Bridging a Great Divide: The Battle for the Columbia River Gorge

by Kathie Durbin

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act, setting into motion one of the great land-use experiments of modern times. The act struck a compromise between protection for one of the West’s most stunning landscapes—the majestic Gorge carved by Ice Age floods, which today divides Washington and Oregon—and encouragement of compatible economic development in communities on both sides of the river.

In Bridging a Great Divide, award-winning environmental journalist Kathie Durbin draws on interviews, correspondence, and extensive research to tell the story of the major shifts in the Gorge since the Act’s passage. Sweeping change has altered the Gorge’s upscale tourism and outdoor recreation, gentrification, the end of logging in national forests, the closing of aluminum plants, wind farms, and a population explosion in the metropolitan area to its west. Yet, to the casual observer, the Gorge looks much the same as it did twenty-five years ago.

How can we measure the success of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act? In this insightful and revealing history, Durbin suggests that the answer depends on who you a small business owner, an environmental watchdog group, a chamber of commerce. The story of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is the story of the Pacific Northwest in microcosm, as the region shifts from a natural-resource-based economy to one based on recreation, technology, and quality of life.

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2013

Reviews

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sure, I've been a member of Friends of the Columbia Gorge for at least 5 years. And I hike in the Gorge through much of the summer. I've done cleanup of the site at the top of Cape Horn. I've been briefed at hikes about coal trains and previous controversies around the Klickitat Rail to Trail. But I've only been in the are 10 years and there was a lot in this book I didn't know about all. And much that I knew but not in detail.

Is this book for everyone? Probably not. Is it the best written and edited? Certainly not. But throughout it was written and finished well enough. And the black-and-white photos added quite a bit. Fascinating, and I'm glad to own it.

[Jeanne Ferris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good fights, like the one to preserve the Columbia River Gorge, just have to go on and on, or the fight will be lost. Although there are clearly some villains in this fight, Durbin's book makes it plain that there are also a lot of good people who simply disagree with each other. I found the second part of the book, after the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act became law in 1986, more interesting, when people responsible for carrying out the law had to deal with all kinds of novel and changing situations in the face of financial and staffing woes.

[Kathleen (itpdx) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful gathering of information on the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area--from its inception, to its unlikely founding legislation, to past and current battles and successes. Durbin has used her journalistic experience to unearth the information and clearly present it. I now have a clear understanding of what is at stake in this beautiful area. I have certainly added a number of places to explore to my already long list of Gorge sites to visit.

[Peg Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-balanced and very readable history of the conflict over the Columbia River Gorge as some strive to preserve it in as natural a state as possible for the enjoyment of future generations, and others desire to develop it for economic benefit.

[Gordon Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book starts out great but has a little bit too much "inside baseball" to get a better rating. Interesting if you are interested in the subject, and it is a very interesting subject.