On Memorial Day, local officials joined with Senator Mark 0. Hatfield to dedicate the Eastern Gateway Wetland Restoration site at Bailey Hill Road and West 7th Place in west Eugene. This 19-acre site is owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the wetlands mitigation and restoration project was organized by the City of Eugene Public Works Department. The mitigation offset wetland impacts for a runway extension at Eugene's Mahlon Sweet Airport, a Bonneville Power Administration electrical project, a low income housing project, and a private commercial development in west Eugene. The Oregon Department of Transportation is expected to purchase the remaining two acres of mitigation credits.

Eugene Mayor Ruth Bascom was master of ceremonies and greeted about 50 guests. She and other speakers lauded the partnerships formed to carry out this project. She gave recognition to Lane Electric Cooperative and Shelton-Turnbull printers, two immediate neighbors of this wetland site. The Mayor presented a special award to Daniel Bowman of BLM for his unique approach to cooperating with the City and the Nature Conservancy and for his leadership in managing the BLM's wetland acquisition program. City Councilor Nancy Nathanson described the history and values of the site. Eugene District Manager for BLM, Judy Nelson, discussed the BLM's role in ecosystem management and its partnership with the City and Nature Conservancy. Russell Hoeflich, State Director for the Nature Conservancy, discussed the history of the Willamette Valley wet prairies and the rare plants and insects that exist in west Eugene. He stressed the human and ecological importance of the few remaining Willamette Valley wet prairies.

Senator Hatfield toured the displays and presented remarks, making three main points:

• Wetlands have tremendous value as part of our nation's water resources by filtering pollutants, storing flood waters, and recharging groundwater. By performing these functions, wetlands are important to all of us.
• The local area needs to work to get this project into the President's budget. This project is a national model, and it must have a higher profile to guarantee Land & Water Conservation funding for the longer term.
• BLM must be more aggressive in its support for this project to assist in obtaining the President's attention.

Following the presentations, the Mayor and Senator unveiled a new sign for the site and cut the ribbon on a gravel trail that leads to the center of the mitigation area, thus formally dedicating the Eastern Gateway Wetland Restoration Project. The wetland displays included buttons and a new "Self-guided West Eugene Wetland Tour" brochure-both featuring the new logo for the wetlands project, which also appears on the restoration site sign. A leisurely trip down the trail afforded views of the ash forested wetlands, prairie restoration, shallow pond and deeper pond habitats being restored on the site. In all, the 50 attendees enjoyed a sunny morning in the west Eugene wetlands.