Gorge Commission recognizes Sondra Clark; works on bi-state compact

By Rodger Nichols

The Columbia River Gorge Commission voted unanimously in favor of a Resolution Appreciation for former member Sondra Clark, who passed away recently. The vote came at their meeting on Sept. 12, after a hiatus in August.

Sondra Clark

The resolution reads in part:

"WHEREAS, Sondra Clark worked with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to permanently preserve a large tract of land as habitat for one of two viable populations of the Western Pond Turtle at that time; and

"WHEREAS, Sondra Clark and her family generously opened their beautiful home overlooking the Gorge in Lyle for social gatherings for members and staff of the Columbia River Gorge Commission, and neighbors; and

"WHEREAS, Sondra Clark passed away on July 26, 2023.

"NOW THEREFORE THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE COMMISSION HEREBY RESOLVES: To unanimously approve a Resolution of Appreciation for Sondra Clark and her deep commitment to the conservation of working landscapes that contributed to making the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area extraordinary, to express its deep sadness for her passing, and to express its joy for having the pleasure and honor to have served with her."

Clark was the only Commissioner to have served two nonconsecutive terms. She was a Governor's Appointee from 2010 to 2013 and as Klickitat County Appointee from 2017 to 2023.

This reporter, who retired from the Commission after 12 years of service this July, had the pleasure of serving with her during both her terms and will miss both her forthright nature and her strong sense of humor, and joins the current Commissioners in honoring her memory.

In other business, Commissioners approved a request from staff to work with both the Washington and Oregon legislatures to make changes to the bi-state compact that created the Gorge Commission.

Compacts between states require Congressional approval plus approval from the respective state legislatures. Congress passed the National Scenic Area legislation in 1986, and both Oregon and Washington state legislatures passed enabling legislation in 1987.

In the 37 years since a number of laws have changed, and operational experience has suggested areas in which the agreement can be improved.

One key case was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in April this year. The court supported the request of the State of New Jersey to unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, a 70-year compact with the State of New York. New Jersey was also allowed to dictate the terms of terminating the compact because the compact did not prohibit unilateral termination or specify any terms of withdrawal or termination. This decision followed six years of litigation.

One of the guests presenting information via Zoom at the meeting was Phoebe Sorial, Executive Director and General Consul of the New York Waterfront Commission, former General Counsel of the former bi-state Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

She told Commissioners that she learned two lessons from her experience: "You don't want to find yourself in a situation in which one state is unilaterally dictating the dissolution terms, and there needs to be a sufficient amount of time to ensure a seamless transition of agency functions back to the compacting states."

She also had an explanation about why New Jersey wanted to dissolve the compact.

"This agency, up until about 15 years ago, was on a good day lazy and on a bad day very corrupt. My predecessor was setting up straw companies to allow convicted felons to operate in the port. This is what this agency was doing."

She said the agency cleaned up the agency itself and then focused on the industry.

"The Mob: the five families — Genovese, Gambino, Bonano, Lucchese, Columbo families — are still very much alive and well in the port... I think what really created this backlash was that people were really unused to this agency doing anything, and it was the industry lobbying very, very heavily to say there is no longer a need for this agency."   

Gorge Commission Attorney Jeff Litwak noted that there had been some concern expressed by the counties about potential changes to the bi-state compact.

"We are not recommending any standards for the state management plans, not anything for the urban area boundary revisions. We're not advocating for any new or different economic development authority or the like. Those are all the front-end provisions. Those are the parts that the counties and the landowners and other stakeholders typically interact with. We actually can't change those in this process because they are specified in the federal Act, so changing those would require an Act of Congress. We're only recommending changes that don't require Congressional consent."

Among the changes the staff would explore with the two states would be the specifics if one state wanted to dissolve the compact, and adjustments that would allow additional funds to be deployed to the Commission without the requirement that both states contribute equally.

The Commission's next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 10 in person at the Marine Park Pavillion at Cascade Locks and by Zoom.

Since Covid, the Commission is committed to primarily Zoom meetings, with only a couple of meetings in person per year. That's because the meetings have in the past moved to a different location in the Gorge each meeting. With the requirement for Zoom meetings as well, it's expensive to rent the equipment and set it up in different places each month, so the practice has been to limit the in person meeting to two a year.