News Release
| Release Number: | 99-049 |
| Dated: | 6/2/1999 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. -- Years of careful planning have paid off. After working in harmony toward the common goal of returning Amazon Creek in Eugene, Ore., to a more natural state, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will join its partners Saturday along the banks of Amazon Creek to kick off the construction project.
At 10:30 a.m. on June 5, Corps representatives will join others from the City of Eugene, Bureau of Land Management and the Nature Conservancy to celebrate the success of seeing the Lower Amazon Environmental Restoration Project through to construction.
Representative Peter DeFazio, long-time supporter of the project, will be the honorary speaker at the event. The Corps District commander Col. Robert Slusar also will speak and present "partner appreciation" plaques to the partnering agencies. The master of ceremony will be Christine Andersen, the City of Eugene director of public works.
"The Corps of Engineers is very fortunate to have worked with such a fine group of people," said Matt Rea, Corps project manager for the restoration project. "Each person I have worked with has been equally committed to seeing this project through to construction and is as excited about the significance the restored Amazon Creek holds for the region."
The Amazon Creek project will reconnect about 398 acres of adjacent wetlands to Amazon Creek to restore wet prairie habitat and to provide a critical ecological and hydrological corridor between extensive wetland restoration areas and wildlife habitat management areas undertaken by the Corps and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife at Fern Ridge Lake; by The Nature Conservancy at Willow Creek Preserve, and by the City of Eugene and the BLM at Bertelson Slough and other locations throughout West Eugene.
Plans and specifications for the Lower Amazon Environmental Restoration Project were distributed to prospective bidders on May 14. A number of contract firms have expressed interest in performing the work; bids will be opened on June 15. The Corps expects to give the successful bidder the notice to proceed in early July. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-July.