Connecting Land, Connecting Communities
April 22, 2021
By Dan BellLand Trust Director April 22, 2021 Friends joins “Oregon I Am” campaign to encourage Oregonians to safely connect with each other in a collective celebration of the land and […]
The Oregonian: A Proposed Power Plant May Be Canceled, but Controversy Remains
April 16, 2021
April 16, 2021 By Ted Sickenger, The Oregonian The developer of a proposed gas-fired power plant in Hermiston has apparently decided to pull the plug and withdraw its state-issued permit […]
(Photographer: Xavier Armand)
Strengthened by Disruption
April 15, 2021
By Kevin GormanExecutive Director April 15, 2021 Last December, my college-aged daughter was home for winter break when she received a text that led the two of us to drop everything […]
The Perennial gas-fired plant would have been sited adjacent to the existing Hermiston Generating Project, shown here. (Photo: Dan Serres, Columbia Riverkeeper)
Victory Over Fracked Gas Power Plant
April 15, 2021
April 15, 2021 Developer Abandons Plans to Build Controversial Plant in Umatilla County Columbia Riverkeeper & Friends of the Columbia Gorge Press Release Contacts: Erin Saylor, Staff Attorney | Columbia Riverkeeper | (541) […]
Photo by Nick Wiltgen
Friends Calls on Oregon Legislature to Take Stand on Bias Crimes on Public Lands
April 8, 2021
April 8, 2021 Friends of the Columbia Gorge Statement “The conservation community cannot be silent any longer on issues of justice, equality, and access to the outdoors,” says Friends Executive […]
Major Creek canyon, zoned Special Management Area Open Space, is supposed to be off-limits to commercial logging. (photographer: Kevin Gorman)
Proposed Logging in Sensitive Gorge Area Poses Risk of “Dangerous Precedent”
March 25, 2021
By Stan HallDigital Communications Manager March 25, 2021 The Columbia Gorge is facing a new threat and a reminder that the law designed to protect this national scenic treasure works only if […]
Wildflowers at Tom McCall Preserve. (photographer: Becky Brun)
Plan Your Visit to the Columbia Gorge at ReadySetGorge.com
March 19, 2021
March 19, 2021 Guest post by Becky Brun With wildflower season upon us and spring break just ahead, state, federal and nonprofit groups are encouraging people to plan before venturing […]
Major Creek canyon, zoned SMA Open Space, is supposed to be off-limits to commercial logging. (photographer: Kevin Gorman)
Friends Appeals Logging Decisions Made by Federal & State Agencies
March 2, 2021
March 2, 2021 The decisions would allow commercial logging in most restricted area of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, in violation of Scenic Area law and Gorge Management […]
East-facing view from Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust's recently acquired preserve at Catherine Creek. (photographer: Stan Hall)
A Diamond in the Rough at Catherine Creek
January 28, 2021
By Dan BellLand Trust Director January 28, 2021 In more than 20 years of working with land trusts, it has happened to me only a handful of times: getting the opportunity […]
Volunteers on a Friends-led invasive plant removal work party on Eagle Creek Trail, Sept. 2019. (photographer: Mika Barrett)
Eagle Creek Trail Rises From the Ashes
January 8, 2021
By Kevin GormanExecutive Director January 8, 2021 It’s never coming back. That was my first thought as I, and millions of others, watched live footage of the 2017 Eagle Creek fire race […]
2016 oil train derailment, spill, and fire at Mosier, Oregon. (photo: Paloma Ayala)
You Can Help Ensure Protection Against Oil Train Derailments and Spills
December 24, 2020
By Ryan RittenhouseConservation Organizer December 24, 2020 On June 3, 2016, our beloved National Scenic Area was devastated by an oil train derailment and fire right in the heart of the […]
Sunny Gorge view from Ruthton Park in Hood River. (photographer: Warren Morgan)
With Friends, Environmental Law Leader Comes Full Circle
December 23, 2020
By Buck ParkerVice Chair, Friends of the Columbia Gorge Board of Directors December 23, 2020 I grew up in Hood River in the 1950s and ’60s, and while that was decades […]