Ross Island is the main island of a four-island cluster in the Willamette River

Willamette River

The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...

 in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, in the United States. The islands, covering a total of about 400 acres (161.9 ha), are owned mainly by Ross Island Sand and Gravel (RISG), which mined them extensively between 1926 and 2001. The other three islands are Hardtack, East, and Toe.

The islands split the Willamette River into Holgate Slough on the east.
They are about 1 miles (1.6 km) south of downtown Portland

Downtown Portland

Downtown Portland, the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States, is located on the west bank of the Willamette River. It is in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and is where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found....

 at river mile

River mile

In the United States, a River mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometers is the River kilometer...

 15, the islands are slightly upriver (south) of the Ross Island Bridge

Ross Island Bridge

The Ross Island Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. It carries U.S. Route 26 across the river between southwest and southeast Portland...

 between the Springwater Corridor

Springwater Corridor

The Springwater Corridor Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian rail trail in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It follows a former railway line of the same name in its route from Boring, through Gresham, to Portland, where it ends near the Eastbank Esplanade. A large segment...

 Trail on the eastern shore and the South Waterfront

South Waterfront

The South Waterfront is a high-rise district under construction on former brownfield industrial land in the South Portland neighborhood south of downtown Portland, Oregon, U.S. It is one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in the United States...

 on the western shore and slightly downriver from the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge is a city park of about in southeast Portland, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in a floodplain along the east bank of the Willamette River near Sellwood, the park is known for attracting a wide variety of birds...

 on the eastern shore and Willamette Park

Willamette Park

Willamette Park is a city park of about in southwest Portland, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located at Southwest Macadam Avenue and Nebraska Street, the park includes a boat dock and ramp, paved and unpaved paths, picnic areas, restrooms, a dog off-leash area, playground, soccer field, and tennis...

 on the western shore. Ross is the longest of the islands, the closest to the western shore, and the closest to the Ross Island Bridge. Hardtack is to its east. East Island lies southeast of Hardtack, and Toe Island lies southwest of Ross. No bridge reaches the islands, which are approached only by boat.

Ross Island is connected to Hardtack Island by an artificial levee built in 1926 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

 in order to form a lagoon between the two islands. The lagoon made dredging easier for RISG and diverted water west of the islands, where it deepened a shipping channel.

In 2007, the owner of RISG, Robert B. Pamplin, Jr.

Robert B. Pamplin, Jr.

Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. is a businessman and philanthropist from the U.S. state of Oregon. He is the owner of a number of businesses in and around Portland, Oregon and across the United States. In 2001, he was reported to be the third-wealthiest person in Oregon.His holdings include textile...

, donated 45 acres (18.2 ha) of the island to the city of Portland, which plans to manage the property as a natural area.
The islands, which retain remnants of forested riparian zone

Riparian zone

A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...

s, are used by at least 50 species of birds including ospreys, eagles, herons. The gift was accepted long after transfer negotiations stalled in 2002 over questions of liability for the islands' restoration and cleanup.
Because it contains toxic fill dirt

Fill dirt

Fill dirt is earthy material which is used to fill in a depression or hole in the ground or create mounds or otherwise artificially change the grade or elevation of real property....

, the Ross-Hardtack lagoon is listed for cleanup by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is the chief regulatory agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for protecting and enhancing the state's natural resources and managing sanitary and toxic waste disposal. The agency employs approximately 700 scientists,...

.
City staff and outside experts who inspected the 45 acres (18.2 ha) in 2007 approved of their condition.

In addition to the gifted acres and the 350 acres (1.4 km²) still owned by RISG, the Port of Portland

Port of Portland (Oregon)

The Port of Portland is the port district responsible for overseeing Portland International Airport, general aviation, and marine activities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the United States....

owns 10 acres (4 ha). Conservationists have expressed hope that the Port will donate its land to the city and that Pamplin and city officials will agree on a long-term plan for the islands.

External links

• Questions and Answers About the Ross Island Assessment Project from the State of Oregon website