Oregon Historical Society Research Library
Mike Houck papers
Houck, Michael C.
Coll 1040
3.3 cubic feet
1 record carton; 1 legal document case; 1 flat box (20x24); 1 oversize folder (24x36); 1 oversize folder (36x48); 7 videocassettes (VHS)
1903-2023
1963-2023
Papers of Mike Houck, an environmentalist from Portland, Oregon. The collection includes records and documents relating to the management and conservation of urban greenspaces in the Portland area, speeches and publications by Houck, materials relating to the adoption of the great blue heron as Portland's city bird, and materials relating to a symposium, "Olmsted Landscape Legacy 1903-2003."
English
Collection is open for research.
Gifts of Mike Houck in July and August 2023 (RL2023-041; RL2023-047).
Materials are arranged in the order that Houck listed in a document describing the collection's items. This document is in Box 1, Folder 1.
Michael C. "Mike" Houck is an environmentalist from Portland, Oregon, who has worked locally, nationally, and internationally in the conservation and management of urban parks and greenspaces. He was born in 1947 and grew up in Estacada, Oregon, and studied at Iowa State University and Portland State University. After teaching biology at the Oregon Episcopal School, he founded the Urban Naturalist Program at the Portland Audubon Society (now named the Bird Alliance of Oregon) in 1980. He also helped produce the Portland Audubon Society publication The Urban Naturalist. In 1986, he successfully encouraged Portland Mayor Bud Clark to make the great blue heron the city bird. He founded the Urban Greenspaces Institute in 1999, and he co-edited the books "Wild in the City: A Guide to Portland's Natural Areas," "Wild in the City: Exploring the Intertwine," and "The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology."
Sources: Article in the Oregonian, "Birdman in the City," February 1, 1987; "Our UGI Team," Urban Greenspaces Institute, https://urbangreenspaces.org/who-we-are/team; collection materials; vital records via Ancestry.com.
Due to preservation needs, videocassettes in the collection are not available for direct viewing by researchers; contact library staff to inquire about accessing digitized versions. Fees may apply.
Mike Houck papers, Coll 1040, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
The collection includes a document by Mike Houck that provides contextual information about the materials and assigns a number to each item in the collection. To support cross-referencing, the processing archivist included Houck's item numbers on the folder labels, and added the box and folder locations of the items to each entry in Houck's list.
The Oregon Historical Society Research Library also holds an audio recording, designated SR 396, of a speech by Houck, titled "Protecting our urban wild lands: a renewed vision."
The collection consists of the papers of Michael C. "Mike" Houck, an environmentalist from Portland, Oregon, who specializes in the conservation and management of urban parks and greenspaces. The collection includes planning documents, reports, and maps produced by Oregon Metro, the Columbia Region Association of Governments, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District, the Portland Audubon Society, 1000 Friends of Oregon, and Intertwine. It also includes records of the Open Spaces Program and the subsequent Metropolitan Greenspaces Program that Oregon Metro adopted; speeches and essays by Houck; and a book that Houck co-edited. Other materials consist of resolutions and proclamations relating to the establishment of the great blue heron as Portland's city bird; a reproduction of a 1903 report by John Charles Olmsted proposing a city-wide system of parks in Portland; and a program, collection of posters, and video footage from a 2003 symposium honoring Olmsted. The collection also includes a document written by Houck that explains the significance and historical context of materials in the collection.
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Houck, Michael C.
