Columbia River Gorge Commission : Current Topics

The Columbia Gorge Future Forum is an effort to stimulate regional dialogue about the future of the Gorge. The Future Forum began with a kick-off conference on October 29, 2007 at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. At this event, a keynote speaker and expert panelists sparked discussion about how Gorge citizens and stakeholders envision the next twenty years. The second step - a series of smaller community-based dialogues throughout the Gorge - gave participants the opportunity to voice their own desires for the future of the Gorge. A web survey was also launched for those who couldn't make it to a community meeting. For more information about the Future Forum, click here.

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act has been in place for more than two decades. Its implementation through the Management Plan, Commission and county land use ordinances and other related plans has aimed to fulfill the purposes and standards of the Scenic Area Act. Ongoing monitoring and periodic review of these implementation efforts are both required by the Act and necessary for the Commission to assess implementation success and adjust plans accordingly to improve success and adapt to change. The monitoring reports issued between 1998 and 2001 began this work. Although this valuable work informed changes in policy during the 2004 Management Plan Review, these reports were part of a monitoring program that mainly measured Plan implementation through agency outputs.

Even with near perfect implementation of the Plan, two questions remained: “Does the Plan fulfill the purposes and standards of the Act?” and “What is the current health of the Gorge?” To answer these questions, the Commission needs a way to measure the health of the Gorge using relevant and objective indicators. With the development of Gorge-level and agency-level indicators through the Vital Signs Indicators Project, the Commission will be able to measure and assess not only its own implementation efforts in relation to the purposes and standards of the Act, but also the health of the Gorge as a whole. This assessment will provide insight into changes to important conditions that are relevant for Gorge-wide policy decisions affecting the Scenic Area’s future. Work is currently in progress to develop these indicators and will reflect and rely on community and technical input throughout the process.

Click here for more information on the current status of this project. Please contact Angie Kenney at 509-493-3323 ext. 232 or kenney@gorgecommission.org for any additional questions.

Oregon Supreme Court Appeals:

On July 2, 2008, the Oregon Supreme Court allowed review of three cases involving decisions by the Columbia River Gorge Commission. Two of the cases involved facial challenges to Management Plan policies. All of the cases involved a question of whether the Oregon courts should apply Chevron and other federal law to Commission interpretation of the federal Scenic Area.

The Oregon Supreme Court’s summary of the cases is available on the Oregon Judicial Department website at:

http://www.ojd.state.or.us/sca/WebMediaRel.nsf/Files/07-02-08_Supreme_Court_Conference_Results_Media_Release.pdf/$File/07-02-08_Supreme_Court_Conference_Results_Media_Release.pdf

Below are copies of the Petitions for Review and the Commission’s responses. These are the briefs that the Oregon Supreme Court reviewed in deciding whether to accept review of these cases.

Plan Review:
Petition for Review
Commission’s Response

Historic Buildings Plan Amendment
Petition for Review
Commission’s Response

Multnomah County Ordinance implementing the Historic Building Plan Amendment
Petition for Review
Commission’s Response