Dense thickets of invasive, exotic blackberries (Rubus spp.) are common in many disturbed sites throughout the western Pacific Northwest. Most of these blackberry brambles are widely accepted as Rubus armeniacus. Published accounts from the past decade however, have revealed a morphologically similar species, Rubus praecox, to be broadly distributed and it can occur in many of the same habitats as R. armeniacus. In this study, local community scientists were engaged to assess the distribution and relative abundances of these two Rubus species in 13 small-to mid-sized parks managed by the City of Portland. At all surveyed parks, R. armeniacus occurred in various quantities. Rubus praecox was only present in negligible amounts at four sites. A review of online herbarium specimens similarly supports this finding of broadly distributed but low quantities of R. praecox. Based on these results, we conclude that current management practices to control invasive Rubus spp. should not be altered due to the slight chance of encountering a less common exotic Rubus species. We also strongly support the engagement and training of local community members to actively learn about their native and exotic flora to support the conservation of local natural areas.