Tribal Council OKs pursuing donation of 667.5-acre Noble Oaks Preserve

By Dean Rhodes

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved a resolution during its Wednesday, May 15, meeting that may lead to the Grand Ronde Tribe assuming management of the 667.5-acre Noble Oaks Preserve outside of Willamina.

Noble Oaks is a conservation property currently managed by The Nature Conservancy, which purchased the preserve in October 2014 for $1.5 million, according to Polk County Assessor records.

Richard Noble, a former lawyer, and his wife, Nancy, purchased the property because they enjoyed raising animals, which progressed into helping endangered animals such as antelope, rhinoceros, giraffes and red pandas. The couple subsequently joined the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

After outgrowing their 50-acre property in the Scholls area southwest of Portland, they purchased the former cattle spread and had as many as 250 rare and endangered animals roaming the land. To help protect the exotic animals, its location was a guarded secret.

Wanting to ensure that their land remained protected after they walked on, the Nobles contacted The Nature Conservancy.

The property is one of the last spots where the white oak savanna that once dominated the Willamette Valley continues to thrive. It also is near the historic boundaries of the original Grand Ronde Reservation.

The Nature Conservancy received funding from the Bonneville Power Administration’s Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program to purchase the property, which is now subject to a conservation easement that protects it as wildlife habitat in perpetuity.

The approved Tribal Council resolution directs Tribal Lands Manager Jan Looking Wolf Reibach to complete the donation of the property to the Tribe. Once the Noble Oaks Reserve property is acquired, it will join Chahalpam, Chankawan and Rattlesnake Butte as the Tribe’s conservation properties acquired through the Bonneville Power Administration program being managed for wildlife and conservation purposes.

Smoke Signals is not identifying the exact location of the Noble Oaks Preserve property at the request of the Tribal Lands Department to help ensure its safety.

"The Tribe prides itself in acquiring property for any number of reasons," Reibach said. "Over the past few months we have been working to secure a conservation property in Polk County. The majority of the property will be donated to the Tribe while a small parcel is available for purchase. We are working closely with the current landowner to finalize details and, pending approvals and closing, hope to take ownership later this summer."

In addition, Tribal Council also approved a purchase and sale agreement to pursue buying a 4,502-square-foot home situated on an additional 2.75 acres on the Noble Oaks property, which is separate from The Nature Conservancy donation.

Reibach said that anyone with questions can contact him at 503-879-2394.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Declared Friday, June 14, as the second per capita payment date in 2019. Finance Officer Chris Leno said the amount of the payment will not be known until after June 1;
• Approved applying for a $20,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Parks & Recreation that would help with preservation of the 2,000-square-foot Grand Ronde Depot building. The Tribe has already received a $75,000 grant from Spirit Mountain Community Fund to pay for the estimated $180,000 needed to fix the building’s foundation, cedar roof, gutters, windows and doors. The depot building is the only structure in Grand Ronde on the National Register of Historic Places, which occurred in 2012;
• Approved a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that will continue to fund the Grand Ronde Tribe’s involvement in the Portland Harbor Superfund site. The agreement will provide the Tribe a maximum $384,256 that will fund the Tribe’s work as a technical consultant and employee participation from July 1 through December 2020;
• Approved an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Hillsboro for the Interpretive Program to complete artwork at Rood Creek Bridge Park;
• And approved the enrollment of three infants into the Tribe because they meet the criteria outlined in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

Also included in the May 15 Tribal Council packet was an approved authorization to proceed that appointed Tribal Council member Michael Langley to the Elliott State Research Forest Advisory Committee.

The entire meeting can be viewed on the Tribal website, www.grandronde.org, by clicking on the News tab and then Video.