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has hired Tillamook-based Whitehead Reforestation to complete the project. Estimated cost is $7,000.
Learn more about hazard trees on the U.S. Forest Service website.
Visitors to the north coast next week are encouraged to explore other nearby state parks: Oswald West State Park, Arcadia Beach State Recreation Site and Hug Point State Recreation Site.
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) is accepting public comments on a proposed change to Oregon Administrative Rule language describing how the agency bundles free camping days under their Special Access Pass program. The program is offered to foster and adoptive foster families, and veterans with a service-connected disability. It provides up to 14 days of free overnight camping to passholders at any Oregon State Park.
Under the proposed rule change, the free camping days would move from up to 14 days within a rolling 30-day period to up to 14 days within a calendar month. The change is intended to make it easier for passholders to track their available days and plan their camping trips.
OPRD will accept public comments on the proposed change through 5 p.m. Jan. 6, 2020. Comments can be made online, in writing or via email:
- Online: oregon.gov/oprd/RULES/Pages/Rulemaking%20Notices.aspx
- In writing: Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, attn. Katie Gauthier, 725 Summer St NE, Suite C, Salem OR 97301
- Email: OPRD.publiccomment@oregon.gov
After reviewing public comments, OPRD staff will present a final recommended rule for consideration to the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission at its February 2020 business meeting.
The full text of the proposed change is available online: oregon.gov/oprd/RULES/Pages/Rulemaking%20Notices.aspx
Learn more about the pass program for veterans with a service-connected disability online.
Learn more about the pass program for foster and adoptive foster families online.
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) invites Oregonians outdoors on New Year’s Day for the annual First Day Hikes event. Visitors can choose from 37 hikes in 31 parks across the state. All hikes will be guided by a park ranger or volunteer who will share stories about the park’s history, geology, wildlife and plants.
All hikes are free and day-use parking fees will be waived at all participating parks Jan. 1 only.
Hikers can register for specific hikes online at the Oregon State Parks Store: bit.ly/ParkStoreEvents. While online registration isn’t required for participation, visitors are encouraged to register. It helps park staff plan the hike and provides them with participant contact information should hike details change.
OPRD advises visitors to plan for inclement weather, dress in layers, wear sturdy shoes, bring water and remember to carry binoculars for viewing wildlife.
OPRD has sponsored First Day Hikes annually since 2012, part of a larger national event organized by America’s State Parks.
Participating parks and meeting areas are below. Full details for each hike are also on bit.ly/ParkStoreEvents.
PORTLAND
- L.L. Stub Stewart State Park: 10 a.m., meet at Clayhill horse staging area.
- Milo McIver State Park: 10 a.m., meet at the Maple Ridge Trailhead in the Lower Boat Launch parking lot.
- Tryon Creek State Park: 9 a.m., meet at the nature center.
COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE
- Deschutes River State Recreation Area: 9 a.m., meet at Oregon Trail kiosk.
- Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail: 1 p.m., meet at the Mark O. Hatfield East trailhead in the Mossier Twin Tunnels parking lot.
WILLAMETTE VALLEY/CASCADES
- Champoeg State Heritage Area: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., meet at the visitor center.
- Dexter State Recreation Site: 9 a.m., meet at the Dexter Disc Golf course.
- Elijah Bristow State Park: noon, meet at the equestrian parking area for horse riding (bring your own horse.)
- Silver Falls State Park: 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., meet at South Falls Lodge porch.
- Willamette Mission State Park: 10 a.m., meet at the Wheatland Ferry.
COAST
- Bullards Beach State Park: 1 p.m., meet at the meeting hall.
- Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint: noon, meet in the Cape Meares parking lot.
- Crissey Field State Recreation Site: 11 a.m., meet at the welcome center.
- Fort Stevens State Park: 10 a.m., meet in the Battery Russell parking lot.
- Humbug Mountain State Park: 10 a.m., meet at the Humbug Mountain trailhead.
- Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park: 10 a.m., meet in the group camp parking lot.
- Oswald West State Park: 8 a.m., meet at the Cape Falcon trailhead.
- Seal Rock State Recreation Site: 9:30 a.m., meet in the Seal Rock parking lot.
- Umpqua Lighthouse State Park: 1 p.m., meet at Lake Marie Day-use area.
- William M. Tugman State Park: 10 a.m., meet at the Eel Lake boat ramp.
SOUTHERN OREGON
- Collier Memorial State Park: 9 a.m., meet at the Logging Museum.
- Golden State Heritage Site: 1 p.m., meet in the Historic Church.
