Because the Columbia River Gorge Commission is a bistate agency funded by both Washington and Oregon, and because each state must contribute equally, the current economic crisis has delivered a double whammy to the commission. Each state has targeted the commission for funding cuts and, as commission vice chairman Harold Abbe of Camas noted in a recent Columbian story, “Everybody has to share in the pain, but we would hope that everyone would recognize that we get double cuts.”
The Gorge Commission has earned a double dose of sympathy for continued incremental funding reductions by purse-string tighteners in Olympia and Salem. The commission also deserves a heartfelt encouragement from Washingtonians and Oregonians to hang in there during these tough times. It appears the commission is doing the best it can in that regard. What is crucial for the extended protection of the Northwest’s most scenic national treasure is that the commission not be forced to abandon its wide and deep stewardship of the Gorge.
The thought of losing the commission’s profound impact might seem like a distant threat to the uninformed. After all, it was Congress that established the commission almost a quarter of a century ago to oversee management of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. But those who know how frantic lawmakers are to balance budgets will also understand the death blows that occasionally are inflicted. That almost happened earlier this year when Washington legislators considered redirecting all funding away from the Gorge Commission.
Because the bistate agency must be equally funded, that Draconian move could have sounded the death knell for the commission. Fortunately, the Southwest Washington legislative delegation prevented that brutal finality.
Still, incremental budget cuts continue to erode the commission budget from two directions, even after total funding dropped from about $1 million annually to about $750,000 in recent years. As a Tuesday Columbian story reported, the commission staff has been reduced from 10.5 full-time employees to the equivalent of six. Another cut of $40,000 is anticipated soon. Again, commission leaders have worked hard to respond properly with such regrettable but necessary moves as closing the commission’s White Salmon office on Fridays starting next week.
Although The Columbian vigorously protested the threatened withdrawal of all Washington money for the commission, we cannot expect the commission to be exempt from the shared sacrifice that we so often espouse for surviving this economic crisis. Our hope for the Gorge Commission is the same wish we hold for all vital agencies: that they first establish clear priorities, then find ways to stay afloat. And while sharing the sacrifice, they can share the hope that the tough times are not permanent.
Ultimately, if the recovery ignites months or years from now, restoring the Gorge Commission to its original full funding and purpose would be warranted. Why? Because the commission sets policy for protecting nonfederal lands within the Scenic Area. It serves as an appeal board for land-use decisions by counties. It designs, revises (every 10 years) and implements a management plan that makes sure economic development unfolds in the Gorge without eroding long-standing values.
So for now, it’s good to see the Gorge Commission simply hanging in there. Two states need the commission’s protection of a scenic area that embraces 292,500 acres and stretches 83 miles, on a breathtakingly beautiful river, nestled in a spectacular canyon that extends from the grasslands into the waterfall-filled forests.
