COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE NATIONAL SCENIC AREA ORDINANCE UPDATE

Project Summary

This project is to amend Clark County’s Title 40.240 (Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Districts), which is mandated by Columbia River Gorge Commission and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service.  Counties with land in the National Scenic Area are required to amend their ordinances to be consistent with their Management Plan.

Background

The Columbia River Gorge Commission approved the revised “Gorge 2020” Management Plan for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area on October 13, 2020.  This vote was the conclusion of four years of work on the Plan.

The National Scenic Area Act recognizes the Gorge as a national treasure whose resources are to be protected and economies supported. The Act directs the Gorge Commission and the USDA Forest Service to review the National Scenic Area Management Plan as necessary to protect the scenic, cultural, natural and recreation resources, and to support the economy consistent with resource protections.  The Plan was last reviewed and revised in 2004.

The Gorge Commission and the USDA Forest Service began the review and revision process in 2016 by seeking input from government agencies, the four Columbia River Treaty Tribes, stakeholders and the public. Efforts have focused on technical updates to the Scenic and Natural Resources chapters of the Plan, as well as policy updates to the Economic Development, Land Uses, Urban Area Boundary revisions, and Recreation Chapters.

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area encompasses 292,500 acres of Washington and Oregon, where the Columbia River cuts a spectacular river canyon through the Cascade Mountains. The USDA Forest Service manages National Forest lands in the National Scenic Area and works together with the Columbia River Gorge Commission to protect and enhance scenic, natural, cultural, and recreational resources of the Columbia River Gorge while encouraging local economic development consistent with that protection.