Pacific Northwest Plein Air in the Columbia Gorge works on display at Maryhill Museum of Art. (photographer: Melissa Gonzalez)
Inspiring Conservation Through Plein Air Painting
November 7, 2022
November 7, 2022 By Cate Hotchkiss In late July 2021, Ken Klos of Portland, Oregon, set up his easel and palette of paints and began to capture, with quick brushstrokes, the serene summer sunrise unfolding in front of him at Catherine Creek recreation area near Lyle, Washington. He was participating, along with 39 others, in […]
A cleared section of dirt marks the beginnings of a roadway on Oct. 22, 2020, on the site where the Perennial Wind Chaser facility was once proposed, adjacent to the Hermiston Generating Project in Umatilla County. (Photo: Ben Londergan, East Oregonian)
Methane Gas Power Plant Defeated for Good
November 3, 2022
November 3, 2022 By Cate Hotchkiss Had the Perennial Wind Chaser Station, a proposed 415-megawatt fracked gas-fired power plant, been built in western Umatilla County, Oregon, it would have immediately ranked in the top 10 stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the state. But after several years of litigation by Friends of the Columbia […]
A cleared section of dirt marks the beginnings of a roadway on October 22, 2020, on the site where the Perennial Wind Chaser facility was once proposed, adjacent to the Hermiston Generating Project in Umatilla County. (photographer: Ben Lonergan, East Oregonian)
Oregon Terminates Gas-Fired Power Plant Proposal Near Columbia River
September 27, 2022
September 27, 2022 Friends of the Columbia Gorge & Columbia Riverkeeper Joint News Release Contacts:Stan Hall, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, 503-307-3228Lauren Goldberg, Columbia Riverkeeper, 541-965-0985 Hermiston, Oregon (September 27, 2022)—Today, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) officially ended Perennial Power Holdings, Inc.’s efforts to build a 415-megawatt fracked gas power plant near the Columbia River […]
Gorge Accessibility Project Manager Mika Barrett (fourth from left, looking toward camera) leads Next Door, Inc., field trip and listening session at Cape Horn. (photographer: Nic Raingsey)
Inclusion and Accessibility Enhance Gorge Experience
September 19, 2022
By Mika BarrettAccessibility Project Manager September 19, 2022 One morning last fall, as the soft light of sunrise tinted the Gorge, I loaded a 15-passenger van with water bottles and event handouts for a community hike and listening session. It was a perfect morning for a tour designed to spark imaginations and possibilities for new accessible […]
St. Andrew students pause to bask in a stream's cooling mist on the trail to Upper Latourell Falls. (photographer: Stan Hall)
Bringing Back the Joy of Youth Outdoor Education
September 19, 2022
By Kassy DelgadoCommunity Engagement Specialist September 19, 2022 “Ooh! We’re getting the fancy buses this time!” A cheer went up from the middle school students that May morning when charter buses pulled to the curb in front of St. Andrew Nativity School in Portland. The seventh-grade students from Catherine Hopkins’ science classes eagerly boarded the buses […]
Screenshot from "When the Hard Work Begins." (Brady Holden/Holden Films)
New Short Film Showcases Efforts to Stop Illegal Mining Operation in Gorge
August 3, 2022
August 3, 2022 New Short Film Showcases Community-Led Efforts to Stop Illegal Mining Operation in the Columbia Gorge Co-produced by Holden Films and Friends of the Columbia Gorge, “When the Hard Work Begins” (a 12-minute short film) will premiere online Aug. 3. Press Contacts PORTLAND, OR – In May 2022, after over five years of […]
View of agricultural areas near Mosier, Oregon, in the eastern Columbia Gorge. (photographer: Don Jacobson)
Teaming Up for Farmworkers With Comunidades
June 28, 2022
By Denise LópezConservation Organizer June 28, 2022 Since joining Friends of the Columbia Gorge as staff last summer, I have worked closely with Comunidades—a Gorge-based advocacy group focused on amplifying community voices for environmental and social justice. Founded by Columbia Riverkeeper’s Senior Organizer Ubaldo Hernández, Comunidades has prioritized protections for farmworkers for several years. This year, Friends supported […]
Beacon Rock, viewed in early evening from the land parcel recently transferred by Friends to Washington State Parks. (photographer: Cate Hotchkiss)
With Assist From Friends, Washington State Parks Expands Beacon Rock
June 15, 2022
June 15, 2022 Washington State Parks News Release Olympia, Washington – Washington State Parks, with critical assistance from Friends of the Columbia Gorge, purchased a 4.5-acre tract of land next to Beacon Rock State Park. That land will be used to create safe, accessible pedestrian crossings, a new entrance and egress, and additional parking. Currently, […]
Camas-Washougal Post-Record: Steigerwald Wildlife Refuge Reopens
May 13, 2022
May 13, 2022 By Doug Flanagan, Camas-Washougal Post-Record(View original story) Washougal City Council member and former mayor Molly Coston has never been so happy to be so wrong. When she first heard about a plan to reconnect 965 acres of floodplain habitat to the Columbia River at the Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge, she doubted that it […]
Hundreds of gravel trucks every day would travel on two-lane Washington SR-14, seen here below Cape Horn. (photographer: Debbie Asakawa)
Massive Mining Proposal Threatens Western Gorge
March 31, 2022
March 31, 2022 By Steve McCoy, staff attorney, and Sofia Urrutia-Lopez, conservation organizer A massive gravel mine proposed near the Cape Horn trailhead in Skamania County would impact the livability and scenic values of the area for decades to come. In 2021, J.L. Storedahl and Sons, Inc., applied for a gravel mining permit from Skamania […]
View of ongoing transformation at Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. (photographer: Sarah Skelly)
Steigerwald Reconnection Restores Wetland Habitat
March 23, 2022
By Sarah SkellyVolunteer Coordinator March 23, 2022 Update, March 28, 2022: The Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership has announced that Steigerwald Refuge is scheduled to reopen on May 1, 2022. On two consecutive days last November, volunteers from the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, Gorge Refuge Stewards, and Friends of the Columbia Gorge joined together at Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge to […]
A guided hike at Lyle Cherry Orchard is on our spring schedule. (photo: Melissa Gonzalez)
After Two Years, Friends’ Guided Outings Return
March 3, 2022
By Melissa GonzalezOutdoor Programs & Communications Specialist March 3, 2022 Almost exactly two years after the initial outbreak of COVID-19 paused Friends’ in-person events, I am ecstatic to announce the return of Friends’ outdoor program this spring. Programming will return just in time for the spring and summer season, kicking off March 24. It’s almost time […]