An All Volunteer Group Begins
A small group of individuals gathered together in 1989 to preserve Pfeiffer Pony Farm in Lake Oswego.  The group, ultimately unsuccessful, had too few resources and came too late.  The group did learn an important lesson: that in order to preserve land you need to have a vision for open space conservation ahead of development.  If you wait until the land down the street becomes the subject of a development proposal, it is frequently too late. 

In 1991, the Lake Oswego Land Trust, a nonprofit land conservation organization, was born from this group.  They conserved their first parcel of land in 1991, the Beth Ryan Nature Reserve.  Beth Ryan is a 2.5 acre forested wetland located in a residential community.  The wetland contributes water quality and wildlife habitat to the Oswego Lake ecosystem.

The group remained all volunteer until 1996 when it expanded to become the Three Rivers Land Conservancy.  (The three rivers are the Tualatin, Clackamas and the lower Willamette.)  The group formed because no other land trust focused exclusively in the Portland metropolitan area and the growth pressures of the 1990s created more demand for natural area conservation. 

The group hired its first staff person in 1997 with a grant from the Wilburforce Foundation. 

Three Rivers is Born
Learning the lessons of Pfeiffer Pony Farm, the organization became more strategic and focused on conserving land in the Stafford Basin, just south of Lake Oswego.  Together with the City of Lake Oswego, Three Rivers helped acquire various lands creating a greenbelt along the City of Lake Oswego's southern border.  Now totalling over 200 acres of conserved land, Three Rivers undertook a trails planning process to connect these parks and natural areas with a trail system.  Three Rivers continues to work on this trail system today with 3 miles of trail built and another 12 proposed.

In 2001, Three Rivers identified numerous other areas throughout the Three Rivers' region where strategic natural area conservation would be beneficial.  The process identified 11 watersheds where land conservation would protect air and water quality and provide wildlife habitat close to home.

Since 2001, Three Rivers has been implementing its Conservation Strategies Plan in these watersheds. 

Three Rivers now has 8 staff people, an active Board of Directors, an Advisory Board, 9 committees, 200 volunteers and 780 financial supporters.

So far we have conserved 483 acres of land.

The 1,000 Acre Challenge
Now, Three Rivers is a mature organization.  Our Strategic Plan identified our next five year major challenge beginning in 2006.  We want to conserve 1,000 acres.  Together with other regional efforts, conserving these privately held lands will help keep nature close to home for future generations.

Watch our video, To Leave a Legacy, to learn more!