Metro used Terramet, an open source platform created by Sitka Technology Group, to track over $360 million in public investments for natural area acquisitions and stewardship. Terramet consolidated Metro's data from various disconnected databases and files into a centralized system, established consistent workflows, and enabled Metro to easily monitor and report on its portfolio of over 500 properties totaling 13,200 acres. By sharing Terramet as open source software, Metro also helped other organizations more efficiently manage their natural area programs.

1. Metro Seamlessly Tracks Over
$360 Million in Public Investments
with Terramet
TerraTrak is the open source version of the
Terramet platform
Using bond measures approved in 1995 and 2006, Metro
purchases property in the greater Portland metropolitan
area to protect water quality, enhance wildlife habitat, and
improve livability for area residents. In 2013, an option levy
passed that funded ongoing stewardship of Metro-owned
regional parks, trails, and natural areas. With strong voter
support for investment and conservation of these natural
areas, the organization realized it needed a cohesive system
to manage all operations and establish a mechanism to
efficiently share program results with the general public.
T E R R A T R A K C A S E S T U D Y : P O R T L A N D M E T R O
Customer Success
As far back as the 1950s, Portland
area leaders saw an unfilled need to
provide region-wide planning and
coordination to manage growth,
infrastructure, and development
issues that cross jurisdictional
boundaries. They also saw a
need to protect farms and forests
from urbanization and to provide
services that are regional in nature.
More than 30 years ago, Metro was
created to fill that void, becoming
the nation’s first directly-elected
regional government. Today,
Metro serves more than 1.5 million
people in Clackamas, Multnomah,
and Washington counties as
they work with communities,
businesses, and residents to
chart a wise course for the future
while protecting the things
everyone loves about the region.

2. THE CHALLENGE
In order to increase visibility, report on progress, and share program
results, Metro needed to solve the following three issues:
1. Decentralized Data
Data from over 330 prior property purchases were spread
across multiple Access databases, dozens of Excel
spreadsheets, and several overflowing filing cabinets.
2. Inconsistent Business Process and Workflow
Metro needed a secure and centralized due diligence
process to track new purchases through each pre-sale
stage and administer post-sale stewardship.
3. Inability to Easily Summarize and Share Results
Since the data was not all collected in a central repository,
summarizing and sharing results to a broader audience
was very difficult and time consuming.
THE SOLUTION
Assess Current Processes and Outline Steps for Improvement
Sitka conducted a complete DataDiagnostic™ assessment of Metro’s
data management needs for its Natural Area Program. The assessment
included dozens of interviews with program staff—including attorneys,
paralegals, scientists, property managers, planners, finance managers, and
GIS specialists. These one-on-one and group interviews yielded a list of
over 100 data-related tasks that the new system could address. Metro and
Sitka worked together to prioritize these findings based on criticality and
frequency. This work culminated in Sitka presenting a new data model and
workflow process that established the groundwork for the Terramet system.
Real-time Visibility of Site-specific Data
Sitka’s iterative development approach included multiple releases of
the new system to implement the defined Lean Improvement Plan.
This allowed Metro staff to immediately begin using the new system
and quickly experience the benefits of having all of their Natural Area
Program data in one place. In addition to centralized control, Metro’s
senior management gained increased visibility into program status
via the following easily accessible data grids and interactive maps:
T E R R A T R A K C A S E S T U D Y : P O R T L A N D M E T R O
DataDiagnostic™ is
a detailed assessment
of your current data
management practices
and systems to provide
you with a clearly-defined
Lean Improvement Plan.
With TerraMet, program
managers, engineers, and
ecologists can proactively
align actions and see how
these actions contribute to
defined performance goals,
budgets, and measures.
“With the workflow improvements that Sitka has helped us identify,
our people can stay focused on their core mission of protecting and
enhancing lands for the public to enjoy.” Katy Weil | Portland Metro

3. Trail map displaying current gaps and progress
Acquisition detail and workflow
Target areas showing progress towards goals
T E R R A T R A K C A S E S T U D Y : P O R T L A N D M E T R O
By the end of 2015,
the platform had over
90 active users,
500+ closed acquisitions,
and 249 prospective
or pending property
purchases representing
a $360 million public
investment spanning
13,200 acres of land
and 24 miles of trails.
With Terramet, Metro has a single, secure source for monitoring every
component of the acquisition and stewardship process. Real-time visibility
into site-specific data enables program managers to proactively align actions
with defined performance goals. With this new level of control, Metro can
address potential acquisition and management issues before they arise.

4. THE RESULTS
In April of 2012, Metro officially retired all legacy Access databases and other
tracking methods and started using the Terramet platform. Within the first
month, dozens of prospective acquisitions were added. By the end of 2015, the
system had over 90 active users, 500+ closed acquisitions, and 249 prospective
or pending property purchases representing a $360 million public investment
spanning 13,200 acres of land and 24 miles of trails. Once each purchase is
finalized, Metro uses Terramet to track site-specific performance metrics that
help communicate the benefits municipal green spaces provide taxpayers.
“We already knew Sitka had deep experience assisting organizations like
ours that manage natural resources,” said Katy Weil, Senior Management
Analyst for Metro. “But, I’ve been extremely impressed with how well the
Sitka experts understood our domain and how much we learned from
them about our business processes as a result of this assessment.”
To significantly reduce stewardship costs for other organizations, Metro
decided to share Terramet via an open source license. Metro only asks
others to contribute back any improvements and new functionality so
that collectively we can all benefit from future enhancements. Since the
launch of Terramet, other organizations, like Clean Water Services based in
Hillsboro, Oregon, have benefited from the system being open source.
“Sitka has helped us be more efficient and effective in fulfilling our mission
of protecting and restoring natural areas and developing parks and trails,”
said Kathleen Brennan-Hunter, Metro Parks and Nature Director.
T E R R A T R A K C A S E S T U D Y : P O R T L A N D M E T R O
Sitka Technology Group • 309 SW Sixth Avenue, Suite 575, Portland, OR 97204 • 1.800.805.6740 • sales@sitkatech.com • www.sitkatech.com • @sitkatech
GET STARTED
For organizations interested in using TerraTrak to be more effective in their
conservation planning and management, please contact us at 1.800.805.6740 or
sales@sitkatech.com. For more information, visit: www.sitkatech.com/TerraTrak
Sitka Technology Group is the leading provider of enterprise-level software solutions to streamline and power the acquisition, management, and visualization of field data for environmental conservation efforts.
Copyright © 2016 Sitka Technology Group. Sitka and the Sitka logo are registered trademarks of Sitka Technology Group. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
To significantly
reduce stewardship
costs for other
organizations, Metro
shares Terramet via an
open source license.