Friends led the fight to create the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area over 40 years ago. We’ve been working ever since to safeguard the Gorge and ensure its natural wonders will be preserved for future generations.
Cape Horn panorama. Photo by Kenji Sugahara.
What We Do
Protect & Conserve
Protecting the Gorge from the Impacts of Climate Change
By working with local and state governments, organizing the public, and building climate resilience on lands across the Gorge, Friends is on the frontlines of protecting the Gorge from the impacts of climate change.
Journey Through Friends’ History
Since 1980, Friends of the Columbia Gorge has worked to protect, preserve, and steward the Columbia Gorge for future generations.
Activists deliver petitions against fossil-fuel terminals to the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, 2017. (photo courtesy of Stand Up to Oil coalition)
Advocacy Campaigns
Friends empowers community members to mobilize and advocate for the protection of the Gorge’s scenic beauty, natural habitats, cultural heritage, and recreational spaces.
Mosier Plateau. Photo by Cate Hotchkiss.
Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust
Based out of Hood River, Oregon, Friends’ Land Trust works to preserve scenic Gorge landscapes, safeguard and steward sensitive lands, and provide public hiking trails.
Hiking through Tom McCall Nature Preserve.
Gorge Towns to Trails
Gorge Towns to Trails aims to create a 200-mile trail loop encircling the Gorge, connecting communities, promoting recreation and sustainable transit, and protecting lands for wildlife conservation.
The Zimmerly mine (in the foreground) in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Photo by Brady Holden.
Litigation
Friends is a citizen watchdog group ensuring enforcement of laws related to the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
Latest News
Keep updated on Friends' work, news stories, and the work happening in the Columbia Gorge.
Beacon Rock. Photo by Jeremiah Leipold.
Columbia River Gorge Commission Avoids Defunding, Faces 27 Percent Budget Cut
April 28, 2025
The press release below was sent to media outlets across the Pacific Northwest on Thursday, April 28, 2025. COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE, Wash., April 28, 2025 – The Columbia River Gorge Commission, […]
Washington House Votes to Defund the Columbia River Gorge Commission
April 3, 2025
The press release below was sent to media outlets across the Pacific Northwest on Thursday, April 3, 2025. COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE, Wash., April 3, 2025 – The Columbia River Gorge […]
What if the National Scenic Area Never Existed?
December 23, 2024
The Columbia Gorge would be a very different place without the protections of the National Scenic Area. Unchecked residential, commercial, and industrial development would have consumed parts of it, transforming cliffs, […]