In this Book
- Bridging a Great Divide: The Battle for the Columbia River Gorge
- Book
- 2013
- Published by: Oregon State University Press
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 landscape: 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 are: 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.
Table of Contents
- Title Page, Copyright Page
- pp. 1-4
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-xiv
- Part I: The Vision
- pp. 11-12
- Chapter 1: Hardly Wilderness
- pp. 13-21
- Chapter 2: The Watchdogs
- pp. 22-43
- Chapter 3: Saving Steigerwald
- pp. 44-50
- Chapter 4: Balancing Act
- pp. 51-72
- Part II: The Launch
- pp. 73-74
- Chapter 5: Writing the Rules
- pp. 75-96
- Chapter 6: Early Friction
- pp. 97-111
- Chapter 7: The Too-Tall House
- pp. 112-126
- Chapter 8: Fear and Loathing
- pp. 127-134
- Chapter 9: Land Rush
- pp. 135-142
- Chapter 10: Oregon Pushback
- pp. 143-148
- Chapter 11: A Pile of Rocks
- pp. 149-154
- Chapter 12: Time to Amend
- pp. 155-166
- Part III: Great Debates
- pp. 167-168
- Chapter 13: Showdown at Lyle Point
- pp. 169-175
- Chapter 14: A Destination Resort
- pp. 176-187
- Chapter 15: Rails to Trails
- pp. 188-196
- Chapter 16: The Haze Curtain
- pp. 197-208
- Chapter 17: Logging Loopholes
- pp. 209-215
- Chapter 18: The Casino Deal
- pp. 216-232
- Chapter 19: Whistling Ridge
- pp. 233-244
- Part IV: Restoring a Legacy
- pp. 245-246
- Chapter 20: Rebuilding a Historic Route
- pp. 247-252
- Chapter 21: The Recreation Challenge
- pp. 253-262
- Chapter 22: Cape Horn Convergence
- pp. 263-268
- Chapter 23: A River Unleashed
- pp. 269-274
- Chapter 24: A Quarter Century
- pp. 275-282