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The Metro Council last week voted to adopt a new Parks and Nature System Plan that will guide development and planning for natural areas it manages for years to come.

Metro has around 17,000 acres of parks and natural areas in its portfolio, but until the new plan was formulated, there was no scientific system for classifying its inventory. The new plan describes the primary characteristics of 11 different 鈥渘aturehoods,鈥� a word Metro coined to organize its parks and natural areas based according to geographic and ecological identities.

outlined in the plan details the primary characteristics and values of each 鈥渘aturehood,鈥� from regional recreation to habitat preserves, and is based on scientific study, according to the Metro website. The system is expected to help Metro create consistency across the region when planning for natural resource protection, park development, amenities and programming.

Voters have approved bond measures that enabled Metro to acquire natural areas over the years, but that money could only be used for capital purchases. A special levy passed in 2013 will provide money for land maintenance and upgrades through a grant program as defined in the new plan, Metro Council President Tom Hughes said.

鈥淭his is a master plan on how we are going to spend money given to us by the voters,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’ve spent some of it on purchasing property and (are now determining) what is the plan for maintaining this property now that it’s there.鈥�

Hughes said Metro will provide grants to individual providers of parks in the metro area, whether they are cities or other entities.

鈥淭hey know better than we do (what is needed) at the local level, and we’re trying to help their efforts 鈥� whether it’s towns or jurisdictions or citizens groups 鈥� to set up grant systems so it meets a variety of different kinds of needs.鈥�

The new Parks and Nature System Plan is the result of two years of work by Metro staff and many meetings with community members and other stakeholders. Hughes said its adoption reflects the wishes of the community as a whole.

鈥淎s a region, we are a community that has great respect for the natural areas that we still have and a great desire to make sure they are well preserved into the future,鈥� he said.

Metro will add a measure to the November ballot to extend the current five-year levy to 2023, to provide continuity and money for multiyear restoration projects, Hughes said. The goal of the levy is to protect clean water, restore wildlife habitat and provide access to rivers and other natural areas.

Mike Houck, executive director of the nonprofit Urban Greenspaces Institute, was involved in the development of the new Metro plan, which he said is 鈥渉ugely important.鈥�

So far, according to Houck, voters have been amenable to Metro’s efforts to acquire more natural areas, and the new plan will help guide decisions on how to manage those resources.

鈥淢etro has been very explicit about what land they were going to purchase and that’s why the public approved it,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he expectation was that they would manage it appropriately, primarily for natural resource values.鈥�

Houck said the plan makes clear that Metro’s role in parks and natural areas is not to compete with local park providers’ efforts but rather complement them, and that Metro is not really focused on recreation but rather conservation of natural areas.

鈥淥ne of the critical things about Metro is that they have one of the most highly regarded ecological staffs in the region, and the plan is predicated and based on science,鈥� Houck said. 鈥淭hey are looking from a perspective of ecological value, not just to put a trail here or there.鈥�

The new plan also provides a framework for upcoming discussion by the Metro Council on how to provide money for future management of natural areas, Houck said.

鈥淭he plan is an exciting next step in the regional effort to protect natural areas and provide world-class areas and trails for the Portland and Vancouver region,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it’s simply a step and there is a lot of work to be done in the future.鈥�

One step needed is development of an overview and a funding mechanism for all the parks and natural areas, whether they are owned by Metro or other jurisdictions, Houck said.

鈥淲e still need a long-term, regionally-based planning source for managing not just Metro’s natural areas, but we need an overall regional view,鈥� he said.