Public access for 'iconic treasure' Willamette Falls one step closer to reality, Kate Brown says

WEST LINN, Ore. (KOIN) — An inter-tribal public access project at the West Linn side of Willamette Falls is now a major step closer to becoming a reality.

Nestled between Oregon City and West Linn, the sacred site lies largely shrouded by industry.

However, former Governor and President of the Willamette Falls Trust (WFT) Kate Brown told KOIN 6 News the non-profit is working to return the beauty of the nation's second-largest waterfall back to the people.

“This is an iconic treasure,” Brown said. “It is a hidden gem. For the first time in 150 years, we have the opportunity to put this site into public hands.”

As part of a last-minute “Christmas Tree bill," the Oregon Legislature approved $45 million dollars for the acquisition of more than 40 acres of the West Linn side of the falls.

While the amount is less than the $75 million requested, Brown said the funding is critical to securing the land and moving the project forward.

“We're incredibly grateful to the leadership of Senate President Rob Wagner,” Brown said. “The falls should be returned to the public, and that it should be owned by all Oregonians, by all folks living in the Pacific Northwest. So, we're incredibly grateful for the state investment in this property.”

Since 2015, the non-profit organization has worked to restore public access to the falls while centering the voices of local tribes, including the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

“We share a vision that seeks to restore, rehabilitate, and heal the landscape from over 150 years of industrialization,” said Davis “Yellowash” Washines, Willamette Falls Trust Board Immediate Past Chair and DNR Government Relations Liaison for the Yakama Nation. “Our shared vision provides for a space where all our histories and truths can be told.”

In June 2023, WFT and Portland General Electric (PGE) entered a Feasibility and Cooperation Agreement, allowing the nonprofit to assess a portion of PGE’s property, which found the area could be restored and revitalized for public use.

“PGE congratulates the Willamette Falls Trust on this important step toward achieving their vision for public access to the natural wonder of Willamette Falls and reflecting the area’s immense importance to indigenous people and Northwest Native Tribes,” said PGE spokesperson Andrea Platt. “We will continue to work with the Trust as outlined in the agreement signed in 2023, and in support of the state’s allocation of funds, in addition to our ongoing focus on safe and compliant operations at PGE’s Sullivan hydroelectric facility.”

However, not everyone is celebrating.

For centuries, tribes have gathered at the falls to collect first foods, including salmon and Pacific lamprey.

Over the past ten years, the mouth of the falls has become the backdrop of a re-ignited, inter-tribal conflict over access and fishing rights.

In 2019, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (CTGR) purchased the Blue Heron Paper Mill property on the Oregon City side of the falls to develop its own Tumwata Village Project.

Just two years later, CTGR publicly withdrew from the WFT along with four local tribes represented on its board, citing frustrations with a lack of progress.

Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy urged Governor Tina Kotek to halt funding for the project in a letter on June 9.

“Proponents are presenting this project as returning land to Oregon's tribal nations, however the WFT excludes CTGR, which is the Tribe of record in the area, and includes an out of state tribe," Kennedy wrote. “The contractors hired by WFT have misrepresented Tribal history at Willamette Falls and there has not been adequate time or resources committed to the healing required to address this misrepresentation.”

The Chairwoman added, “This project is misguided, disingenuous, and comes at a time when our tribe is in litigation with the state's largest utility over our ability to practice our culture.”

Despite CTGR’s claims that the tribe was not consulted with, Brown told KOIN 6 News WFT is making space for all tribes with ties to the falls to be included.

“We are holding a seat at the table for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde,” Brown said. “They have a seat on our board and our tribal leadership committee. The tribes are helping set the vision and the direction for the project, but that will also be impacted by the history that happened at this site.”

The project involves private and public partnerships, with plans to engage the community and local tribes in determining the site's future use once it is secured. Brown said that may include a park, a fish cleaning station, or a national heritage site, though nothing has been decided yet. 

“The acquisition is our first priority, with community engagement to follow,” Brown said. “This will be a blank slate and everyone will have an opportunity to put their imprint on it.”

From petroglyphs dating back roughly 10,000 years, to the first long-distance transmission of electricity in the U.S. in 1889, and the sudden closure of the historic paper mill in West Linn in 2024, Brown said the rich history of the site will continue to inform its future.

“The mill provided jobs for over 200 families,” Brown said. “Our heart goes out to those families that were impacted by the disclosure. However, the opportunity that provides is to return this treasure, this hidden gem, back to the people of Oregon.”