- Illinois River Forks State Park: 11 a.m., meet at the West Fork trailhead.
- Joseph H. Stewart State Recreation Area: 9 a.m., meet at the group camp.
- TouVelle State Park: 11 a.m., meet at the day-use area.
- Valley of the Rogue State Park: 1 p.m., meet at the amphitheater. 1 p.m., meet at Del Rio Vineyards (bring your own bike.) 1 p.m., meet at Rogue River Bridge in the city of Rogue River (bring your own bike.)
EASTERN/CENTRAL OREGON
- Cottonwood Canyon State Park: 10 a.m., meet at the experience center.
- Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area: 11 a.m., meet at the interpretive kiosk (bring your own snowshoes).
- LaPine State Park: 11 a.m., meet at the meeting hall in the south loop.
- Smith Rock State Park: 10 a.m., meet at the welcome center.
- Wallowa Lake State Park: 10 a.m., meet in the Group Camp A parking lot.
More information about participating parks, including maps and directions, is on oregonstateparks.org.
SILVERTON, Ore. – The 42nd annual Christmas Festival at Silver Falls State Park will be held 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Dec. 14-15 at park’s South Falls day-use area and Silver Falls Conference Center. The family-friendly event is free.
“We’re lucky to have the volunteer and community support to continue this event year after year,” said Matt Palmquist, interpretive park ranger. “It’s one of our favorite events and it’s always a blast to celebrate the holiday season with our visitors.”
Planned event activities include wreath making, kid-friendly crafts, bird house building, guided walks through the park, refreshments and live music.
A free shuttle service will be available to ferry visitors between the day-use area and conference center 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. both days. Visitors can purchase food at the South Falls Café or conference center.
Silver Falls State Park charges a $5 day-use parking fee. More information about the park, including maps, is on oregonstateparks.org.
This holiday season, give the gift of unlimited access to Oregon's state parks with an annual day-use parking permit. From Dec. 1-31, holiday shoppers can buy annual parking permits for only $25--that's $5 off the regular price of $30.
“This is the only time we discount the annual pass,” said Lisa Sumption, director of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD). “What better way to celebrate the holidays than with the gift that encourages adventure in Oregon’s special places?”
Purchasing these passes is easy--buy them online at store.oregonstateparks.org, along with branded holiday gift gear, such as water bottles, T-shirts and hoodies. Select merchandise is also on sale during the month of December.
Parking permits are also sold at major OPRD offices, some state park friends' group stores and selected local businesses throughout the state. For a complete list of vendors, visit oregonstateparks.org.
Parking costs $5 a day at 25 Oregon State Parks unless you have a 12- or 24-month parking permit or a same-day camping receipt. The 24-month pass is $50. The permits are transferable from vehicle to vehicle.
Visitors are the single largest source of funding for Oregon's state parks. Revenue from RV registrations and the Oregon Lottery, dedicated by voters in 1998 and 2010, make up the rest.
Oregon Heritage of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is offering grants for the construction or restoration of veterans and war memorials.
Local governments and federally recognized Tribes are eligible to apply for work on monuments on public owned properties.
New monuments should acknowledge veterans and wars not already recognized in the community. Grants for restoration may be used for broken monuments, missing elements of monuments, or the related design elements of monuments for veterans or wars. Grants may also fund the addition of elements to existing monuments.
Projects must include the active participation of a veteran organization.
Past funded projects include repair to the Doughboy monument in Astoria, a women veteran monument in Springfield, a new monument in Malin, and additions to the large memorial in Washington County.
For more information about the Veterans and War Memorials grant and other grant programs, visit www.oregonheritage.org or contact Kuri Gill at i.gill@oregon.gov">Kuri.gill@oregon.gov or 503-986-0685.
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Nominations for the 2020 Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards Program are now being accepted. Applications can be found online through the Oregon Heritage website www.oregonheritage.org or by contacting Oregon Heritage Coordinator Beth Dehn at eth.Dehn@oregon.gov">Beth.Dehn@oregon.gov or (503) 986-0696. The postmark deadline for submitting nominations is January 26, 2020.
The Oregon Heritage Excellence Awards recognize individuals, businesses, and organizations for outstanding efforts on behalf of Oregon heritage, drawing public attention to these efforts, and raising the quality of heritage-oriented activities. The Sally Donovan Award for Historic Cemetery Preservation is a special category that may be awarded to one individual, organization, or project demonstration excellence in preservation of historic cemeteries.
