Nutria Letterbox
Chandler Pond at Abernathy Green
Oregon City, Clackamas County, Oregon

Placed by Wild Woman
on March 8, 2003



Directions: from 205, take #10 exit Park Place/Mollala (coming from the
north, follow the road as it curves around over the freeway; merge into the
right hand lane; coming from the south, turn right onto 213, and stay in that
lane). Turn right at the light onto Washington. Chandler Pond is just past
the Metro Waste Treatment plant on your right, but its parking area is
usually blocked, so instead turn left at the first light and park in the Home
Depot lot. Take the crosswalk across Washington. Look for the wooden
Chandler Pond sign beyond the big wooden South Metro sign.

“Chandler Pond at Abernathy Green” is kind of a pretentious name for such an
itsy little park. A birder first told me about this place—depending on the
time of year, this can be a nice birding spot. But the creature I’ve seen
here more often than any other is a nutria…or two…or three. (What’s a
nutria? A furry mammal that looks kinda like a big muskrat…but you’re going
to have to know a lot more about nutrias to find this letterbox!)

Start by deciding which direction to go on the trail:

If nutrias are native to Oregon, go right on the trail; if they are not
native, go left.

Go to the first bench you come to, and decide where to go next: If nutrias
can swim, keep going; continue past the next bench and on to the one beyond
it. If nutrias can’t swim, go to the very next bench.

Nutrias are larger than muskrats, which is one way to tell them apart.
Another way is by their tails. If a nutria’s long tail is flattened
vertically, go to the bridge. If a nutria’s long tail is round like a rat’s
tail, go to the next bench.

Some biologists prefer to use the name “coypu” rather than “nutria.” If
this is to avoid confusion because “nutria” is Spanish for otter, go to the
next bench. If it is to avoid confusion because some people incorrectly
pronounce the word “nut-tree-ya” instead of the correct “noo-tree-ya,” go
past the next bench, and on to the one beyond it.

If nutrias are taking over muskrat territory in the Willamette Valley, stay
at this bench. If they co-exist peacefully with muskrats, go to the next
bench.