Detail from a 2017 composite image: a female harrier glides above Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. (photographer: Ken Pitts)
Detail from a 2017 composite image: a female harrier glides above Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. (photographer: Ken Pitts)

Habitat Restoration at Steigerwald

December 8, 2021
By Dan BellLand Trust Director December 8, 2021 When I was fortunate enough to tour the Steigerwald Reconnection Project in August, the place was buzzing with construction equipment. In highly choreographed fashion, dozens […]
Stewardship volunteers work to remove fencing from Friends of the Columbia Gorge's Cape Horn preserve. (photographer: Sarah Skelly)
Stewardship volunteers work to remove fencing from Friends of the Columbia Gorge's Cape Horn preserve. (photographer: Sarah Skelly)

Volunteers Steward Through All Seasons

December 8, 2021
By Sarah SkellyVolunteer Coordinator December 8, 2021 In the midst of staff transitions at Friends of the Columbia Gorge and waves of shifting COVID-19 safety protocols, small groups of experienced Friends […]
Crews excavating the tunnel entrance at Mitchell Point. (photo: Courtesy of Western Federal Lands)
Crews excavating the tunnel entrance at Mitchell Point. (photo: Courtesy of Western Federal Lands)

Mitchell Point 2.0

December 7, 2021
By Kevin GormanExecutive Director December 7, 2021 One of the great Columbia Gorge architectural treasures of the last century was the Mitchell Point Tunnel along the Historic Columbia River Highway. The […]
Students take a break on an educational hike at Hamilton Mountain during the 2018 Explore the Gorge trip. (photographer: Brandon Davis)
Students take a break on an educational hike at Hamilton Mountain during the 2018 Explore the Gorge trip. (photographer: Brandon Davis)

From Exploring the Gorge to Exploring Our Backyard

November 24, 2021
By Haley LebsackGrant Writer November 24, 2021 Every June since 2008, sixth graders from the Washougal, Washington School District have had the opportunity to attend a multi-day outdoor school program and explore […]
Aerial shot of the Union Pacific unit oil train derailment and fire at Mosier, June 3, 2016. (photographer: Paloma Ayala)
Aerial shot of the Union Pacific unit oil train derailment and fire at Mosier, June 3, 2016. (photographer: Paloma Ayala)

Mosier Rail Expansion Defeated

November 18, 2021
By Michael LangConservation Director November 18, 2021 In a victory for Tribal treaty rights, the community of Mosier, Oregon, and conservationists, Union Pacific Railroad (UP) has thrown in the towel on […]
The view from Cape Horn in the 1980s, before the Cape Horn landscape was conserved for public use. (photographer: John Yeon)
The view from Cape Horn in the 1980s, before the Cape Horn landscape was conserved for public use. (photographer: John Yeon)

National Scenic Area 35th Birthday: Highlighting a Long Career of Gorge Advocacy

November 18, 2021
By Kevin GormanExecutive Director November 18, 2021 Thirty-five years ago this month, November 1986, was an auspicious time for an upstart nonprofit organization called Friends of the Columbia Gorge. A mere six […]
The Columbia Gorge shrouded in fog, 1980s. (photographer: Gary Braasch)
The Columbia Gorge shrouded in fog, 1980s. (photographer: Gary Braasch)

35th Anniversary: Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act Signed Into Law

November 17, 2021
By Bowen Blair Jr.Former Friends Executive Director (1982-88), Former Columbia River Gorge Commission Member, Including Chair and Vice-Chair (2012-20) November 17, 2021 On Nov. 17, 1986, President Ronald Reagan, with strong […]
Friends of the Columbia River Gorge - Placeholder Image

Persistence to Improve Gorge Protections Pays Off, Despite Pandemic

November 1, 2021
November 1, 2021 By spring 2020, Friends of the Columbia Gorge and its allies were making the final push to advocate for significant revisions to the National Scenic Area Management […]
The unpermitted mining is near two local public schools, Jemtegaard Middle School and Columbia River Gorge Elementary School. (photo: Friends' archive)
The unpermitted mining is near two local public schools, Jemtegaard Middle School and Columbia River Gorge Elementary School. (photo: Friends' archive)

The Dust Settles Over Illegal Mining, for Now

November 1, 2021
November 1, 2021 On May 10, 2021, Friends Senior Staff Attorney Nathan Baker spent his birthday in a seven-hour virtual hearing, which ran past midnight, fighting to protect Steigerwald Lake […]
A community member takes inventory of bottled water donations. (photographer: Leah Nash)
A community member takes inventory of bottled water donations. (photographer: Leah Nash)

Water for Warm Springs Partnership

November 1, 2021
November 1, 2021 For more than two years, the people of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs—Oregon’s largest reservation—have lacked consistent access to clean drinking water and water pressure. As a […]
A section of trail at the Lyle Cherry Orchard Preserve serves as a dividing line between scorched land and an area left relatively untouched by July's Lyle Hill fire. (photographer: Sara Woods)
A section of trail at the Lyle Cherry Orchard Preserve serves as a dividing line between scorched land and an area left relatively untouched by July's Lyle Hill fire. (photographer: Sara Woods)

How the Lyle Hill Fire Affected Our Lyle Cherry Orchard Preserve

July 28, 2021
July 28, 2021 By Frances Fischer, Land Trust Coordinator, and Sara Woods, Stewardship Manager On Monday, July 12, the Lyle Hill fire broke out in the hills east of the […]
Rainbow over Cape Horn. (photographer: Lydie Boyer)
Rainbow over Cape Horn. (photographer: Lydie Boyer)

A New Opportunity for Awe at Cape Horn

July 28, 2021
By Mika BarrettAccessibility Project Manager July 28, 2021 Dawn quietly transforms night into day as the early morning sun begins peeking over the Cascades, and the eastern sky above the Columbia […]