About Our Work
The Columbia River Gorge Commission is a public agency with staff and commissioners from Oregon and Washington. We protect natural, cultural, scenic, and recreational resources on both sides of the Columbia River. We also support local businesses and the economy in the National Scenic Area.
We make land use decisions to make sure new buildings and projects follow the rules in the National Scenic Area Management Plan. This helps keep the land beautiful, habitats healthy, and ensures that we are supporting local communities.
We track our progress through the Vital Signs monitoring program. This program shows how well we are doing. Visit the Vital Signs page to see the data from our partner agencies and groups, and learn how we are using it.
Climate change is affecting the National Scenic Area. We are seeing higher temperatures, stronger storms, and more wildfires. We work with four treaty tribes, counties, agencies, universities, and non-profits to achieve goals in our Climate Change Action Plan. Together, we are helping the lands, waters, and communities here be more resilient in a changing climate.
We are also building a team of Climate Stewards in the Gorge with help from Oregon State University Extension Service. As the community grows, so does our impact.
A special loan fund, created by the National Scenic Area Act, set up the Oregon Investment Board and the Washington Investment Board. These boards give loans to small new businesses. Their goal is to create jobs and help businesses build credit so they can grow. The Gorge Commission Executive Director certifies the loans to make sure they follow the goals of the National Scenic Area Act. Learn more about the loan fund here.