UPDATE SUN, JUNE 8: The Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) has announced it’s pausing cleanup and restoration work at the Sandy River Delta, the longtime home of a community of unhoused people whose encampment was recently swept by a private hazmat company hired by the state. Following questions from the Mercury about a protester/bystander being Maced by an employee of the hazmat company (allegedly along with other unhoused residents), DSL wrote that “in the best interest of everyone involved” they will be halting and reevaluating the project for now, citing “the safety and security of our staff, contractors, and the public, including those currently in the area.” The Mercury will continue to follow this story.
Original story:
In the delta where the Sandy River meets the Columbia, Jerri Boon lives tucked away in the cottonwood trees. She’s part of a community of more than 30 unhoused people who’ve called the Sandy River delta home for years, but this week, the encampment is being forcibly removed as the Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) begins a restoration project in the area.
Many in the makeshift village, also known as Thousand Acres, have lived there for years—some claim it’s been more than 20—and they have no desire to leave. Lacking a coordinated agency effort, the DSL restoration and sweep of the encampment has already led to violence.
Large encampment removals in Multnomah County typically happen with coordination among local government agencies and service providers who try to connect those being swept with resources and shelter. That doesn’t appear to have happened at Thousand Acres. Instead, longtime residents were confronted by private companies hired by the state.
Northwest Hazmat arrived at Thousand Acres on Tuesday, June 3 with work crews, trucks, and an excavator. They were met with multiple signs from residents that read “we do not consent” and “stop the sweep,” before workers began removing property from the park.
A supporter of the residents who was filming the sweep was asked to leave by a state-contracted hazmat worker. When the supporter refused in protest, stating they were there to help the people in the encampment, the worker sprayed them with what appeared to be pepper spray. Witnesses say four people were sprayed by the hazmat workers. None of the crews on site have legal authority to use force to effectuate the removal of people.
The state says it’s now investigating the incident.
“The Oregon Department of State Lands is deeply troubled and concerned by a video showing a protester being Maced by a member of the contracted cleanup crew at the Sandy River Delta,” Alyssa Rash, DSL’s communications director, told the Mercury. “We respect and support the right of individuals to express their views through protest. What’s depicted in the video does not reflect our values or the expectations we set for contractors working on our behalf. We are actively investigating this incident and will seek an immediate remedy with the contractor.”
DSL staff weren’t present for the campsite demolition. The agency contracted Northwest Hazmat to clean the area. The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) told the Mercury they would not be present for the sweep. Josh Mulhollem, a waterways stewardship manager for DSL, confirmed that MCSO was unwilling to remove people from Thousand Acres simply for trespassing, but would still respond to calls about threats to safety.
With no law enforcement on site, DSL opted to hire a private security company. Mulhollem was not immediately available to answer questions about how DSL plans to legally remove people from the property after campsite removals.
A contracted team with The Salvation Army has been the primary point of contact with the community at Thousand Acres, but it’s unclear if any of the people swept were transported to shelter.
Bystanders say hazmat crews began tearing through residents’ camps with the excavator, cutting down trees, and destroying personal belongings while failing to itemize things for later retrieval.
Residents say they’ve worked to keep their sites clean and use restrooms at nearby parks, but the area has seen growing trash accumulation and environmental degradation, particularly around abandoned camps. DSL cited these issues—along with wildfire danger and public safety risks—as reasons for the restoration effort.
Uprooting a village
Thousand Acres underscores a unique situation where unhoused people have been able to live remotely, staying for a prolonged period, and forming relationships. Many living in Thousand Acres have established semi-permanent campsites and describe their community as a family. The area has multiple memorials for community members who have passed, as well as gravesites for pets.
Despite DSL’s press release stating the agency is “committed to passionate engagement with everyone affected,” the unhoused community does not feel they’ve been met with decency.
“I was told to move where I’m at by the HOPE team,” said Benny Bales, who says he’s lived in Thousand Acres for over 20 years. He was referring to the MCSO Homeless Outreach and Programs Engagement (HOPE) team, which according to multiple residents originally suggested they relocate to the area after leaving jail. “I’m not okay with them deciding 10 years later… that I’ve got less than 30 days to get 10 years worth of property together or they’re gonna steal my shit.”
MCSO says that since at least 2017, Thousand Acres has been known as a place where unhoused people could live relatively unbothered, but the HOPE team say they have never directed or instructed people to move there. MCSO also says its HOPE team has offered assistance to the people living along the Sandy River by trying to connect them with services. Recently, the HOPE team has focused on connecting the residents with The Salvation Army.
No one from The Salvation Army or any other outreach team was on site during Tuesday’s demolition.
