However, the area is also “actively connected” to major streets, is overrun by invasive plants and there are trash, flooding and erosion issues, said Amy Morrison, river protection coordinator with Willamette Riverkeeper.

And then there is a development with new houses springing up near Rinearson Creek’s banks.

Fortunately, there are neighbors who have formed Friends of Rinearson Creek, and there is the Rinearson Creek Central Planning Team, of which Morrison is a member, which has organized an effort to protect and restore the natural area.

“Two years ago, Carl [Poston] called Riverkeeper to see what protection we could offer,” Morrison said.

Poston, who lives right on the edge of Meldrum Pond, which is fed by Rinearson Creek, was concerned about a housing development going up in the neighborhood, Morrison said.

When she looked into the ownership of the property, she found that “not one entity” had jurisdiction over the area, instead it was governed by a patchwork of organizations, including Water Environment Services, Oak Lodge and the city of Gladstone.

“So we pulled together some partners and started meeting, so we could see what to do for the landowners,” Morrison said.

Neighbors quickly came on board for the project, now called the Rinearson Creek Ravine Project, and there have been “two community planting events” along with a SOLV-led restoration effort in the area, that involved clearing blackberries and installing burlap bags and willow “sticks” as erosion protection on parts of the streambed of the creek.

Full story online at http://www.clackamasreview.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=119869443425641000

Reporter Ellen Spitaleri