1120 SW 5th Avenue, Room 1000, Portland, OR 97204
The Science, Fish and Wildlife Division began in 1998 as a citywide Endangered Species Act (ESA) Program in response to federal listings of Willamette River salmon and steelhead as threatened species. The Portland City Council directed the ESA Program to take a proactive approach, develop a citywide, integrated response, work cooperatively with the federal government, and assist in the recovery of listed species. The original focus was fish, but the solution is a healthy watershed. Healthy fish habitat is one of many ways to measure success.
With the adoption of the Portland Watershed Management Plan in 2005, the city developed this vision to guide watershed restoration:
Portland's urban form supports both a thriving economy and natural processes that maintain healthy ecosystems. Portland protects and restores properly functioning habitat conditions throughout its watersheds to support abundant, self-sustaining populations of native fish and wildlife. These efforts enhance the livability and vitality of Portland for its citizens and help meet the city's obligations under the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, Superfund, Safe Drinking Water Act and other laws.
The ESA Program became the Science, Fish and Wildlife Division in 2007 with expanded duties to provide the overall scientific foundation for the city's watershed and stormwater protection mission. The Science Fish and Wildlife Division:
Learn about salmon and other fish in Portland
Learn about wildlife in Portland
Monitoring Portland's ecological resources
Information about regulations, permits, and agencies involved in water-related projects