Nominations are encouraged for organizations and projects of all sizes and heritage purposes and for volunteers and professionals from all heritage sectors.
“The award recipients represent the extraordinary efforts to preserve Oregon’s heritage,” said Beth Dehn, coordinator for the Oregon Heritage Commission. “They also serve as models for others on how to develop new ideas, approaches, and innovations.”
Last year’s recipients included:
-- Building a Better Community: The Canby Women’s Heritage Trail, the first heritage trail in the state to focus on accomplishments of women, with a multi-layered approach to community engagement.
-- Cultural Resources Department of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, for 30 years of dedicated work as a department to preserve and celebrate the Tribe’s cultural history, recently culminating in the Rise of the Collectors exhibit.
-- David Dittman, for reporting an archaeological find on private land going above and beyond expectations to engage the public with the find.
-- Ann & Owen Nicholson, for their critical role in providing Nehalem Valley Historical Society with a museum and archive.
-- Kylie Pine, for going above and beyond her professional capacity as curator at Willamette Heritage Center to impact the community through teaching, volunteer work, board service, and publications related to local history.
-- Richard & Judith Wagner, for extraordinary research, writing, and community engagement related to Coos Bay area history.
-- Salem Depot, an excellent preservation project spearheaded by the Oregon Department of Transportation that overcame challenges, worked across agencies, and merged multiple modes of transportation to rehabilitate an historic building.
Awards will be presented on April 23, 2020 at the Oregon Heritage Conference in Corvallis by Oregon Heritage, part of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
The announcement for 2020 awardees will be made in mid-March 2020. Tickets for the awards presentation will be made available this coming spring.
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SALEM, Ore. - The Salmonberry Trail Intergovernmental Agency (STIA) will meet to discuss the proposed Salmonberry Trail corridor 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Oregon Department of Forestry headquarters, Tillamook Room, Building C, 2600 State Street, Salem. The meeting is open to the public.
On the agenda: Washington County joining the intergovernmental STIA agreement, updates on the Salmonberry Trail Foundation and reports from the strategic plan implementation team.
The proposed Salmonberry Trail is an 84-mile corridor that follows the Port of Tillamook Bay Railway and terminates in Banks. The proposed route connects eight cities and two counties, passing by the Oregon coastline, fisheries, farmland and the Oregon Coast Range.
STIA was established to promote and facilitate coordinated direction and guidance in the planning, development and maintenance of the multi-use trail.
For more information contact Dennis Wiley, Salmonberry Trail project manager, at 503-986-0723 or dennis.wiley@oregon.gov.
Individuals who need special accommodations to attend the meeting should contact Wiley at least three days in advance.
Update 9:45 a.m. - See attached photo of Becky Wolf.
ROSEBURG, Ore. – The Oregon Recreation Trails Advisory Council (ORTAC) presented the Doug Newman Memorial Award to Becky Wolf at the 2019 Oregon Trails Summit Oct. 4 in Roseburg.
Wolf has been a community trails advocate for more than 30 years and has contributed thousands of volunteer hours to improving Oregon’s trail systems. A resident of Molalla, Wolf is the fourth woman to be individually recognized with the award.
Summary of Wolf’s contributions:
- Former member of ORTAC and the Recreational Trails Program Grant Advisory Committee.
- Board member for nonprofit Molalla River Watch and the Oregon Trails Coalition.
- Active member of nonprofit Oregon Equestrian Trails.
- Caretaker of a section of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Mt. Hood National Forest for 21 years.
- Former director of public lands and director of Leave No Trace education for the Back Country Horsemen of Oregon.
- Food coordinator and lead cook for the Pacific Crest Trail Association’s annual Trail Skills College.
The Doug Newman Memorial Award recognizes an Oregonian whose efforts have inspired, benefitted and contributed the state’s trails and trail users. The award pays tribute to Doug Newman, an avid outdoorsman, author and journalist for The Eugene Register-Guard. Diagnosed with polio as a child, Newman died in 1992.
ORTAC was established by the Legislature in 1971 to advise Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and its partners in the development and promotion of high quality non-motorized trail systems throughout Oregon.
For more information about the Doug Newman Award or ORTAC, contact Jodi Bellefeuille at jodi.bellefeuille@oregon.gov or 503-986-0716.
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Fried-Durkheimer in Portland is among Oregon’s latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places. Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP) recommended the house’s nomination at their June 2019 meeting. The National Park Service – which maintains the National Register of Historic Places – accepted the nomination on November 8, 2019.
