Springbrook Park is among Lake Oswego's oldest and largest natural areas and is a vital part of the Uplands neighborhood. This 52-acre urban nature area provides important environmental functions that benefit the entire area and it offers passive recreation opportunities to local residents. It is ideally situated to provide an outdoor laboratory for a full range of students, since it is located adjacent to Uplands Elementary and Lake Oswego Junior High schools and across the road from Lake Oswego High School. Logged off in the 1950s, the recovering forest is a canopy of predominantly big-leaf maple and red alder, with some western red cedar and Douglas fir. It is home to small wildlife and many birds, including the Spotted Towhee, which is part of a three-year Portland Audubon Society study.

The park existed for 30 years without benefit of an assessment of its natural resources or a long-term plan to preserve, protect, maintain and enhance its valuable place in our community. Lake Oswego, like most cities in Oregon, is growing and experiencing increased density, which is prompting residents to more greatly value and protect remaining natural areas.

In 2003, a group of interested neighbors recognized this need and worked with the city to develop a Natural Resources Management Plan that balances two important goals for Springbrook Park: conservation and usage. The plan re-establishes Friends of Springbrook Park and directs it to provide ongoing support services that meet its mission to:

The plan also identifies areas for protection and ensures that development and use of the park is appropriate for its natural functions.

The management plan will evolve over time and will be based on assessments and inventories of current conditions and a description of the desired future conditions. It will delineate areas to protect, rehabilitate and restore, and describe appropriate use of the park and activities in it.

Consider making the plan happen, consider becoming a Park Steward.