“Our HOPE Team members have never attempted to force people to move from Thousand Acres, and the people who live there understand that,” said John Plock, a spokesperson for MCSO. “Perhaps that has been interpreted by some as a tacit permission to stay, which is understandable.”
A sign posted a week before the sweep indicated DSL would remove and dispose of all remaining items on the premises, with some exceptions. “Items deemed to have apparent utility and in sanitary condition will be collected and stored for 30 days,” the sign says, directing people to arrange an appointment with Northwest Hazmat to recover property. It is unclear how “apparent utility” and “sanitary condition” will be determined.
As ProPublica reported last year, people rarely ever get their possessions back following an encampment sweep. It’s unclear whether services have been provided to help move or store the property of those in the encampment prior to the sweep.
DSL’s press release on the restoration indicates they’re working closely with the Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS), the MCSO HOPE Team, Metro, and others to connect the Thousand Acres community with housing and support services, but most agencies pointed to The Salvation Army as the only group providing services.
Captain Peter Pemberton, the Portland Metro coordinator with The Salvation Army Cascade Division, indicated they have been working to provide services with the community.
“The Salvation Army has outreach teams in Multnomah County and Washington County that are actively working throughout the Portland metropolitan area (as well as outlying rural areas) to connect individuals with food, shelter, recovery programs, and other supportive services tailored to their needs,” Pemberton told the Mercury.
While Mulhollem claims the residents were served notices in early 2024 calling for them to leave, the community claimed in a press release that they did not receive these notices, and that it wasn’t until March 24, 2025 that DSL began posting signs indicating a June 2 deadline to leave the area.
Despite DSL’s claims of people being connected to housing and services, Thousand Acres community members claim they’ve only been offered support with filling out housing assessments.
“I’m on a six-month waiting list for housing, and I don’t know what I’m going to do,” a 20-year Thousand Acres resident known as Grizzly said in the group’s press release. “There’s gotta be some kind of a solution that’s not forcing us out and putting us in jail. That would help nothing.”
Hoping for a solution, the residents of Thousand Acres put together a cooperative stewardship proposal for the area that would allow them to live on site and help maintain the space. It outlines their concerns with the current housing assistance model, which they say often provides support for up to a year—only for people to lose that assistance and end up back on the street in worse condition.
“We’re very aware that the cleanup of this area is going to be a pretty dynamic situation,” Mulhollem said. “I wouldn’t say anything is off the table…. We’re not looking to put undue hardships onto people at all, so we are certainly willing to consider alternatives to achieve the ultimate goal.”
While this leaves options open, it’s not a long-term solution. When asked specifically what “complete restoration” of the land would look like, Mulhollem indicated the Thousand Acres community would no longer be living there.
“Ultimately yes, success and remediation would be eliminating all permanent residence-like structures that have been constructed in the delta, as well as restoring it for recreational use for the public of Multnomah County to use safely,” Mulhollem says. “Our understanding is that there is at least short-term housing and shelter available to the residents there and that’s per our partners that work in that field.”
Julia Comnes, communications coordinator for JOHS, said the county is coordinating with The Salvation Army to assist people living at Thousand Acres.
“A dedicated outreach team from The Salvation Army, contracted by the Homeless Services Department, has been focused exclusively on helping people residing within the area that will be closed, ensuring that everyone there is offered services, including navigation to available shelter beds or housing,” Comnes said.
Even if shelter is available, many of those who’ve been living in the remote area fear ending up back on the streets. Moving from chronic homelessness to stable housing often takes intense wraparound services and eventually requires steady, stable income.
The Portland area is facing a severe housing shortage and Multnomah County’s homelessness data dashboard indicates there are nearly 7,700 chronically homeless people in the county—over 4,000 of whom are currently unsheltered.
Mulhollem recognized the broader issue of a housing shortage beyond short-term placements, but emphasized that it’s DSL’s mandate “to protect this small piece of sensitive property” and ensure public safety.
As for the community in Thousand Acres, they face losing much of their belongings, sleeping on public streets, and reentering a system that hasn’t worked for them in the past. Many prefer this location specifically to stay out of sight and avoid the downtown setting where they are often displaced.
“They’d rather get rid of us and put us back out on the streets and make us a number again,” Bales said. “This community is a very rare one indeed. It’s a community that’s full of people that come from different walks of life, that in a normal setting would not get along. But one thing that we appreciate the most [about] a Thousand Acres is it’s always been a place where we could go and feel like no one is here to judge, because we are people with emotions, whether we’re homeless or we have a million dollar house. And it hurts to know that people look down upon you.”
