Portland Parks and Recreation is formulating a plan to clean up a homeless camp on the park of Moore Island, a small island in the center of the Columbia Slough.

On Wednesday afternoon, a group including representatives from the Multnomah County Sheriff and the Multnomah County Drainage District toured the island.

According to Capt. Steve Alexander of the Multnomah County Sheriff, the damage to the island "wasn't as significant as appeared" from drone footage.

"We don't have a plan in place right now," to clean up the island, says Mark Ross, spokesman for Portland Parks and Recreation, "because it's still in the works."

Ross says the camp on the island appeared to only be one man and one woman, and the couple has been advised that they are not allowed to camp there.

But even though the camp itself is small, the amount of trash on the island is not. Both Alexander and Ross suggest some kind of "trash barge" would be needed to remove the large piles of debris.

"We know that based on the topography and the fact that it's an island, river levels would have to be high enough" for Portland Parks and Recreation to get a boat out to the island, Ross adds.

A boat which he says they don't have.

The problem of the boat shouldn't affect clean-up of another nearby homeless encampment on the Columbia Slough.

Ross reports: "The peninsula that protrudes off of North Denver Avenue has about 12 to 15 camps" on it. However, says Ross, "It's not a Park's property so we don't have jurisdiction there."

So who is responsible for the peninsula? Portland Parks and Recreation isn't sure and the Sheriff says it's the city's responsibility. Chad Stover, policy director for the City of Portland, says that in a general situation, on private property "it's up to the property owner" to decide what to do about a homeless camp.

Arclin Surfaces

LLC

is listed as the owner of the peninsula. Property records show a complaint of "homeless people camping & throwing trash all over the place," from March 2010. Calls to

, an Atlanta-based firm that manufactures resins and overlays, have not been returned.

Even though the peninsula is on private property, activity on and around it impacts the slough and beyond.

Joel Schoening, spokesperson for the Multnomah County Drainage District, says the Drainage District "didn't see anything [on Wednesday] that worried us" in terms of structural damage. But he adds that in the past, "campers have actually dug into the levy." The levees exist primarily for flood control, so anything that compromises their integrity can be dangerous for everyone who depends on the slough to stay dry.

Update: It could take months for cleanup of Columbia Slough peninsula homeless camps

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker