Willamette Falls could reopen to the public for the first time in nearly 200 years, with four projects on both sides of the falls now backed by roughly $85 million in government funding and millions more in private donations.

The projects span Oregon City and West Linn: the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's tumwata village, an Oregon City riverwalk, the Willamette Falls Trust's land acquisition and the reopening of the historic Willamette Falls Locks. OregonLive published a comprehensive overview of all four efforts on Sunday, Sept. 6.

The Blue Heron paper mill closed in 2011. The locks shut down that same year. The West Linn paper mill closed for good in 2024. Portland General Electric's hydroelectric plant is the last active industrial operation at the site.

tumwata village

The Grand Ronde tribe held a groundbreaking ceremony on May 28 for tumwata village on the 23-acre former Blue Heron mill site, which the tribe purchased in 2019 for $15.25 million. Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy spoke at the ceremony, as KATU reported.

"Our goal is healing," Kennedy said at the May 28 groundbreaking, as Tribal Business News reported. "It heals our souls to be able to walk on the lands and to be able to fish from the lands, to build on the lands."

Crews are removing old underground storage tanks filled with industrial chemicals, some of which had leaked into surrounding soil. Two EPA grants totaling $4.8 million have helped fund that cleanup, according to OregonLive.

Ryan Webb, the tribe's engineering and community development manager, told Tribal Business News the current infrastructure phase should wrap up by summer 2027. The first planned buildings are a three-story structure with retail, office and event space and a five-story residential building. Webb told OregonLive that new building construction is not expected to begin until 2028 at the earliest.

Oregon City riverwalk

Oregon City gained access to $12.5 million in state funds previously allocated but never distributed, reviving the riverwalk project in 2025. The first phase calls for a 14-foot-wide multiuse path starting at Oregon 99-E and leading to an elevated viewpoint overlooking the falls, according to OregonLive.

Scott Archer, Oregon City's parks and recreation director, told OregonLive the city is also exploring a second entrance to tumwata village, possibly descending from Canemah Bluff.

Willamette Falls Trust

On the West Linn side, the Willamette Falls Trust has assembled nearly $100 million in public and private funding. The Oregon Legislature approved $45 million in 2025. Former Gov. Kate Brown, who leads the trust as president, secured a $25 million commitment from former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie, plus roughly $5 million in additional private donations, OregonLive reported in November 2025.

The trust plans to use a large portion of those funds to acquire land beneath and around the closed Willamette Falls Paper Company mill, owned by PGE and private firm Belgravia Investments. At the Yakama Nation Lamprey Celebration in June, Brown said the next step is getting PGE to agree on turning over its acreage "over the next six months to a year," the West Linn Tidings reported.

Four tribes with ancestral fishing heritage and federal treaty rights at the falls guide the trust's work: the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.

Willamette Falls Locks

The Willamette Falls Locks Authority, a public corporation the Oregon Legislature created in 2021, is working to reopen the locks on the West Linn side. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to transfer ownership to the authority by April, according to Reed Wagner, as reported by OregonLive. Wagner said the goal is partial operation, possibly one day a week, by 2029 and full operation by 2031.

State, local and federal governments have invested $19 million so far, but the authority says it needs more. The Legislature rejected an $11.4 million lottery-bond request in 2025.

Metro Councilor Christine Lewis, who chairs the authority, estimated five to 10 commercial users would eventually pass through the locks. The riverwalk path will eventually extend upriver as the tribe redevelops the Blue Heron site.