The Eagle Creek Fire burns above Cascade Locks, OR and the Columbia River, Sept. 4, 2017. (photographer: Teresa Larson)
Friends Responds to Eagle Creek Fire Outbreak
September 5, 2017
September 5, 2017 Friends of the Columbia Gorge is shocked and saddened by this devastating wildfire. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gorge residents who have been evacuated and our […]
Walking along the Columbia River at the Steigerwald Shores property, with Crown Point and Vista House in the distance. (photographer: Debbie Asakawa)
160-Acre Purchase = 900-Acre Restoration!
June 20, 2017
June 20, 2017 By Kate McBrideLand Trust Manager The centerpiece of Friends’ Preserve the Wonder campaign is the 160-acre Steigerwald Shores, a three-quarter-mile riverfront property adjacent to Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Acquisition […]
After the derailment anniversary rally, attendees proceed to the Columbia River for a ceremony, June 3, 2017. (photographer: Kyle Ramey for Stand Up to Oil)
Hundreds Gather in Mosier to Remember Derailment
June 3, 2017
June 3, 2017 by Patrick MulvihillThe Dalles Chronicle (original story) One year after an oil train derailment roiled communities throughout the Columbia Gorge, hundreds gathered at Mosier Community School to […]
Rally on the Washington Capitol steps in Olympia before the petition deliveries. (photographer: Ryan Rittenhouse)
1.3 Million Comments Delivered Against Coal and Oil Transport Terminals
May 11, 2017
May 11, 2017 Today, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Power Past Coal (PPC) and Stand Up To Oil (SUTO) coalitions celebrate gathering 1.3 million comments against oil trains, oil terminals and coal exports through […]
On the trail at Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge, December 2016. (photos courtesy of Debbie Asakawa)
Finding Wonder at Steigerwald
May 1, 2017
May 1, 2017 By Debbie AsakawaVice-Chair, Friends of the Columbia Gorge Board of DirectorsCo-Chair, Preserve the Wonder Campaign CORRECTION, May 26, 2017: An earlier version of this post stated that adding Steigerwald […]
Meghan Gorman, daughter of Executive Director Kevin Gorman, at Friends' Mosier Plateau land trust property. (photographs courtesy of Kevin Gorman and Michelle Kinsella)
Preserving the Wonder for Things We Hold Dear
April 4, 2017
April 4, 2017 By Kevin GormanExecutive Director The older I become, the more I see that all aspects of my life are interconnected. That revelation hit home on Sunday as […]
Coal dust blow-off from a coal train traveling in the eastern Columbia Gorge. (photographer: Julie Coop)
BNSF Agrees to Clean Up Waterways Soiled by Coal Leaking From Trains
March 3, 2017
March 3, 2017 By Steve Law, Portland Tribune BNSF Railway will pay $1 million to mitigate the cost of pollution in Washington state waterways caused by coal emitted from its open-topped […]
Mayors Stephen Lawrence (The Dalles), Arlene Burns (Mosier), and Paul Blackburn (Hood River) speak at a rally prior to a Wasco County Planning Commission hearing on rail expansion proposal. (photographer: Rick Rappaport)
Gorge Leaders and Public Unanimously Oppose Union Pacific Rail Expansion
September 6, 2016
September 6, 2016 Nearly 200 people turned out to a hearing on Sept. 6 at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles to oppose an application by Union Pacific […]
A tower of smoke rises from the oil train derailment and fire at Mosier, OR, June 3, 2016. (photographer: Paloma Ayala)
Mosier Pushes Back Against Rail Expansion
August 17, 2016
August 17, 2016 Mosier, OR, the Columbia Gorge community that endured a terrifying oil train derailment and fire in June, is now facing the possibility of a Union Pacific expansion […]
An oil train fire rages on near the bank of the Columbia River on Friday, June 3, 2016. (photographer: John Sepulvedo, Oregon Public Broadcasting)
How Bad Could the Mosier Oil Spill Have Been?
August 10, 2016
August 10, 2016 Two months after the June 3 Mosier oil train derailment, fire and oil spill, Emily Schwing of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports on the environmental effects of the […]
Train filled with Bakken crude oil moves on Burlington Northern tracks along WA-14 in the Columbia Gorge. (photographer: Joe Urmos)
WA Attorney General: Say No to Oil Terminal Project
July 29, 2016
July 29, 2016 From Earthjustice: OLYMPIA — In today’s closing arguments for the environmental review of a proposed crude oil terminal in Vancouver, Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Counsel for the […]
Tesoro's Golden Eagle Refinery in Martinez, CA, one of the refineries covered under Tesoro's air-pollution settlement with the EPA and DOJ. (photo: OilPro.com)
Vancouver Oil Terminal Developer Fined Record Amount for Air Pollution
July 18, 2016
July 18, 2016 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $425 million settlement with subsidiaries of Tesoro Corp., and Par Hawaii Refining that […]