From February to May 2008, the Future Forum’s second phase involved community meetings and a Web survey to encourage broader participation in the process. At the community meetings, participants had the opportunity to voice their own desires for the future of the Gorge. Community meetings were held in Stevenson, Corbett, Carson, North Bonneville, Mosier, Underwood, Dallesport, Hood River, White Salmon, Washougal, The Dalles and Cascade Locks. For those who couldn't attend a meeting, the Web survey asked the same questions posed during the Discovery Center event and community meetings. Through the Future Forum process, more than 500 individuals contributed over 1,500 comments. 

To ensure an impartial and unbiased analysis of the comments, Portland State University’s Survey Research Lab, Office of Graduate Studies and Research, was engaged to evaluate the many comments. PSU staff utilized qualitative data analysis methodologies to code, classify and rank participant input. The PSU report provides an overview of their work and the steps involved in identifying six major data ‘families’ from which six overarching vision focus areas were eventually developed. These topics, joined with the participant comments, formed the basis of the vision statements and strategies. (Download the full PSU report here.)

The Final Report and Vision Pamphlet:

To present the information that came out of the Future Forum process, the Working Group created the Final Report and the Vision Pamphlet. The Final Report (52 pages) documents the planning and implementation of the Future Forum visioning process, summarizes the citizen-inspired values and vision statements derived from group discussions and individual comments, and details the corresponding strategies for action. Click here to download the report. 

The Final Report was presented by Working Group members to city and county governments around the Gorge. The Vision Pamphlet more succinctly and artfully presents the visions and strategies in a 16 page booklet. This pamphlet will be more widely distributed throughout the Gorge to businesses, organizations and agencies. Click here to download the Vision Pamphlet. 

Next Steps for the Future Forum:

Information was gathered into the Final Report and Vision Pamphlet so that it may be used in a number of ways: 

·         As a baseline from which to gauge and measure progress and/or change in community values.

·         To show what Future Forum participants want the Gorge to be like in the future.

·         To show trends affecting our communities and region in order to depict the historical background of this vision and record present concerns.

·         To serve as a foundation for continuing public and private discussions on the future of the Gorge itself, individuals and communities within the region.

·         To provide data for use by policy makers, agency directors, businesses, community organizations and individuals who are prioritizing actions aligned with the values of the Gorge region as a whole.

·         To inform community and county planning actions and for refinement of the visions and strategies to the character of individual jurisdictions.

·         For use in future comprehensive plans reflecting the unique identity of a community.  

The hope is that this information will be an important tool for all who are interested in what the region thinks about its future and who want to move the region closer to that future. However, there is no specific plan of action attached to the Gorge Vision and Strategies because the Future Forum is a regional process and, in and of itself, has no authority to create or to implement a plan for achieving the vision – especially at the local level. That responsibility rests with the local governments and other agencies, institutions and citizens groups that are partners in this process, and, ultimately, with the people of the Gorge themselves. 

Thank you to our sponsors. Please take a moment to visit their websites: 

Foundation

A big thank you to members of the Working Group, who are organizing this event:

Jill Arens, Brian Litt and Jessica Metta, Columbia River Gorge Commission

Peggy Bryan, Skamania County Economic Development Council

Michael Canon, Klickitat County Economic Development

Laura Comini, The Dalles Chamber of Commerce

Lee Curtis and Amanda Remington, Mid-Columbia Economic Development District

Chuck Daughtry, Port of Cascade Locks

Jessica Davenport, Nicole Hollatz and Karen Witherspoon, Skamania County Planning & Community Development

Bill Fashing, Hood River County Economic Development

Virginia Kelly and Diana Ross, US Forest Service

Andrea Klaas, Port of The Dalles

Dean Meyerson, volunteer

Casey Roeder, Skamania County Chamber of Commerce

Dan Spatz, Columbia Gorge Community College

Phyllis Thiemann, Cascade Locks Event Coordinator