Grand Ronde Tribe finalizes Blue Heron Mill purchase

Photo courtesy of The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde##The Grand Ronde Tribe has purchased this 23-acre former paper mill site in Oregon City.

GRAND RONDE - The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde has finalized its purchase of the former Blue Heron Mill site in Oregon City from Washington developer George Heidgerken.

The 23-acre Willamette Falls property is located within the tribe's ancestral homelands and holds significant historical and cultural importance for the tribe.

Tribal Council voted July 10 to purchase two properties in Clackamas County, including the Blue Heron Paper site, the tribal newspaper, Smoke Signals, reported.

The council approved a supplemental budget of $17 million to acquire both properties, according to the paper. 

Once home to the Charcowah Village of the Clowewalla (Willamette band of Tumwaters) and the Kosh-huk-shix Village of Clackamas people, the area is part of the lands ceded to the U.S. Government under the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855.

Following the Willamette Valley Treaty, tribal members were forcibly removed from Willamette Falls and relocated to Grand Ronde.

“This is a historic day for the Grand Ronde Tribe and our people,” Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy said. “Since 1855, the government has worked to disconnect our people from our homelands. Today, we’re reclaiming a piece of those lands and resurrecting our role as caretakers to Willamette Falls – a responsibility left to us by our ancestors.”

The tribe has been working with various local, regional and state partners throughout the sale process to shape the future of the property.

The tribe has worked with Metro and Willamette Falls Trust on the Willamette Falls Riverwalk Project and established a clean-up plan with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The tribe is initially planning to spend up to $3 million on cleanup work, the paper reported.

The tribe placed the property under a purchase and sale agreement in May. The closing concludes a three-month purchase and due-diligence process. 

The tribe hopes to begin work on the site as quickly as possible and looks forward to continuing to work with its partners.