🌿 Columbia River Gorge Commission June 2025 Round-Up
From urgent wildfire updates and historic land equity workshops to bold new conversations on economic vitality, the Columbia River Gorge Commission and committees tackled tough questions and set new priorities in June.
The Columbia River Gorge Commission convened for its monthly meeting on June 10, 2025, followed by three committee meetings on June 24 focused on communications, economic vitality, and executive planning. Here’s a full round-up of what was discussed, decided, and debated:
🌍 June 10, 2025 Monthly Commission Meeting Summary
Meeting Focus:
Commissioners gathered for a robust agenda including land use equity discussions, intergovernmental updates, fire preparedness, and budget planning amid ongoing financial constraints.
💬 Public Comment Highlights
- Mark and Theresa Mugerditchian submitted written testimony urging the Commission to reconsider its ban on short-term vacation rentals (STVRs) in Small Woodland zones. They emphasized economic benefits and community impact, suggesting a new STVR fee to support Commission funding.
🏫 Avarna Group Workshop: Land Use, Equity & History
- The second workshop led by the Avarna Group explored historical land use and equity.
- A historical timeline linked land conservation policies with exclusionary practices (e.g. Oregon’s Black exclusion laws).
- Commissioners shared personal and familial ties to land, acknowledging the complexity of stewardship in a settler-colonial context.
🧑💼 Executive Director’s Report
- Krystyna Wolniakowski updated commissioners on engagement efforts with county governments, with renewed outreach in Klickitat and Wasco.
- Lisa Naas Cook previewed upcoming oak habitat work and two wildfire preparedness events: June 18 (Hood River) and August 14 (Parkdale).
🌳 Forest Service Report
- 18 fires have already occurred this season.
- Staffing shortages and fewer national teams were flagged as key risks.
- Public engagement around prescribed burns is increasing, particularly from Gorge winegrowers.
📅 Budget & Workplan Preview
- A significant budget shortfall looms for the 2025–2027 biennium.
- Key challenges:
- Only 2 in-person meetings can be funded.
- Climate program is fully funded, but outreach and translation services face cuts.
- Unfunded: permitting database updates, public records role, outreach contractor.
- Commissioners asked for clearer comparisons and justifications in the draft July budget proposal.
🔗 Committee & Governance Updates
- A review of how commissioners are appointed to committees.
- New Economic Vitality Committee scheduled first meeting for June 24 at 11:00 a.m (summary below).
- Communications Committee gave an update on strategies to reach state legislators.
👥 Executive Committee Meeting — June 24, 2025
Focus: Finalizing July 8 agenda and improving meeting structure.
Highlights:
- The committee confirmed the July 8 agenda, adding a morning social to encourage in-person connection.
- Commissioners proposed flipping the agenda to begin with work plan and policy discussions instead of ending with them.
- Oak policy and vital sign indicator (VSI) presentations will follow those discussions.
- Lisa Naas Cook emphasized that the oak policy update is part of the Commission's 2025 Climate Action goals.
- Commissioners want more interactive discussion and less passive listening in full Commission meetings.
📣 Communications Committee Meeting — June 24, 2025
Focus: Strategic planning for public outreach.
- Reviewed a communications audit from consultant McKenzie Workman.
- Identified that the Commission’s purpose and impact are not well understood by the public.
- Discussed ways to simplify messaging, increase emotional connection, and use visual storytelling.
- Recommended investing in plain-language explanations of policies and accessible content formats (e.g. videos, infographics).
- Emphasized aligning messaging with new economic vitality and equity initiatives.
💼 Economic Vitality Committee Meeting — June 24, 2025
Purpose: First meeting of this new committee, setting its direction and scope.
Commissioner Valerie Fowler:
“Each county’s needs are wildly different. We have to be grounded in real local knowledge, not just spreadsheets.”
Discussion Topics:
- How to define and measure "economic vitality" in a protected landscape.
- Integrating Vital Sign Indicator data (esp. housing, employment, recreation access).
- Hosting future listening sessions with business owners, tribal enterprises, and chambers of commerce.
- Balancing economic development with scenic protections.
Vital Sign Indicators (VSIs) are a set of measurable metrics that the Columbia River Gorge Commission uses to track the long-term health and trends of the National Scenic Area. Think of them as a regional dashboard that helps guide planning, policy, and land management decisions.
The Commission is launching a new VSI data portal this year, offering easier access to these indicators for local governments, nonprofits, and residents.
Key indicators being tracked include:
- Natural Resources & Climate: Oak woodlands, wetlands, rivers (cold-water refuges), wildfire/fuels, pika presence, forest cover, etc.
- Scenic & Recreational: Trail access, recreation fees, landscape view quality, recreation equity via public transit
- Cultural: Heritage sites and archaeology metrics.
- Economic Vitality: Loan activity from the Oregon & Washington Investment Boards, particularly tracking job creation and business types
This is a new committee, and represents a renewed opportunity for residents, business owners, all who make their home and living in the Gorge to more deeply participate in the systems and policies that shape this area.
🗓️ Next Columbia River Gorge Commission Meeting
The next regular meeting of the Columbia River Gorge Commission will be held:
📅 Date: Tuesday, July 8, 2025
🕘 Time: 9:00 a.m. (in-person social starts at 8:30 a.m.)
💻 Remote Access: Join via Zoom
🔍 On the Agenda:
- Work plan decisions for the 2025–2027 biennium
- Vital Sign Indicators portal demo
- Oregon White Oak policy assessment
- Committee reports from Communications and Economic Vitality
- Executive Director and Forest Service updates
📬 Submit public comments by 12:00 p.m. on July 7 to:
📧 publiccomment@gorgecommission.org
Stay engaged—your voice helps shape the future of the Gorge!