Friends of the Columbia Gorge's Current Legal Docket

Friends' legal work emphasizes protection of the Columbia Gorge's resources and enforcement of Scenic Area land use laws and rules

We focus on litigation and administrative proceedings that will help protect the Gorge's sensitive and unique scenic, natural, cultural, and recreational resources and establish positive precedent for future decisionmaking.

See a list of past cases involving the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
 

Land Use and Zoning

1. Save Our Scenic Area v. Skamania County (Clark County Superior Court)

Save Our Scenic Area and Friends of the Columbia Gorge filed suit against Skamania County for failing to zone thousands of acres of unzoned, forested lands. The County is in violation of state law for failing to adopt zoning and failing to protect forest lands for commercial forestry.

Status: In July 2015, the Washington Supreme Court remanded the case to the Clark County Superior Court. The litigation is on hold until the parties exhaust cooperative efforts to zone the lands involved. In 2018 and 2019, Skamania County zoned approximately 12,000 acres of the approximately 14,000 remaining acres of privately owned unzoned lands throughout the County. Friends will urge the County to zone the remaining 2,000 acres in 2024 and/or 2025. 
Counsel: J. Richard Aramburu (Save Our Scenic Area), Nathan Baker (Friends)

2. Friends of the Columbia Gorge v. Clark County (Columbia River Gorge Commission)

Friends and neighboring property owners in Clark County appealed a decision by the Clark County Land Use Hearing Examiner involving a proposed mining operation adjacent to Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Although the Examiner correctly denied the application, the decision nevertheless contains errors involving the unpermitted drainage system on the property, as well as possible water resources on the property warranting protection.

Status: Briefing is ongoing. The appeal will be argued in January 2025.
Counsel: Nathan Baker (Friends), Bryan Telegin (Neighbors)
 

3. Vancouver Audubon Society v. Washington Department of Natural Resources (Washington Court of Appeals)

Friends and multiple other conservation organizations filed suit against the Washington Department of Natural Resources and Commissioner of Public Lands for failing to propose critical habitat for the western gray squirrel within 30 days of the species' listing as state endangered, as required by law.

Status: Briefing is ongoing. 
Counsel: Bryan Telegin (all Petitioners), Nathan Baker (Friends)
 

4. SmartLink, LLC v. Skamania County (Columbia River Gorge Commission)

Friends intervened in an appeal filed by two wireless communications companies challenging a Skamania County Hearing Examiner decision regarding proposed additions to a cell tower in Cook, Washington. The project must go through full land use review under the National Scenic Area rules rather than expedited review, and the land use application was not “deemed granted” under federal telecommunications law.

Status: Briefing is ongoing. 
Counsel: Nathan Baker and Steve McCoy

5. In re Administrative Decision NSA-19-27 (Skamania County Hearing Examiner)

Friends appealed a Skamania County land use decision approving a land division, a single-family dwelling, and associated development in Underwood, Washington. The land use application is incomplete and the decision violates the scenic resource protection criteria.

Status: The land use approval expired in August 2023, which moots out the appeal. Friends will seek confirmation of this status from Skamania County.
Counsel: Steve McCoy


This page was last updated on August 8, 2024 by Nathan Baker.