Southeast Neighbors plant 200 native trees along Amazon Creek

from the Southeast Neighbors Environmental Stewardship Committee

Southeast Neighbors volunteers helped plant and replant more than 200 native trees along Upper Amazon Creek this year.

Following similar events in January and March, the November planting event drew 23 Southeast Eugene neighbors, friends, family members, and Eugene Parks and Open Space personnel.

The tree species are selected and placed as part of the Upper Amazon Creek Shading Plan to restore habitat and enhance biodiversity while increasing the tree canopy. Shading reduces water temperature, which is an important part of the city’s comprehensive Open Waterway Maintenance Plans (OWMP).

The Southeast Neighbors neighborhood boundaries include four of the 13 reaches of Amazon Creek defined in the OWMP 2022 update:

• Amazon Headwaters – above Martin Street
• Amazon – Martin Street to Snell Avenue
• Amazon – Snell Avenue to Fox Hollow Road
• Amazon – Fox Hollow Road to 30th Avenue
• Amazon – 30th Avenue to 24th Avenue
• Amazon – 24th Avenue to Fairgrounds
• Amazon – Fairgrounds to Chambers Street
• Amazon – Chambers Street to City View Street
• Amazon – City View Street to Oak Patch Road
• Amazon – Oak Patch Road to Bailey Hill Road
• Amazon Channel Enhancement (ACE) – Bailey Hill Road to Railroad
• Amazon – Railroad to Royal Avenue
• Amazon – Royal Avenue to Fern Ridge Reservoir

The 12-mile-long Amazon Creek mainstem drains about 60% of all stormwater runoff from the city of Eugene. As part of the Long Tom River watershed, its waters join the Willamette River below the city of Monroe.

In addition to the Amazon basin, the OWMP also contains plans for the Willakenzie Basin, Willamette River Basin, River Road-Santa Clara Basin, Laurel Hill Basin, and Bethel-Danebo channels, ponds, and tributaries.

Within the four reaches in our neighborhood, and the rest of the Upper Amazon Creek, the city has set the goal of reducing E. coli bacteria by 84% annually. One of the primary sources of bacteria in urban areas is pet waste, so it’s important to pick up after pets and dispose of animal waste properly.

Our stewardship work continues. Be on the lookout for future volunteer opportunities in Spring 2024 along this same stretch of Upper Amazon Creek when we will be mulching, weeding, pruning, and re-staking these tree wells in advance of the mowing season so that we can maximize the survival rate of our newly planted trees.

Thanks to everyone who came out to help and to the City of Eugene Parks and Open Space.

For more information and to get involved with Amazon Creek and other environmental stewardship projects, see the Southeast Neighbors website.