Peter Courtney Bridge Opening

Yesterday was the "soft" opening of the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge in Salem. We have been waiting for this event for it seems a long time, and were very excited to be able to use this new bridge and trail that connects the Salem Riverfront Park with the Minto-Brown Island Park.  It is now possible to walk from West Salem, cross the Willamette River on the historic train bridge, continue through the Riverfront Park, cross the Peter Courtney Bridge and walk the miles and miles of trails in Minto-Brown. We turned this event into an opportunity for a bird walk. The south end of the bridge actually touches down on the Minto-Brown Island Park--North Basin Conservation Area, which held the former settling ponds for the Boise-Cascade Paper Mill. They now make up a wonderful wetlands for a great variety of birds.  Here is a link to our Observation List with bird photos for our walk.