About Schemes, Dreams and Teams, a century of Gorge Protection Efforts
Presented by Kevin Gorman, Executive Director of Friends of the
Columbia Gorge
The visionaries of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
couldn’t have foreseen the population increases of the Portland area or the
explosive growth of outdoor recreation, let alone climate change and wildfire
threats. Join us for a dive into the scenic area’s history, conflict and
how technology might help all of us keep the Columbia Gorge wild and beautiful
for generations to come.
Over a century ago, new roadways into the Columbia Gorge led to
audacious schemes to “improve the scenic holdings of the Columbia Gorge” by
building the world’s tallest elevator at Mist Falls and polo grounds atop
Devil’s Rest. Development proposals like these and others eventually led to the
creation of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. However, the visionaries
of the National Scenic Area couldn’t have foreseen the population increases of
the Portland area or the explosive growth of outdoor recreation, let alone
climate change and wildfire threats. As we cannot close the door to the Gorge,
Friends of the Columbia Gorge Executive Director Kevin Gorman explores steps to
protect the beautiful areas we are all drawn to, and think through our impacts
as explorers, travelers and stewards. Can we develop practices to replenish
ourselves and the Gorge at the same time? Join Kevin for a dive into the scenic
area’s history, conflict and how technology might help all of us keep the
Columbia Gorge wild and beautiful for generations to come.
About the Speaker:
Kevin Gorman is the executive director of Friends of the Columbia
Gorge and oversees all the activities of Friends of the Columbia Gorge, as well
as its land trust, which currently owns 1,400 acres of land. Kevin joined the
organization twenty years ago and during his tenure Friends has grown from
eight staff and one office to 22 staff and three offices. Kevin helped lead the
$5.5 million Preserve the Wonder campaign to protect nearly 500 acres of land
and assisted in creating two nonprofits in the Gorge: the Klickitat Trail
Conservancy and the Cape Horn Conservancy. Kevin was previously the associate
director of Oregon Natural Resources Council (now Oregon Wild) and has served
as board president for both the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts and EarthShare
Oregon, a workplace giving organization. Prior to his non-profit adventures,
Kevin was the creative director of an advertising agency in Detroit, MI.
For more infromation on Friends of the Columbia Gorge, visit: https://gorgefriends.org/.
Photo credit ED 1: Friends of the Columbia
Gorge
Photo credit ED 2: Teresa
Larson
