Latest News
Keep updated on Friends' work, news stories, and the work happening in the Columbia Gorge.
Gabe Sheoships. Photo by Alex Milan Tracy, Underscore News.
Friends of the Columbia Gorge Announces Gabe Sheoships as New Executive Director
April 7, 2026
PRESS RELEASE Sheoships is Cayuse and Walla Walla, an enrolled citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and becomes the first enrolled member of a Gorge Treaty […]
Photo Courtesy of Larry McCombs.
Appeals court ruling sets stage for protection of western gray squirrel in Washington state
February 20, 2026
A decision by the Washington State Court of Appeals on February 9, 2026, adds significant momentum to efforts to protect the state-endangered western gray squirrel in Washington, particularly in Klickitat County. The appeals court decision also highlights the ongoing failures of the Washington Department of Natural Resources to comply with the law and propose critical habitat for this imperiled species, as required by state law.
American bullfrog in pond weed. Photo by Peter Ziminski.
Invasive Predator: Inside the Race to Control the Deadliest Threat to Gorge Turtles
January 5, 2026
Friends of the Columbia Gorge is working with the U.S. Forest Service and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to control invasive bullfrogs across shared landscapes. Through coordinated, cross-boundary stewardship, partners have removed thousands of bullfrogs to protect the endangered Northwestern pond turtle.