With just days before the end of Washington state’s legislative session, officials with the commission that oversees land-use planning in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area are cautiously optimistic, despite dramatic proposed cuts to their budget.
In late March, Washington House lawmakers zeroed out the state’s entire contribution to the Columbia River Gorge Commission, which is also funded by Oregon. Since then, Columbia River Gorge Commission Executive Director Krystyna Wolniakowski has been spending lots of time in Olympia, Washington.
“We were very stunned by that, and alarmed,” Wolniakowski said.
All Washington state agencies are trimming their budgets. Last month, the Columbia River Gorge Commission’s was cut completely.
Oregon Field Guide / OPB
But as state budget negotiations near an April 27 deadline, she said she’s optimistic that support from Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson would encourage the legislature to pass a Senate version of the spending bill with only modest budget reductions for the Gorge Commission.
The interstate commission is responsible for making sure federal law protecting the Gorge as a national scenic area is applied consistently across its nearly 300,000 acres, which includes portions of six counties in Oregon and Washington.
Through land-use regulations and permitting oversight, the commission aims to protect the regional character of the Gorge, like keeping agricultural land from being subdivided for housing and ensuring forestland is used for forestry activities. The commission’s management plan does not include urban areas.
The agency also works to make sure four Columbia River tribes are consulted on regional issues.
“The Gorge Commission was designed to protect something, not extract and maximize revenue off of it,” said Carina Miller, a commissioner with the agency and a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. “So that’s a way it’s a benefit for the tribes, is the same way it’s a benefit for everyone.”
The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area covers nearly 300,000 acres in parts of six counties in Washington and Oregon.
Columbia River Gorge Commission / Columbia River Gorge Commission
The commission’s approximately $4.2 million budget is paid for evenly between the two states.
“Absent the Gorge Commission, I’m not sure how the counties would prepare amendments to their ordinances on a county-by-county basis and actually be consistent across the whole gorge,” Wolniakowski said.
Gov. Ferguson has asked all his state agencies to trim their budgets. Washington is facing an estimated $12 billion shortfall over the next four years due to higher costs for safety net programs and declining tax collections.
“I think to be honest with you, this was an agency [Gov. Ferguson] didn’t know existed until the last couple of weeks,” Rep. Kevin Waters, R-Stevenson, told the radio station KIHR earlier this month.
Waters said he expects the Gorge Commission will ultimately get funded. He said the proposed budget cut was likely a result of the region being a higher priority in Oregon than in Washington, where it’s farther from population centers, lesser-known, and generally receives less public investment.
Washington’s legislative session ends on April 27. Ferguson has until May 20 to approve the budget.
Correction: The story has been updated with the correct deadline for Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson to approve the state budget.