Metro (Or.)--Records and correspondence
Environmentalism--Oregon--Portland
Natural areas--Oregon--Portland
Nature conservation--Oregon--Portland
Land Use
Environmental Activism
reports
maps (documents)
Historical context about items in the collection, written by Houck
2023 July
1
1
Review draft of Columbia Region Association of Governments (CRAG) report, "A Proposed Urban-Wide Park and Open Space System"
1917
1
2
Columbia Region Association of Governments map, "The Urban Outdoors"
1972
Oversize 1
Draft of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District document, "Regional Urban Wildlife Habitat Maps: Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area Water Resources Study"
1978 October
3
1
Draft of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District document, "Urban Wildlife Habitat Report"
1979
1
3
Resolution and proclamation naming great blue heron the city bird of Portland; brochure, "The Great Blue Heron: Portland's City Bird"
1986
undated
1
4
Mayoral proclamations for Great Blue Heron Week
2008-2022
3
2
Report of the Park Board of Portland, Oregon, including Olmsted Brothers report (reproduction)
1903
1
5
Thesis by Kenneth James Guzowski, "Portland's Olmsted Vision (1897-1915): A Study of the Public Landscapes Designed by Emanuel T. Mische in Portland, Oregon"
1990
1
6
Program for symposium, "Olmsted Landscape Legacy 1903-2003"
2003 April
1
7
Bound volume of posters for symposium, "Olmsted Landscape Legacy 1903-2003"
2003
3
3
Olmsted Landscape Legacy symposium video footage, tape 1: Welcome remarks
MI 11973
1 videocassettes (VHS)
2003 April
1
Olmsted Landscape Legacy symposium video footage, tape 2: Summary of 1903 Olmsted report
MI 11973
1 videocassettes (VHS)
2003 April
2
Olmsted Landscape Legacy symposium video footage, tape 3: Keynote, "Olmsted Legacy in Los Angeles"
MI 11973
1 videocassettes (VHS)
2003 April
3
Olmsted Landscape Legacy symposium video footage, tape 4: Plenary session 2, "Portland and Seattle Park"
MI 11973
1 videocassettes (VHS)
2003 April
4
Olmsted Landscape Legacy symposium video footage, tape 5: Plenary session 3, "Implementing Olmsted's Vision Today"
MI 11973
1 videocassettes (VHS)
2003 April
5
Olmsted Landscape Legacy symposium video footage, tape 6: "A Role of Parks and Greenspaces in Creating Livable Regions, a National Perspective"
MI 11973
1 videocassettes (VHS)
2003 April
6
Map of proposed Wapato Marsh Wildlife Refuge (later Oaks Bottom)
1963 February
3
4
Brochure about Oaks Bottom
1979
1
8
Issues of The Urban Naturalist and related notes
1982-1997
undated
1
9-11
Greenprint Workshop publication
1989 June
1
12
Metropolitan Area Parks directory
1989 June
1
13
Goals for Metropolitan Greenspaces: A Report on the Goal-Setting Workshops
1991 August
1
14
Metropolitan Greenspaces Master Plan, Public Review Draft
1992 April
1
15
Metropolitan Greenspaces Master Plan Summary
1992
1
16
Compiled Metropolitan Greenspaces material
1986-circa 2000
1
17
Video footage relating to Metropolitan Greenspaces
MI 11974
1 videocassettes (VHS)
undated
7
Natural areas map, "Region 2040 Options for Tomorrow"
circa 1990
Oversize 2
Northwest Magazine issue with feature about Houck, "Birdman in the City"
1987 February 1
3
5
Northwest Magazine issue, "The Greening of Portland"
1990 August 26
3
6
Analysis by 1000 Friends of Oregon and Portland Audubon Society, "To Save or Pave: Planning for the Protection of Urban Natural Areas"
1994 June
1
18
Meyer Memorial Trust 10th anniversary report with item about Metropolitan Greenspaces project
1992
1
19
Open Spaces Project records
1984-1989
1
20-21
Parks 2020 Vision report and appendix
2001 July
1
22
Proceedings for the 4th, 5th, and 14th Annual Urban Ecology and Conservation Symposiums
2006-2016
1
23
Regional Conservation Strategy for the Greater Portland-Vancouver Region, by Intertwine
2012
1
24
Biodiversity Guide for the Greater Portland-Vancouver Region, by Intertwine
2012
1
25
Regional Conservation Strategy for the Greater Portland-Vancouver Region, Executive Summary, by Intertwine
2012
1
26
Speech by Houck, "Protecting Our Urban Wild Lands: Renewing a Vision"
1989 October 13
2
1
Address by Houck to Portland City Club, "Forest Park at 50 — Is Its Future Safe and What Are Future Challenges for a Regional System of Parks and Greenspaces?"
1997
2
2
Essay by Houck, "Urban Greenfrastructure: Integrating the Natural and Built Environments in Metropolitan Portland-Vancouver"
circa 2002
2
3
Book edited by Houck, Ian Douglas, David Goode, and Rusong Wang, "The Routledge Handbook of Urban Ecology"
2011
2
4
Essay by Houck, "In Livable Cities Is Preservation of the Wild: The Politics of Providing for Nature in Cities"
circa 2016
2
5
The George Wright Forum, Volume 33, No. 3, including essay by Houck
2016
2
6
Brochure, "Wild on the Willamette: Exploring the Lower Willamette"
2003
2
7
Regional Urban Growth Goals and Objectives
1995
2
8
Beggars-Tick Wildlife Refuge Management Plan
1991
2
9
Paper by Karen Murray, "Portland's 40-Mile Loop: A Means for Livability," with highlighting by Houck
1999
2
10
Proposal document, "Envisioning Ross Island"
circa 2008
3
7