The Place of the Elk

"There's a herd of around 40 elk that come through and like to graze in the open.  The first time we saw them, my daughter, who was two then, ran out on the back porch and said, 'Hi, elk!'  My daughter and son love seeing the elk here. 

"It makes me feel good that it's a natural part of their lives that they experience regularly."  Maryellen Hockensmith and Mike McCulloch share in that thrill of seeing the elk herd.  She adds, "Most Portlanders don't  know that elk live this close to town."

The family lives on about four acres of the 40-acre property.  A former sheep farm, and before that a vegetable truck farm, the land has an expansive view out to the west of the Tualatin mountains toward the Coast Range. 

Mike says, "We're at a triangle crossroads of Germantown Road and Skyline Boulevard.  This intersection is undeveloped."  Maryellen comments, "We're hoping to be one of the first examples here of this kind of easement, and want to make it easier for neighbors upstream and downstream to do the same. We're trying to be good  stewards.  It's an obligation we have to the earth."

Maryellen has noticed that "as we've been removing invasive plants and planting natives, we see more birds… and more varieties of birds.  When before we'd see one pair of cedar waxwings, now we see a whole flock.  Once I went down in the woods and happened to see a pileated woodpecker on the ground.  It was huge.  I was stunned and delighted."

The elk herd likely moves through Forest Park and Metro's new greenspaces acquisition not far away on Newberry Road.  Mike observes, "protecting this place in perpetuity changes the long-term development pattern for the better.  These wooded and wildlife corridors are integral to urban living.  Having these fingers of natural areas as transition zones helps to maintain the viability of Forest Park."

Maryellen's late husband, Bill Hockensmith, looked for a year and a half before finding the property, then died suddenly not long after they moved there.  "I feel that this place was a gift from Bill to our family and that I have a deep responsibility to share it with the broader community."  She hopes to use the property to educate people about small-scale organic farming methods and forest stewardship.

The property includes meadows and apple trees that entice deer.  "We're trying to develop a wildlife habitat," Maryellen says.  "We want to be cohabiting with the wildlife -- so if we can make our acres as natural and peaceful as possible, then native animals might feel more comfortable living here."

The conservation easement encompasses 19 acres of second-growth forest with a long stretch of Abbey Creek and its drainage.  As a million more people move into the Portland region, this property exemplifies the mission of Three Rivers -- an intact mature forest that helps provide clean water to the Tualatin River, and significant protection for Forest Park wildlife, especially elk habitat.  Because of this property, future generations of children can walk in Forest Park and have the opportunity to look up and say, "Hi, elk!"

"There's a herd of around 40 elk that come through and like to graze in the open.  The first time we saw them, my daughter, who was two then, ran out on the back porch and said, 'Hi, elk!'  My daughter and son love seeing the elk here. 

"It makes me feel good that it's a natural part of their lives that they experience regularly."  Maryellen Hockensmith and Mike McCulloch share in that thrill of seeing the elk herd.  She adds, "Most Portlanders don't  know that elk live this close to town."

The family lives on about four acres of the 40-acre property.  A former sheep farm, and before that a vegetable truck farm, the land has an expansive view out to the west of the Tualatin mountains toward the Coast Range. 

Mike says, "We're at a triangle crossroads of Germantown Road and Skyline Boulevard.  This intersection is undeveloped."  Maryellen comments, "We're hoping to be one of the first examples here of this kind of easement, and want to make it easier for neighbors upstream and downstream to do the same. We're trying to be good  stewards.  It's an obligation we have to the earth."

Maryellen has noticed that "as we've been removing invasive plants and planting natives, we see more birds… and more varieties of birds.  When before we'd see one pair of cedar waxwings, now we see a whole flock.  Once I went down in the woods and happened to see a pileated woodpecker on the ground.  It was huge.  I was stunned and delighted."

The elk herd likely moves through Forest Park and Metro's new greenspaces acquisition not far away on Newberry Road.  Mike observes, "protecting this place in perpetuity changes the long-term development pattern for the better.  These wooded and wildlife corridors are integral to urban living.  Having these fingers of natural areas as transition zones helps to maintain the viability of Forest Park."

Maryellen's late husband, Bill Hockensmith, looked for a year and a half before finding the property, then died suddenly not long after they moved there.  "I feel that this place was a gift from Bill to our family and that I have a deep responsibility to share it with the broader community."  She hopes to use the property to educate people about small-scale organic farming methods and forest stewardship.

The property includes meadows and apple trees that entice deer.  "We're trying to develop a wildlife habitat," Maryellen says.  "We want to be cohabiting with the wildlife -- so if we can make our acres as natural and peaceful as possible, then native animals might feel more comfortable living here."

The conservation easement encompasses 19 acres of second-growth forest with a long stretch of Abbey Creek and its drainage.  As a million more people move into the Portland region, this property exemplifies the mission of Three Rivers -- an intact mature forest that helps provide clean water to the Tualatin River, and significant protection for Forest Park wildlife, especially elk habitat.  Because of this property, future generations of children can walk in Forest Park and have the opportunity to look up and say, "Hi, elk!"