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The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde will take on redevelopment around Willamette Falls alone after growing frustrated with inaction by local governments.

In a letter to city, county, tribal and regional government leaders on Thursday, the Grand Ronde said it would pull out of the intergovernmental Willamette Falls Legacy Project.

鈥淭his decision was not made lightly,鈥� stated the letter signed by Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy. 鈥淚t reflects our deep frustration with ineffective project management and poor communications, along with the lack of transparency and accountability of the Willamette Falls Trust. Collectively, all these actions have come to heavily burden the project and led us to this critical point.鈥�

Kennedy wrote that the intergovernmental process had not yielded results. Willamette Falls Legacy Trust includes Clackamas County, Oregon City, Metro and Oregon State Parks. Other tribes have also become involved in discussions.

鈥淔or nearly 10 years, we have watched as little progress at Willamette Falls occurred while significant public resources have been spent,鈥� Kennedy wrote. 鈥淢onths of talks about adding even more governments to the table are prolonging project gridlock and not yielding any benefits to the public.鈥�

The Grand Ronde purchased the 23-acre property, formerly the Blue Heron paper mill, from Tacoma, Washington, developer George Heidgerken in August 2019. The tribal group has since carried out demolition and preliminary design work with Walker Macy and GBD Architects. A fire gutted the paper mill in December 2020; a suspect was convicted last week of arson and other charges, KOIN reported.

Grand Ronde leaders have communicated to county officials that they remain committed to providing public access at Willamette Falls, and engaging in discussions with local governments, Clackamas County Commissioner Martha Schrader said.

鈥淭he Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde are the owners of the site, and they have committed 鈥� from our perspective as a county 鈥� to seek input from all who have interest in the Willamette Falls project,鈥� Schrader said Monday. 鈥淲e’re respecting their decision to focus on their vision for the Blue Heron site, and hopefully the other swirling issues, they will work them out.鈥�

As Grand Ronde leaders weigh Willamette Falls’ future, they are dealing with competing interests from tribes that also claim historic ties to the falls. The Siletz, Umatilla, Yakama and Warm Springs tribes also visited the falls to harvest fish and trade, and their tribal governments joined discussions for the Willamette Falls Legacy Project.

The other tribes have voiced their displeasure about what they called the Grand Ronde’s 鈥渟trategy of exclusion鈥� in an August 2020 commentary published by Pamplin Media Group. The tribal representatives stated the Grand Ronde opposed their inclusion on the Willamette Falls Trust board.

Schrader said the turbulence is not unexpected as a result of new ownership.

鈥淚 think the tribes are going to have to work out what that narrative is,鈥� she said.

Clackamas County is focused on economic development at Willamette Falls, Schrader said.

鈥淚 look forward to seeing this project go forward,鈥� she said.

Land use approval for the site rests with the city of Oregon City. The Grand Ronde will need to apply for a master plan amendment to carry out their plans at Willamette Falls, city spokeswoman Kristin Brown said.

鈥淲e’ve been working with them,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t’s our job to make sure that whatever comes to fruition is within the zoning that gets set forth.鈥�

The intergovernmental partners are working on a response letter to the Grand Ronde, and a meeting to discuss the way forward is anticipated, Brown said.

鈥淲e respect the tribe’s decision to move forward with the focus of developing their property,鈥� Oregon City Mayor Rachel Lyles Smith stated. 鈥淲e know that Oregon City residents are eager to see the Grand Ronde’s development move forward, and we all want this site to be a point of pride for our city. 鈥� We look forward to the continued collaboration with the tribe to help their property development progress.鈥