Ross Island (Oregon)

Infobox Islands
name = Ross Island

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image caption = Ross Island and Toe Island seen from the west
image size =
locator

map_custom = no
native name =
native name link =
nickname =
location = Willamette River RM 14.1–15.7 in Portland, Oregon
coordinates = coord|45.488727|-122.663083|display=inline,title
archipelago =
total islands = 4
major islands = 2
area = convert|400|acre|km2
length = convert|2200|m|mi
width = convert|600|m|mi
coastline =
highest mount =
elevation = convert|20|ft|m
country = U.S.
population = 0
population as of = 2008
density = 0
ethnic groups =
additional info = approximately two-thirds of the island has been excavated

Ross Island is the main island of a four-island cluster in the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The islands, covering a total of about convert|400|acre|ha, are owned mainly by Ross Island Sand and Gravel (RISG), which mined them extensively between 1926 and 2001. The other three islands are Hardtack, East, and Toe.

The islands split the Willamette River into Holgate Slough on the east. [ cite web
url = http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/cu/nwr/rossisland/questions.htm
title = Ross Island: Questions and Answers About the Ross Island Assessment Project
publisher = Oregon Department of Environmental quality
accessdate = 2008-07-08 ] They are about convert|1|mi|km south of downtown Portland at river mile 15, the islands are slightly upriver (south) of the Ross Island Bridge between the Springwater Corridor Trail on the eastern shore and the South Waterfront on the western shore and slightly downriver from the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge on the eastern shore and Willamette Park on the western shore. Ross is the longest of the islands, the closest to the western shore, and the closest to the Ross Island Bridge. Hardtack is to its east. East Island lies southeast of Hardtack, and Toe Island lies southwest of Ross. No bridge reaches the islands, which are approached only by boat.cite book
last = Houck
first = Michael C.
authorlink =
coauthors = Cody, M.J.
title = Wild in the City: A Guide to Portland's Natural Areas
publisher = Oregon Historical Society Press
date = 2000
location =
pages = 88–92
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 0-87595-273-9 ]

Ross Island is connected to Hardtack Island by an artificial levee built in 1926 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to form a lagoon between the two islands. The lagoon made dredging easier for RISG and diverted water west of the islands, where it deepened a shipping channel.

In 2007, the owner of RISG, Robert B. Pamplin, Jr., donated convert|45|acre|ha of the island to the city of Portland, which plans to manage the property as a natural area. [ cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Ross Island
work = River Renaissance
publisher = City of Portland
date = 2008
url = http://www.portlandonline.com/RIVER/index.cfm?a=88098&c=39285
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-06-23 ] The islands, which retain remnants of forested riparian zones, are used by at least 50 species of birds including ospreys, eagles, herons. The gift was accepted long after transfer negotiations stalled in 2002 over questions of liability for the islands' restoration and cleanup. cite news
last = Griffin
first = Anna
coauthors =
title = City accepts Ross Island gift
work = The Oregonian
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = 2007-09-12
url = http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/09/city_accepts_ross_island_gift.html
accessdate = 2008-06-23 ] Because it contains toxic fill dirt, the Ross-Hardtack lagoon is listed for cleanup by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Ross Island
work = Land Quality: Cleanup Sites with Individual Web Pages
publisher = Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
date = 2008
url = http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/cu/nwr/rossisland/index.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-06-23 ] City staff and outside experts who inspected the convert|45|acre|ha in 2007 approved of their condition.

In addition to the gifted acres and the convert|350|acre|km2 still owned by RISG, the Port of Portland owns convert|10|acre|ha. Conservationists have expressed hope that the Port will donate its land to the city and that Pamplin and city officials will agree on a long-term plan for the islands.

References

External links

* [http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/cu/nwr/rossisland/questions.htm DEQ's Questions and Answers About the Ross Island Assessment Project]