Constructed in 1880 for Morris and Annie Marks, the Fried-Durkheimer House is an exemplar of an Italianate Town House and one of few examples of an Italianate Town House remaining in Portland. The house features original exterior details that define the style such as the large ornamented windows, overhanging eaves with decorative brackets, curved hall stair, and marble fireplace surround.
In 2017, the Fried-Durkheimer House was moved approximately 5 blocks east and 12 blocks south of its original location. The move was an effort to save the house from developmental pressures, which were threatening demolition.
Popular in Portland between the 1860s and 1890s, the Italianate style emerged as a response to the relatively plain, bold, straight lines of the Greek Revival and Gothic Revival styles. Italianate emphasized height, ornate arches, balconies with balustrades all the while maintaining balance, unity, and a strong emphasis on the horizontal line.
The Italianate residential styles popularity as urban/town residences was perhaps their downfall, given Portland’s downtown cores rapid growth from the late 1800s to the twentieth century. As the city center became a metropolitan hub, single-family residential construction was demolished for large scale commercial and multi-family buildings.
The Fried-Durkheimer is now one of 603 individually listed properties in the City of Portland that are listed in the National Register. The National Register is maintained by the National Park Service under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
More information about the National Register and recent Oregon lists is online at www.oregonheritage.org (click on “National Register” at left of page).
Properties listed in the National Register are:
- Recognized as significant to the nation, state, or community;
- Considered in the planning of federal or federally assisted projects;
- Eligible for federal and state tax benefits;
- Qualify for historic preservation grants when funds are available;
- Eligible for leniency in meeting certain building code requirements;
- Subject to local laws pertaining to the conservation and protection of historic resources.
National Register listing does not place any restrictions on a property at the state or federal level, unless property owners choose to participate in tax benefit or grant programs.
STAYTON, Ore. – The Beauchamp Building in Stayton is among Oregon’s latest entries in the National Register of Historic Places. Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP) recommended the house’s nomination at their June 2019 meeting. The National Park Service – which maintains the National Register of Historic Places – accepted the nomination on November 1, 2019.
The Beauchamp Building is one of several pre-cast concrete block buildings in Stayton constructed on the west side of 3rd Avenue between 1908 and 1916. Nine pre-cast concrete block buildings from this period still exist along a three-block portion of 3rd Avenue in Stayton’s downtown. The Beauchamp is the only building in Stayton to be all plain-face pre-cast concrete block.
Originally built to house a pharmacy, a specialty store and a dancehall, the Beauchamp building anchored and helped define Stayton’s business district and movement of the downtown core to the north, and aided in the commercial ascendency of Stayton from a village to a town.
Clarence Albirto Beauchamp graduated from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon and became a pharmacist. C.A. Beauchamp and Louise Sommers of Scio married in 1908. In 1913, C.A. and Louise Beauchamp, at the ages of 33 and 29 respectively, took their dreams, their hobbies and a thriving pharmacy business and created a new building to house them, the Beauchamp Building.
Louise Beauchamp started as a pharmacy clerk in 1908 and became an assistant pharmacist in 1928. In the early 1900s only two percent of pharmacists were women and most of these women worked in hospital pharmacies. Women in the retail environment were rare and even discouraged up and through the 1930s, and Louise’s story plays an important part of Stayton’s Commerce history.
The Beauchamp Building is now one of 5 individually listed properties in the City of Stayton that are listed in the National Register. The National Register is maintained by the National Park Service under the authority of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
More information about the National Register and recent Oregon lists is online at www.oregonheritage.org (click on “National Register” at left of page).
Properties listed in the National Register are:
- Recognized as significant to the nation, state, or community;
- Considered in the planning of federal or federally assisted projects;
- Eligible for federal and state tax benefits;
- Qualify for historic preservation grants when funds are available;
- Eligible for leniency in meeting certain building code requirements;
- Subject to local laws pertaining to the conservation and protection of historic resources.
National Register listing does not place any restrictions on a property at the state or federal level, unless property owners choose to participate in tax benefit or grant programs.
Oregon Heritage Commission has awarded $379,785 in grants to 32 organizations throughout the state. The grants will help fund a variety of projects including collection preservation and access, research, education, exhibits, and film projects. Award amounts ranged $2,020 - $20,000.
Funded projects:
- Abernethy Elementary School PTA, in Portland, for conservation of a WPA mural.
- Architectural Heritage Center, in Portland, for an exhibit about the evolution of South Portland in the 20th century.
- Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association, in Astoria, for construction of a Nordic Heritage Park.
