Natural Heritage Parks Program
Recognizing that the loss of historical ecosystems has had negative impacts on biodiversity, environmental functions, and educational opportunities in the county, Marion County Parks is working to restore some of the landscapes that greeted the area's pioneers and sustained the Native American tribes. These ecosystems included oak savannas, upland prairies, wet prairies, woodlands, riparian gallery forests, shrublands, and rare peat bogs. The Natural Heritage Parks Program was developed by Marion County as one way to begin the restoration of these historical ecosystems.
Dogs are not allowed at Aumsville Wetlands Park and must be on a leash at all times at Bonesteele Park.
An Overview of the Natural Heritage Parks Program
Marion County Natural Heritage Parks Selection &
Acquisition Plan
Natural Heritage Parks Sites
Bonesteele Prairie
Aumsville Wetlands
Showy Tarweed, a native
prairie plant
Typical scene in the pre-EuroAmerican settlement Willamette Valley.
"Wallamette", Capt. Henry V. Warre, 1845.
Boyd, John J. ed. (1990) Indians, fire, and land in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon State University Press. Corvallis, OR.
