The 12 acre Bankston Nature Preserve is protected by a conservation easement created by Columbia Land Trust and the Bankston family in 2009. Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements used to preserve a parcel of land for a specific purpose such as wildlife habitat, historic preservation or agriculture. Land trusts conserve more than 61 million acres of private land across the United States, more than all of the national parks combined.
The Preserve sits between the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and Heritage Pine Natural Area forming a wildlife corridor. The Preserve has been extensively restored to by removing invasive plants, old fencing and culverts and planting native shrubs and trees. Beavers have taken up residence and built an impressive 8 foot dam. As a consequence, a natural wetland now extends through the lowland.