- Bend Parks and Recreation District for collections care and interpretation of the Hollinshead-Matson Historic House.
- Clackamas County Historical Society, in Oregon City, for proper storage of the textile collection at the Museum of the Oregon Territory.
- Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, in The Dalles, for digitization of The Dalles Chronicle photographs, dating from 1940s to 1970s.
- Four Rivers Cultural Center, in Ontario, to provide folk arts programming.
- Frazier Farmstead Museum, in Milton-Freewater, to publish history booklets.
- Harney County Library Foundation, in Burns, to digitize local oral history interviews.
- High Desert Museum, near Bend, to develop an interpretive pan for the renovation of the museum’s permanent exhibition on the Indigenous Plateau.
- Independence Heritage Museum, in Independence, to catalog and digitize the archival collection.
- Josephy Center for Arts and Culture, in Joseph, to catalog and digitize the collections.
- Lincoln County Historical Society, in Newport, to produce three videos.
- METRO historic cemeteries, in Portland, to research historic records that highlight the history of women buried in METRO historic cemeteries.
- Nehalem Valley Historical Society, in Manazanita, to complete a heritage memoir film about Mary Gerritse.
- City of Oregon City to purchase and implement cemetery management software at Mountain View Cemetery.
- Oregon Historical Society, in Portland, to provide teacher training through workshops.
- Oregon Jewish Museum, in Portland, to create and install the “To Bear Witness: Extraordinary Lives” exhibit.
- Oregon Paleo Lands institute, in Fossil, to create and install the exhibit “John Day, A River Flows Free.”
- Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, in Portland, to install a historic turntable.
- Portland Japanese Garden to purchase whisper touring devises and design a new map and brochure.
- Portland Youth Philharmonic to preserve sound recordings.
- Restore Oregon, in Portland, to complete phase one of the Jantzen Beach Carousel preservation project.
- City of Salem to stabilize the Ben Maxwell digital image collection.
- Save the PT Boat, Inc., in Portland, to expand interpretive programming.
- Southern Oregon University, in Ashland, to develop the Rogue Valley Women’s Movement Oral History project.
- Talent Historical Society to develop local history curriculum.
- The Vanport Mosaic, in Portland, to hold a gathering of people and organizations documenting Oregon’s past.
- City of Tillamook for conservation of a mural and an art exhibit.
- Tillamook County Pioneer Museum to create and install “Her-Story, The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Oregon and What It Means Today” exhibit and companion book.
- University of Portland to digitize the student-run paper, The Beacon.
- Vanport Placemaking Project, in Portland, to develop design content for interpretation at the Vanport site.
This competitive grant program is for qualifying organizations, and is offered once per biennium for projects that conserve, develop or interpret Oregon’s heritage. It is a program of the Oregon Heritage Commission. The Commission works to secure, sustain and enhance Oregon’s heritage. The Commission consists of nine members appointed by the governor and nine agency advisors. Members are chosen from state agencies and statewide organizations, and represent diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds.
The Commission is part of Oregon Heritage, a division of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. To learn more about the Oregon Heritage Grant or the Oregon Heritage Commission, visit www.oregonheritage.org or contact Kuri Gill at i.gill@oregon.gov">Kuri.gill@oregon.gov or 503-986-0685.
Public access to Saddle Mountain State Natural Area will be closed Nov. 25 - Dec. 6. The park will reopen early morning on Dec. 7.
During the closure, construction crews will make repairs to the park’s entrance road. DNA Mowing & Excavation, based in Pacific City, has been hired to complete the project.
Learn more about Saddle Mountain on the park’s webpage.
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) invites Oregonians to ditch the shopping bags and lace up their hiking boots to celebrate “Green Friday” Nov. 29. OPRD will waive day-use parking fees that day in 25 state parks across Oregon.
“Fall weather brings a different flavor to many state parks and we’re encouraging folks to get outside and explore,” said Lisa Sumption, OPRD director. “This is our fifth year celebrating Green Friday and we’re excited to continue the post-holiday tradition.”
Parking is free year-round at almost all state parks; the waiver applies to the 25 parks that charge $5 daily for parking. The waiver applies from open to close on Nov. 29, except at Shore Acres State Park, where it expires at 3 p.m. for the Holiday Lights event that runs Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve. A list of parks that charge the $5 parking fee is available online.
Learn more about Oregon State Parks on oregonstateparks.org.
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Editors: follow the link for an online gallery of fall photos from Oregon State Parks: link. Feel free to download and use any photos; credit Oregon State Parks.