While the Columbia River Gorge Commission is a small and little-noticed regulatory enclave, its work is majestic.
Tasked with protecting an 83-mile-long swath of the Gorge encompassing 292,630 acres of the most pristine landscape this continent has to offer, the gorge commission plays a role in maintaining the Northwest not only for current residents but for future generations. The Gorge is one of the hallmarks of this region, serving as an attraction for local residents as well as visitors from afar.
Because of that, what has become a crucial time for the commission also is a crucial time for the preservation of the region. Created with the signing of the Columbia River Scenic Area Act in 1986, which launched a grand experiment in land-use laws and environmental protection, the gorge commission is dependent upon funding from the legislatures in both Washington and Oregon. By law, each state must fund the commission equally, which means that when one state limits funding, the other must follow suit.
Because of that, there is a biennial struggle for the money that will allow the commission to oversee the preservation of the land and to spur environmentally compatible economic development in the 13 towns and cities that line the Gorge. That legislative song-and-dance is taking place this year in both state houses. And now, Darren Nichols, executive director of the commission, has announced that he is leaving his post in April.