Still from a video taken at the Sandy River Delta bird blind. August, 2008. Whitman College Northwest Archives, Confluence Project Records, Confluence-2018-021-086-002. 

Still from a video taken at the Sandy River Delta bird blind. August, 2008. Whitman College Northwest Archives, Confluence Project Records, Confluence-2018-021-086-002. 


The Sandy River installation, dedicated in August 2008, consists of an elliptical bird blind where the Sandy River meets the Columbia River near Troutdale, Oregon. The bird blind allows visitors to be immersed in the history of native species. A mile-long, maintained nature trail takes you to a 150-yard ramp that leads to the bird blind. The Confluence Project partly chose to build the installation at this site because it was already part of a National Forest Service riparian reforestation program that aims to replant native vegetation and repair naturally occurring wetlands. Previously, the region was actively managed and formed by generations of Native people from the Shahala, Nechacolee, and Skillute villages. The structure is made with slats of local black locust wood, each slat giving information about the birds, amphibians, and mammals that were recorded by the Corps of Discovery. The information includes the date the animal was first recorded by Lewis and Clark, their name for the animal, the common name for the species as we know it today, the scientific name, and its current status (species of concern, endangered, extinct, recovered, or flourishing). The quiet site provides a space for viewers to be surrounded by nature while learning about the animals that inhabited the region 200 years ago and recognize the impact that humans have had on the environment.

“One Project in Seven Sites Across the Columbia River Basin” Powerpoint presentation slide regarding estimated completion dates and location of the Sandy River Delta site. October, 2006. Whitman College Northwest Archives, Confluence Project Records, Confluence-2018-021-013. 

“One Project in Seven Sites Across the Columbia River Basin” Powerpoint presentation slide regarding estimated completion dates and location of the Sandy River Delta site. October, 2006. Whitman College Northwest Archives, Confluence Project Records, Confluence-2018-021-013. 


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Confluence Project, Two slides from a presentation to the Oregon Recreational Trails Program requesting a grant from USDA Forest Service. Color rendering of Maya Lin’s concept of the bird blind and proposed site location for the bird blind, trails and parking area in the Sandy River Delta region. March, 2006. Whitman College Northwest Archives, Confluence Project Records, Confluence-2018-021-007. 

Confluence Project, Two slides from a presentation to the Oregon Recreational Trails Program requesting a grant from USDA Forest Service. Color rendering of Maya Lin’s concept of the bird blind and proposed site location for the bird blind, trails and parking area in the Sandy River Delta region. March, 2006. Whitman College Northwest Archives, Confluence Project Records, Confluence-2018-021-007.