Since 1992, the West Eugene Wetlands Project has been a cooperative partnership among the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the City of Eugene, and Lane County to acquire, manage, and actively restore the last remaining wetlands in Oregon's Willamette Valley, along the western edge of Eugene. (Wetlands are areas that feature standing water or with water-logged soils during the growing season.)

West Eugene has a unique temporary structure for its environmental program: a "yurt," modeled after a Mongolian structure.

It is estimated that less than 1 percent of the original upland and wetland prairie habitat is left in the Willamette Valley. For example, populations of Fender's blue butterflies, which depend on upland/wetland prairie plant associations, have virtually disappeared because of this habitat loss and the decline of the caterpillar's host plant, Kincaid's lupine. The West Eugene Wetlands area, which covers 2,200 acres, forms a natural archipelago within an urban environment. The educational component of the project began in 1999; the focus of both the educational and restorative elements is the stewardship of the unique wetland habitats of West Eugene.

Visitors can arrange for tours or interpretive hikes of the project area that allow them to see first-hand some of the unique plant and animal species native to this wetland habitat. Wetland Exploration Field Trips are conducted by volunteers who are trained by local scientists through the Lane County Audubon Society, the Eugene Stream Team, BLM, and the Willamette Resources and Educational Network (WREN). Such field trips target students in grades three through five, though activities are adaptable for all age groups. Educators are invited to meet with Wetlands education specialists in advance of field trips to help integrate the wetland experience into their regular teaching programs and establish learning objectives. On a limited basis, Wetlands volunteers are available to visit classrooms before field trips to prepare students.

The building was erected with lattice and is large enough to hold an entire class of students.

The West Eugene Wetlands area is open to school classes at the elementary, middle school, high school, and college levels, and to service clubs and community organizations. The Wetlands offer a tremendous range of opportunities for enhancing student skills in such areas as observation, journal-keeping, and crafting art from nature, and performing activities related to biology, botany, ecology, and land and water issues. Wetland exploration can be part of a large thematic interdisciplinary unit or a small science unit, and field trip components relate to learning objectives in Oregon Benchmarks. Instructional and reference materials are provided to visitors upon request.

As of August 2001, West Eugene Wetlands has a unique new temporary structure to serve as an environmental education center for students who come to study the area: a 15-foot-tall authentic yurt modeled after traditional Mongolian dwellings. The cone-shaped building has natural dome lighting and ventilation, is strong yet

Yurt assembly proved to be an interesting experience for BLM construction crew members. A local company has been making these yurts for 22 years. The 15-foot tall, cone-shaped building is strong and has natural dome lighting.

lightweight, and can hold an entire class of students. As intriguing and popular as the structure has been since its erection, however, BLM's long-term plan is to build a permanent environmental education facility for the West Eugene Wetlands.

The Wetlands Project is a working operation, so arrangements for a visit or tour should be scheduled at least one month in advance to allow for proper coordination. Tours or visits to the Wetlands can last from one to four hours, depending on the objective of the visit. No costs are associated with visiting the Wetlands, and there are no particular requirements for visitation. Transportation to the area for any tour or visit is generally the responsibility of the requesting group.

For further information, you may phone the West Eugene Wetlands Environmental Education Center at (541) 683-6949 or e-mail the Wetlands staff at west_eugene_wetlands@hotmail.com. You may also contact Doug Huntington of BLM's Eugene District Office at (541) 683-6415 or Doug_Huntington@blm.gov .

We also suggest you visit the following websites for additional information and photos of West Eugene Wetlands:

West Eugene Wetlands and Environmental Education Center
http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/wewetlands/
http://www.or.blm.gov/EE/EESites/west.htm, and
http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/wewetlands/env_ed_ctr.htm

Oregon Benchmarks: http://www.econ.state.or.us/opb/index.htm

Oregon Department of Education: http://www.ode.state.or.us/tchglrngstds/

City of Eugene Stream Team: http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/pw/stream/stream.htm

Lane County Audubon Society: http://www.laneaudubon.org/ .