CHAPTER THREE

RESOURCE PROTECTION

INTRODUCTION

This section discusses and presents goals, policies and recommended actions for protecting and providing protective buffers for wetland sites in the study area.

As a result of field work conducted in 1988-89, 1,307 acres of jurisdictional wetlands were identified within the study area. Through a process which involved a series of public workshops, a technical advisory committee of state and federal agency representatives, and staff evaluation of alternatives, a recommendation was developed which calls for protecting 1,019 acres, and allowing development to occur on 288 acres. The Wetlands Recommendations Map (Map 3) depicts wetlands that are recommended for development, protection, and mitigation.

Wetlands are recommended for protection due to their high natural resource value (colored green on Map 3) or due to their value as enhancement sites for mitigation credit (colored yellow on Map 3). See Chapter 4 of this Plan for a detailed discussion of mitigation policies.

Appendix B contains the criteria used to identify sites suitable for and deserving of protection. The development of these criteria included consideration of state and federal wetland laws and policies, citizen input received through workshops and questionnaires, comments from wetland regulatory agency staff, and the results of the field work conducted by Esther Lev in 1988 and by Scientific Resources Inc. (SRI), in 1989. Not all of the criteria in the list referred to above had to be met in order to assign a recommendation for protection.

The primary thrust of these recommendations is to seek acquisition of the wetlands identified for protection including those recommended for enhancement. Following acquisition, land use controls will be applied to restrict uses and protect those sites in perpetuity. Protection measures developed as part of the concurrent Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area Natural Resources Special Study are recommended as long-term protection measures. These protection measures are outlined in Appendix A of this Plan. This Plan gives additional detail to the proposed Natural Resource Zone, as described under "Recommended Actions".

Prior to acquisition of protected wetland sites, potential development on those sites would be subject to Planned Unit Development, Site Review procedures or other land use regulations, as well as state and federal wetland permit processes.

The Conceptual Plan (Map 4) reflects the ultimate wetland system when fully protected and restored. It is conceptual in nature and will be refined over time as more information is gathered about restoration sites, public facility design (see Chapter VI, Financing), and habitat suitability.

GOALS, POLICIES, RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

The following section contains goals, policies, and recommended actions for those goals and policies for the study area. These apply to the wetlands specified for protection on the Wetlands Recommendations Map (refer to Map 3).

GOALS

3.1 Protect and enhance water quality, wildlife habitat, flood storage, sediment and toxicant removal and other wetland functions and values.

3.2 Minimize economic hardship on private property owners due to protection of wetlands and
other valuable environmental resources.

3.3 Minimize adverse impacts to protected wetlands from adjacent development.

3.4 Protect high quality examples of each important type of wetland plant community currently
existing in west Eugene: native Willamette prairie grassland, ash forest, cattail marsh, shrub/scrub, and open water.

3.5 Protect and expand current populations and habitats of rare, endangered and threatened plants and animals that currently exist in west Eugene.

3.6 Achieve state and federal requirement of "no net loss" of wetlands in both quantity (area) and quality (functions and values).

3.7 Protect an interconnected system of wetlands within a sustainable, ecologically sound system, with a high likelihood of long-term survival.

3.8 Allow for multiple uses of protected wetlands, while ensuring that functions and values are
maintained or enhanced.

POLICIES

3.1 Seek acquisition of protected wetland sites by federal, state, and local public agencies and
private, nonprofit conservation organizations.

3.2 Apply interim protection measures to wetland sites identified for protection through existing
local land use controls, until sites are purchased for conservation and protection.

3.3 Develop and adopt ordinances to protect wetlands and waterways.

3.4 Amend existing policies that conflict with protection of regulated wetland functions and values to make them consistent with WEWSAS goals and policies.

3.5 Along with Lane County and the State of Oregon, protect wetlands on public lands in the west Eugene wetlands study area and restore wetlands on public lands (see Maps 3 & 4).

3.6 Coordinate development and adoption of protective ordinances with Lane County for sites
outside the city limits and within the Urban Growth Boundary.

3.7 Ensure that any private or public party can continue to seek individual state or federal wetland permits for any proposed development.

3.8 Establish, maintain and protect physical and hydrologic linkages between protected wetlands and adjacent transitional and upland wildlife habitat and natural areas.

3.9 Protect and enhance the quality, functions, and values of natural and human-made waterways that are interconnected with wetlands.

3.10 Include provisions for protection of rare plants in ordinances developed and applied to wetlands identified for protection on Map 3.

3.11 Restrict public access in natural research areas, rare plant sites and specified wildlife nesting and resting areas.

