Accomplishments of Friends of the Columbia Gorge
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Brief History:
Friends of the Columbia Gorge is a 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1980 to work for legislative protection of the Columbia Gorge. In November 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act to create comprehensive Gorge protection consistent across six counties and two states.
Since passage of the National Scenic Area Act, Friends has defended the Act against lawsuits challenging its constitutionality; worked to ensure over 35,000 acres of private land has been brought into public ownership; commented on 350+ development applications in the Gorge per year; and educated the public about the Gorge with over 60 free hikes annually.
Today, Friends of the Columbia Gorge is the sole non-profit dedicated entirely to protecting the Columbia River Gorge and is well suited to lead efforts to maintain and improve Gorge protections.
Major Accomplishments:
| 1980 | Friends of the Columbia Gorge founded. |
| 1981 | Friends' lawsuit blocks 21-lot Rizor subdivision directly across from Multnomah Falls. |
| 1984 | Friends persuades the state of Washington to withdraw proposal to sell 40 acres of Beacon Rock State Park. |
| 1986 | Friends' intensive lobbying with numerous conservation groups leads to passage of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act. |
| 1988 | Friends wins reversal of an approval for a clearcut of virgin forests in Major Creek Canyon. |
| 1989 | Friends mounts campaign that prevents grazing in Catherine Creek, an extraordinary wildflower area. |
| 1990 | Friends intervenes in lawsuit challenging constitutionality of the Scenic Area Act. U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal, ending the threat. |
| 1992 | Friends intervenes in first major "takings" lawsuit. The Birkenfeld lawsuit is dismissed by the U.S. District Court. |
| 1993 | Friends is part of a coalition that convinces Oregon's Department of Transportation to allocate $707,000 to rebuild a 1.5-mile segment of the Historic Columbia River Highway. |
| 1995 | Friends joins Clark County citizens to successfully appeal Clark County's plan to allow urban and industrial development in the National Scenic Area. |
| 1997 | Friends works with the Fair Deal Committeee, a Gorge landowner group, to secure $8 million in federal funding to pucrchase scenic and sensitive lands. |
| 1998 | Friends works with 30 other organizations, businesses and individuals to create the Columbia River Gorge Vision 2000 Campaign. |
| 1998 | Friends works with the Washington Division of Natural Resources to adopt the Columbia Gorge Forest Protection Rules, creating much stronger logging standards in Washington state. |
| 1999 | Friends successfully lobbies Oregon Governor Kitzhaber to reject a proposed casino at Cascade Locks. |
| 2000 | Friends opens its first Gorge-based office and hires its first Gorge-based field organizer. |
| 2000 | Friends works with the Columbia River Gorge Commission and Gorge economic development interests to craft an amendment calling for a comprehensive Gorge air pollution reduction strategy. |
| 2001 | Friends works with Congress to gain $6 million in federal funding to purchase scenic and sensitive lands. |
| 2001 | Friends, the Sierra Club and the Trust for Public Land launch the Lewis & Clark Landscapes Project to protect 4,000 acres of land by the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Commemoration. |
| 2002 | Friends launches Lewis & Clark Landscapes Project and works with others to secure $5 million for federal land acquisition for 2003. |
| 2002 | Friends convinces the U.S. Forest Service to remove cattle from the Sandy River Delta and allow a public process and environmental assessment prior to issuing any new grazing permits. |
| 2003 | Friends works with local residents to persuade Washington State Parks Commission to lift temporary closure of 31-mile Klickitat Trail and allow public access. |
| 2004 | Friends, along with others, convinced Senator Ron Wyden to introduce the Lewis & Clark Mount Hood Columbia Gorge Wilderness bill, which called for the protection of approximately 35,000 acres in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. |
| 2005 | Friends establishes the Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust. |
| 2006 | Friends launches the Campaign for Cape Horn with the goal of raising $4 million to fund the Land Trust's purchase of one property and the option to purchase another. |
| 2006 | Friends worked with the Washington and Oregon Congressional Representatives to pass a House Wilderness bill including more than 22,000 acres in the National Scenic Area. |
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