Salem council sends Bush's Pasture Park no-mow policy to parks advisory board after public debate

Councilors on Monday voted to ask the Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to review the city's seasonal no-mow restoration program at Bush's Pasture Park and recommend an annual approach that incorporates guidance from the park's Cultural Landscape Management Plan (CLMP).

The substitute motion, introduced by Councilor Varney, passed 5'to—2 after more than an hour of public testimony and staff explanation about the ecological and safety rationale behind the 'no-mow' approach.

Rob Romack, the city's park planning manager, told council the no-mow work stems from the CLMP approved in February 2021 and is aimed at stabilizing the park's mature oak grove and restoring an oak savanna below the canopy. "We're stabilizing the oak trees and we're hoping to see that we're no longer moving in the direction of decline," Romack said, noting the program also aims to reintroduce native plants and camas bulbs and to protect seedlings. He warned council about the risk of sudden limb drop from mature oaks and said staff is evaluating mitigation including targeted fencing and removal where necessary.

Public commenters were split. David Glenny and others asked council to restore a mowed picnic area in the park's southwest corner because tables and shaded picnic space had become less usable under the no-mow regime. Julia Battle, chair of the Mission Street Park Conservancy, and volunteers including Michael Webber urged council to let parks professionals follow the CLMP and continue restoration work to preserve the historic oak groves. Cynthia Jones raised fire-safety concerns about longer grass.

Council discussion focused on balancing public access and ecological restoration. Several councilors, including Nordyke and Gwynn, said they supported the substitute motion because it would give the advisory board time to review user access, signage and options such as bolting picnic tables into place or developing a formal picnic shelter that could be sited away from hazard-prone trees. Councilor Teigen argued the council should keep policy decisions rather than defer them; Councilor Varney said the advisory board has expertise and public engagement history with the CLMP and was an appropriate venue.

The motion sent the no-mow review to the Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board with instructions to provide a recommendation to council for an annual program that incorporates CLMP guidance and to consider related system-wide opportunities to apply similar management practices elsewhere in the park system.

Vote tally on substitute motion (Salem City Council, Aug. 25, 2025): Aye ' Nordyke, Varney, Matthews, Gwynn, Brown (5). Nay ' Teigen, Nishioka, Vang (3). Mayor Julie Hoy absent.

Council and staff flagged next steps: clearer wayfinding and signage to direct picnickers to designated areas, short-term measures to anchor picnic tables, and a possible future capital project to create an accessible, reservable picnic shelter or formal picnic plaza outside the most hazardous tree targets.

The council's action replaces a separate motion that would have directed park maintenance to implement a modified mowing approach immediately; instead, staff and the advisory board will develop recommended implementation and a system-level evaluation for council review.

The exchange underscores how Salem is trying to reconcile public recreation needs with long-term stewardship of aging urban oaks and native plant restoration goals. The parks department noted it will continue invasive species work, mark and protect oak seedlings, and pursue volunteer and outreach work to support the restoration.

For now, the CLMP-guided no-mow areas remain in place while the advisory board prepares formal recommendations for the council to consider before the next mowing season.