3.12 Protect and create buffer areas between regulated wetland boundaries and adjacent uses or developments.

3.13 Promote multiple uses of protected wetlands to meet community, environmental and human needs: (a) provide public access for all people where other wetland functions and values are not compromised; (b)coordinate wetland protection, enhancement and restoration with regional water quality improvement needs; and (c) utilize current and restored wetlands for flood storage and control.

3.14 Implement wetland protection policies that prohibit development on wetlands designated for protection after those wetlands are acquired by a public agency or nonprofit organization (e.g., The Nature Conservancy).

3.15 The Waterside Protection setback proposed in the Natural Resources Special Study shall be applied to streams recommended to be protected in this plan as identified on Map 3, Wetlands Recommendations.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

3.1 Acquire all sites recommended for protection or mitigation where there are willing sellers.

3.2 Establish acquisition priorities among protected sites. Highest priority shall be assigned to the following sites:

1. Bertelsen Slough/Stewart Pond complex (Site E2 and buffers)

2. Spectra Physics complex (Sites C2, C3, C4, CS and buffers)

3. Willow Creek complex (Sites H1, H3 and buffers)

4. North Amazon complex (Sites B1, B4, B5)

Note: The numbers within the parenthesis are wetland identification numbers which were assigned by SRI at the time of wetland delineation. The letter portion of the ID number refers to the geographic subunit of the study area. Refer to Map 3 for the location of each wetland site.

3.3 Following acquisition, designate protected wetland sites "Natural Resource" on the Metropolitan Plan diagram.

3.4 Develop, adopt and apply natural resource protection measures as follows (complete text of these six proposals are contained in Appendix A).

Natural Resource Zoning District: apply to protected jurisdictional wetland sites following acquisition by managing agency or organization.

Waterside Protection and Development Ordinance: apply to designated streams, rivers, channels and riparian areas in study area as indicated on Map 3, Wetlands Recommendations.

Upland Development Design: apply to uplands to the south of study area.

Low Impact and Active Public Access: apply to appropriate sites.

Clean-up. Restoration and Education Policy: apply to all protected areas and sites.

Stormwater Planning Policies: apply to all drainage channels in study area that are identified in the Eugene Areawide Drainage Master Plan.

3.5 As an interim measure, develop and apply a "wetland protection overlay zone" to sites identified for protection. To minimize potential impacts to wetland functions and values, require Planned Unit Development or Site Review procedures on all development proposals.

3.6 As a medium term interim protection measure and prior to acquisition for conservation and protection, apply design criteria outlined in the Waterside Development Ordinance.

3.7 Initiate amendments to the Eugene Code to establish natural resource buffer provisions and building setbacks and apply those provisions to wetland sites inside the (WEWSAS) study area identified for protection. The primary purpose of buffers and setbacks is to maintain or improve water quality within protected resource sites. Secondary benefits of buffers include creating open space between the resource and adjacent uses, helping to maintain or improve wildlife habitat values and wetland hydrology, and protecting the aesthetic value of the site. Setback distances and buffering requirements should be variable according to the relative value and sensitivity of the site and the severity of impact associated with the adjoining use. Setback and buffer requirements should not prevent building or development of otherwise buildable lots. (A more detailed outline of proposed buffer provisions is included in Appendix C.)

3.8 Develop and apply "best management practices" (BMPs) to construction and development within natural resource buffer setbacks and wetlands. BMPs shall include construction site practices to minimize water quality impacts, noise impacts, disruption of wildlife mating and nesting, to maintain stormwater conveyance capacity, flood control capacity and groundwater discharge and recharge, and to protect wildlife habitat. (See Appendix D for more detailed examples of best management practices).

3.9 Amend the existing "obnoxious vegetation ordinance" to exempt protected wetland sites from vegetation cutting requirements.

3.10 Strengthen the existing tree preservation and hillside development regulations to protect water quality within the Willow Creek and Amazon Creek watersheds.

3.11 Prepare a management plan for rare plants and ecosystems in conjunction with the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Native Plant Society, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Land Management, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

3.12 Negotiate intergovernmental agreement(s) with the Oregon Division of State Lands, U.S. Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Soils Conservation Service and U.S. EPA to ensure that: (1) those agencies abide by the goals and policies of this plan in all wetland permit decisions, and recognize the WEWSAS wetland boundaries as the definitive regulated wetland boundaries of west Eugene, and (2) development will not be allowed under Army Corps of Engineers "Nationwide Permits" on sites designated for protection under this plan.

3.13 Seek administration of federal and state wetland regulations at the local level by obtaining a Regional Permit from the Army Corps of Engineers and approval of a Wetland Conservation Plan from the Oregon Division of State Lands.