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Scenic-area handbook and defensible-space brochure nearing completion; commissioners push for legislative outreach
Summary
Staff told the Communications Committee the scenic-area handbook is in final production and a defensible-space handout should be ready in about two weeks; commissioners urged more active, commissioner-led outreach to state legislators to help restore funding and raise the commission’s profile.
The Communications Committee of the Columbia River Gorge Commission received updates that the scenic-area handbook is close to finished and that a short defensible-space handout for landowners should be published within weeks, while commissioners urged a more assertive outreach plan to state legislatures.
The chair reported the handbook is in its last six weeks of production and said staff are reviewing final graphics and text with county partners; “we're pretty much on the final 6 weeks of getting that finished,” the chair said. The meeting record shows the handout on defensible space is expected in roughly two weeks, a timeline commissioners said should be met because wildfire season is approaching.
Commissioner Roger Nichols and others recommended that commissioners take a more visible role in legislative outreach in Olympia and Salem to restore funding and clarify the commission’s mission. One commissioner suggested reconstituting events similar to past bipartisan outreach nights that had drawn legislators and governors in prior years; commissioners and staff agreed that scheduled, commissioner-led meetings with legislators could increase impact.
Staff said they will provide commissioners a preview of the handbook and brochures before public release. The committee also discussed adding summaries of where revolving-loan funds have been used on the economic-vitality page, with Sage reporting county-level summaries and recipient names available but no mapped spatial dataset yet.
Next steps: staff will finish handbook graphics and circulate a preview to commissioners at least 24 hours before public release; the committee will draft a list of priority outreach opportunities and consider commissioner participation in legislative meetings this fall and next session.
