Bird Blind, 2008
Sandy River Delta, Oregon

Photography: Bob Meador

The Bird Blind bears witness to the removal of the Sandy River Dam allowing the Sandy River to return to its natural course.

The entire 1,500 acre park was completely covered in invasive blackberries, making the area impassable. The entire area was cleared and carefully restored with the forest being documented as it returns to its natural state, a 1.2-mile trail, leads from the parking lot to Bird Blind, an elliptical structure built of locally harvested, durable black locust (a hardwood tree that is considered invasive in the Northwest). The vertical wooden slats of the bird blind are inscribed with the name and current status of each of the 134 species Lewis and Clark noted on their westward journey. With a footnote to mark the change in ecological status of each species, over 35% of the species are currently extinct or threatened.