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The Forest Park Conservancy last week appealed the decision by a city of Portland hearings officer to allow Portland General Electric to cut down 376 trees at the north end of the park to upgrade lines that bring electricity into the metro area.
The appeal will be heard by the Portland City Council at a date to be determined. Councilors will hear arguments from both sides and make a decision.
In addition to the tree-felling, the project would permanently fill two wetlands and disturb 4.7 acres of forest habitat that’s home to the northern red-legged frog, an at-risk species, and other unique fauna, the conservancy says.
Environmentalists were surprised earlier this month when hearings officer Marisha Childs dismissed a long list of environmental concerns from staff at Portland’s Permitting & Development Office and approved the power project.
“The decision of the hearings officer neglects to fully consider the impacts to the ecological functions of Forest Park,” conservancy executive director Scott Fogarty said in a statement. Childs “ignored” the damning staff report, he said.
PGE has said it must undertake the project “to create redundancy in the Northwest Portland transmission corridor” and to “maintain stable power in the Northwest Industrial Area while meeting the increased electrical power demands of surrounding communities.”
A new transmission line and an upgraded one would run alongside other lines that tower over BPA Road, a steep dirt track that runs from Highway 30 west into the park. It’s a popular access point for the Wildwood Trail and other hiking routes.
To offset the loss of trees in Forest Park, PGE said it will plant about 400 trees in the project area, and another 400 elsewhere in Forest Park. It also will plant trees in overheated Portland neighborhoods.
PGE said it welcomes the review by the City Council.
“The land use hearings officer’s decision to approve PGE’s permit request reflected the most substantial analysis of the evidence against the permitting criteria, in other words: the process working as it should,“ PGE vice president Kristen Sheeran said in a statement. ”Review by City Council is the next part of that established process. PGE urges the council to exercise the same careful review of facts and evidence to similarly find that the project is needed, meets the stringent requirements for work within an existing utility easement, and includes extensive plans to improve forest health and wildfire safety.”
The northern red-legged frog is dear to many Portlanders. Each year between November and May, volunteers fan out at night and help the amphibians cross Highway 30 from Forest Park to the Harborton wetlands, where they breed. After the frogs lay eggs, volunteers for the “Frog Taxi” help them return to Forest Park.