Columbia Gorge commissioner flags potential Forest Service funding shift, reports gravel-mine ruling and $1.8M portal effort

Laura, Skamania County's representative to the Columbia River Gorge Commission, briefed commissioners on recent Gorge Commission business: potential changes in Forest Service partnership funding, an appellate ruling in a Clark County gravel-mining case and the commission's investment in a regional planning and mapping portal.

Laura said the Forest Service conversation in the Gorge Commission meeting raised questions about whether the Forest Service could remain a partnership funder under the new administration; she said she would seek follow-up materials and share them with the county. She also reported a hearing outcome in favor of the appellant Friends of the Gorge, describing a complex appeal that allowed the commission to re-open a Clark County finding related to a gravel pit and to issue a retroactive ruling.

The representative said commission staff reported approximately $1–2 million invested in a new database/portal intended to provide mapping, permit-tracking and Spanish-language access across the scenic area. Laura said the portal is intended to centralize permits and mapping across the Gorge and that staff described translation and public-access features; she said she would ask the commission for more information about whether the portal displays decommissioned land acquisitions and other policy layers.

Laura also raised constituents' economic concerns about Gorge Commission land acquisitions and staffing compensation, cited an incident where 8,000 gallons of ammonium phosphate entered Catherine Creek during a Forest Service action after a fire, and asked the county to remain engaged on bridge-project and economic-development issues. She said she will report back as she obtains documents and meeting recordings.