🏔 New Year for Skamania BOCC, WSU Updates, & Dog Mountain Shuttle Uncertainty - 1/6
Skamania commissioners kicked off 2026 with routine approvals, leadership assignments, and early warning signs to watch this year, including uncertainty around Dog Mountain shuttle funding, public safety concerns, and long-term planning tied to the Gorge Management Plan 2030 Update.
🏛 Skamania County Commissioners Recap - January 6, 2026
Commissioners met Tuesday for their first regular meeting of 2026, focusing on routine start-of-year business, contract approvals, and committee assignments, while also flagging several issues likely to return soon, including recreation funding gaps, storm recovery, and long-term planning challenges.
🚌 Dog Mountain Shuttle Funding in Limbo
While no formal vote was taken, commissioners spent significant time discussing the future of the Dog Mountain Shuttle, which has helped reduce dangerous roadside parking and pedestrian traffic along SR-14.
- The Forest Service has indicated it will not fund the shuttle in 2026.
- Columbia Area Transit (CAT), which operates the shuttle, is seeking alternate funding sources.
- Commissioners chose not to approve or deny the lodging-tax contract yet, instead holding it while requesting more information from CAT.
- Several commissioners emphasized the shuttle’s role as a public-safety service, not just a recreation amenity.
This issue is expected to return once CAT clarifies its funding plan.
❄️ Storm Response & Emergency Coordination
Commissioners thanked county crews and first responders for extended hours during recent storms, which included landslides, fallen trees, and flooding concerns.
Notable actions included:
- Participation in state and local emergency calls, including a weekend call with the Governor on disaster assistance.
- A coordinated overnight effort to relocate 250 Christmas baskets at the fairgrounds to prevent flood damage.
🧑💼 Personnel, Contracts & Routine Business
The board approved:
- January vouchers and late-December payroll.
- A labor MOU revising how sergeant shift incentives are handled.
- Updated job descriptions following the 2026 budget.
- An amended employment agreement for the county’s Finance Management Administrator.
County Treasurer Vickie Clelland also publicly announced her retirement effective March 31, and introduced Emily Sabo as her proposed appointee, pending the formal selection process.
🌲 WSU Extension: Youth Programs & Outdoor School Pilot
WSU Extension Director Hannah Brause updated commissioners on:
- Strong early-year 4-H enrollment (98 youth, 36 volunteers).
- Planning for a pilot outdoor school program modeled on Hood River’s successful approach, potentially launching this fall.
- Continued uncertainty around long-term funding for Forest Youth Success, despite short-term Forest Service support.
Commissioners expressed interest in supporting these programs but noted ongoing funding and administrative hurdles.
🏔 Gorge Commission Update & Tribal Engagement
CRGC Executive Director Krystyna Wolniakowski briefed the board on the final stages of disaster-related management plan amendments.
- Draft language is being finalized with some tribal concerns addressed.
- Larger unresolved issues, including treaty rights and cultural resource protections, are expected to shift to the 2030 plan review.
- Commissioners asked for clearer documentation of tribal concerns and discussed whether any issues could be addressed at the county level.
What to Expect from “Gorge 2030” - the Gorge Management Plan Periodic Update
Based on this update, the upcoming Columbia River Gorge Commission “Gorge 2030” management-plan review is likely to be a much larger, slower, and more structured process than the current amendment. Commissioners learned that many of the issues raised by tribes, such as treaty rights, cultural resource protections, and broader questions of consultation, are difficult to resolve through narrow or expedited amendments. So many are instead being “parked” for the next full review.
As happened on the path to Gorge 2020, beginning this year Gorge 2030 is expected to include dedicated working groups, expert input, longer timelines for tribal engagement, and clearer separation between administrative fixes and true policy changes. The update also underscored that staffing and funding capacity will matter: both the Gorge Commission and counties like Skamania may need additional planning resources to participate meaningfully, especially given the high volume of permits and long-standing issues that have accumulated since the last comprehensive review.
🗳 Leadership Reorganization for 2026
As part of the board’s annual reorganization, commissioners again chose Brian Nichols as Chair and Robert Farris as Vice-Chair.
🗓 What’s Next
- Follow-up on Dog Mountain Shuttle funding.
- Finalize commissioner committee assignments.
- Continued winter-storm recovery work.
- Ongoing coordination with state, federal, and Gorge partners.
🏛 How to Join the Next Skamania County Commissioners Meeting
📅 Tuesdays at 9:30 AM
📍 Courthouse Annex, Room 19 (240 NW Vancouver Ave, Stevenson)
💻 Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88906321210
📞 Phone: 1-253-215-8782 | Meeting ID 889 0632 1210
🗣 Public comment is taken at the start of the meeting.
✉️ Written comments: commissioners@co.skamania.wa.us (by noon the day before).
Acknowledgements:
Thanks to the Columbia Gorge Documenters for sharing their notes under CC-by-4.0.