In March of 1959 Superintendent Matsler alerted the City Council to the possibility of an addition to Spencer Butte Park. Charles Emery and Mildred Ruby Pruett were interested in selling forty acres on the northwest side to add to the park. Department funds were insufficient however to make the purchase. The Council was opposed to putting forward any large amount of City funds for the purchase. It was not until the period of 1972-74, that the land was finally secured, and then only twenty acres were obtained for $75,000.
In 1960, through volunteer efforts, the old police pistol range was razed, including its buildings and fences. Also volunteers graded and graveled the parking lot and driveway, sprayed poison oak, and improved trails, with donated materials and a grader provided by Boy Scouts and construction contractors. In 1962, $12,000 was allocated to improve the trail to the top of Spencer Butte. Peace Corps trainees in Eugene did some of the trail upgrading on the west side.
An article in the Register Guard in June of 1964, called attention to the abuse of the Butte caused by motorcycles and four wheel drives. In 1970 a fire that shot up from private land on the south side seared many young firs and killed several of the trees along with other woody plants. The fire burned for four days and cost a considerable amount of money.
In 1976, the Butte was sustaining more than 20,000 annual visits. As many as 550 people would hike to the top each weekend under ideal conditions. Under the poorest weather conditions, forty or fifty people could be found at the summit. A study done in 1973 by nine University of Oregon landscape architecture design students focused on the precarious nature of Spencer Butte's ecology. They noted that most people were unaware that this landmark is extremely fragile. Heavy use had compacted the soil and exposed tree roots. In some places the trail had been widened as much as thirty feet. Out of four trails to the top, the west side trail was the most intensively used. One hiker had used the trail for 56 years, claiming to not know of any other trails.
The Eugene Parks and Recreation Department published a pamphlet in March of 1976, entitled, The Spencer Butte Situation. At the end of the month Mayor Les Anderson, announced the start of a campaign to protect Spencer Butte from further ecological damage. $12,000 -$20,000 was budgeted for trail patching material (411 tons of columnar basalt rock and gravel), hand tools, and haulage to the Butte parking lot.
In mid May of 1976, the "Better the Butte" drive got underway with volunteer labor to lay a stone path four to ten feet wide, up an approximately 3,100-foot route to the summit. Volunteers were essential to the project, as the city could not afford enough firemen, let alone trail building crews. The plan called for some of the participating organizations to be trained in the work, in order to supervise the volunteers. A slogan coined by the department to inspire public participation was "Your Mountain Needs You." Machinery had to be ruled out as it would rip up the hillside. Thus, twenty-nine volunteers moved several tons of rock in the initial construction session. As the summer progressed, hikers were encouraged to take up a couple of rocks each, on their ascents. Much was moved in this manner. Regular work parties were scheduled throughout the weeks and weekends, morning, afternoon and night. By September 29, ten thousand people-hours of work had been contributed since May. Roughly eighty-four tons of rock had been taken up from the parking lot. The trail going up to the southwest side was complete for about 1,000 feet. A viewpoint at the 1,500 foot line was the objective before the winter wet season set in. In areas where the trail was finished, some cut over trails had already begun to grow over. Among the groups that had helped were school children, Boy Scouts, Amazon Kiwanis Club, Hodads, Lore Ladies outdoor club, and the neighborhood Spencer Butte Improvement Association.
In 1978, CETA crews were involved in trail work and installing bathrooms. A well was drilled and a restroom building built near the main trail head parking on Willamette Street in 1979. The bathrooms burned down in a fire on January 1, 1993. The cause of the fire was believed to be the space heaters that had been left on in the bathrooms to prevent the pipes from freezing. Due to problems with vandalism in the past, the City decided not to replace the bathrooms with a permanent structure, and instead installed portable toilets in fenced enclosures.
In August of 1982, several of the trees on the east property line were found to have fir beetle damage. A meeting to inspect the diseased trees with the State Parks Forester and Forest Pathologist determined that the beetle would only affect the weak and dying trees, and would not spread to the strong and vigorous young trees.
Spencer Butte Park has been the recipient of two land donations. In 1991, Mr. Derek Jaros donated a 1.76 acre portion of his land, and in 2000 the City received 26 acres from the Brolin Company.
In the late 1990's there were two trail improvement work parties sponsored by REI. Over 100 volunteers were present to perform significant upgrading of the worst sections.
Much of this informtion was taken from an essay written by W. Patrick Workman, entitled Spencer Butte Park. Last update: 9/12/03