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 […]
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 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)
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)
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)
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 […]
Columbia Gorge air quality would be compromised by emissions from the proposed Perennial Energy project in Hermiston, Oregon. View to the east from upper Catherine Creek. (photographer: Becky Kuperstein)
Challenging Energy Projects Threaten the Gorge
July 14, 2021
By Michael LangConservation Director July 14, 2021 In 2020, the largest point source of climate pollution in Oregon, the Boardman coal power plant, was finally shuttered through a court supervised consent decree. […]
(Photo: Aimee Wade)
Brush Your Boots Off to Protect the Gorge!
June 7, 2021
By Sara WoodsStewardship Manager June 7, 2021 Clean Your Boots to Protect the Columbia Gorge Clean your boots when you hike. And your sneakers, sandals, and flip-flops too. Give them a […]
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) […]