Blue Heron Second Round Of Demolition Underway, Grand Ronde Tribes Say

OREGON CITY, OR — The second stage of demolition at the site of the former Blue Heron paper mill in Oregon City. Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, who own the site, said that the next set of buildings could start coming down in the next two weeks.

The CTGR announced that in this next phase, they will be demolishing the auto and carpentry shops, the water filtration plant, and the millwright shop.

The permits to start work on the auto and carpentry shops are expected to be in place by the end of next week, they sad.

"We are pleased to start the second phase of demolition and make further progress towards implementing our vision, restoring the land and creating opportunities for all Oregonians to access this special site," Grand Ronde Tribe Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy said.

The tribes said that the first permits for the demolition of the carpentry and auto shops are expected first and each teardown should take about one week. Those will be followed by the millwright shop, which will also take about a week, and the filtration plant, which will take about five weeks.

"The demolition of these buildings provides visual progress on the site al the while much hard work, planning, and visioning has been done," Oregon City Mayor Rachel Lyles Smith said.

"The Oregon City community is looking forward to the next phases and future developments on the site and excited by the speed and pace of progress."

The tribes say that as the three smaller buildings are demolished, "public spaces begin to take shape as one of the site's main gathering places or the public and Tribal Members alike will begin to emerge.

Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon is made of of 30 different tribes and bands located in western Oregon and stretches from northern California to southwest Washington.

They purchased the site in 2019 after the mill closed. The site has been considered part of the homeland for the tribes going back generations. Buying the land was an important step to "return the tribe to the role of caregiver over an important piece of its homeland," the tribe said.