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<br />October 16, 2019, Work Session – Item 2 <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL <br />AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY <br /> <br /> Work Session: Rivers to Ridges Partnership - Fifteen Years of Accomplishments Meeting Date: October 16, 2019 Agenda Item Number: 2 Department: Public Works Staff Contact: Craig Carnagey <br />www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-4930 <br />ISSUE STATEMENT This work session will provide an update on the accomplishments of the Rivers to Ridges partnership over the past 15 years as it works to implement a 20-year vision to improve the quality of life for residents in the Upper Willamette Valley by working together to protect and enhance the region’s land and water resources. This update also includes planning work recently started to renew this vision moving forward into the next 20 years. <br />BACKGROUND The Rivers to Ridges Partnership and Twenty-Year Vision were established in 2003 from two goals: 1. Create a regional parks and open space vision; 2. Identify long- and short-term strategies for implementing the vision. These goals were laid out in the Rivers to Ridges Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Study. Prior to the development of this study, parks and open space planning for the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area had occurred primarily at the local level without the benefit of a broader regional perspective. Lack of such a vision resulted in lost funding opportunities and difficulties with local coordination. To address this issue, the Eugene and Springfield City Councils, the Lane County Board of Commissioners, and the Willamalane Park and Recreation Board met in November 2000 and agreed unanimously to proceed with—and jointly fund—a Metropolitan Regional Parks and Open Space Study, which became the Rivers to Ridges Vision. The Vision was developed based on extensive input received between December 2001 and May 2003 from citizens, elected officials, and staff from local, state and federal agencies. Since 2003, the partnership has grown to include 17 partners representing federal, state and local governments; non-profit education and conservation-focused organizations; and all four regional watershed councils. This partnership has made great strides in recognizing the endorsed vision and accomplishing the partner mission to improve the quality of life for residents in the upper Willamette Valley by working together to protect and enhance the region’s land and water resources as well as their ecosystem functions and values; and to provide environmental education and compatible outdoor recreation opportunities.