Gorge Commission Releases Draft Climate Change Action Plan for 60-day Public Review
A photo taken from Dog Mountain. Photo Credot: Peter Marbach
Press Release from The Columbia River Gorge Commission:
The Columbia River Gorge Commission invites public comment on its Draft Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP). Comments can be submitted between May 5, 2022, and July 5, 2022, to ClimateAction@gorgecommission.org.
Public “Question and Answer” sessions will be scheduled for May and June. Dates and registration information will be posted on the Commission’s website, www.gorgecommission.org. The final Climate Change Action Plan is scheduled to be released in late summer 2022.
As co-managers of the National Scenic Area, the Commission and the USDA Forest Service work together to protect and enhance the scenic, natural, cultural, and recreation resources of the Columbia River Gorge while supporting economic vitality compatible with resource protections.
The Commission and Forest Service recognize the urgency to address climate change through adaptation and mitigation actions. Warmer temperatures threaten fish and wildlife habitats and increase the risk of wildfires. By identifying and implementing specific actions that protect wetlands and cold-water refuges for vulnerable fish species and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable transit options, the agencies will improve the resilience of the resources and economic vitality of this region which is reflected in the goals, strategies, and actions included in the Action Plan. A review committee of local, state, and federal agency experts, Columbia River Treaty Tribes, and non-profit organizations met with the Commission and Forest Service during the past year and also contributed to the development of the Action Plan.
“We are committed to plans and actions that help us implement the purposes of the Act,” said Donna Mickley, Forest Supervisor at the Forest Service for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. “The Climate Change Action Plan builds on the Vulnerability Assessment that the Forest Service completed in 2020 and helps track and implement important work throughout the entire National Scenic Area.”
“Addressing the multitude of physical impacts and transitional risks of climate change is not something the Commission can do alone: it requires a sustained effort from all of us,” said Robin Grimwade, Chair of the Gorge Commission. “To be successful, all individuals, Treaty Tribes, organizations, and governments that have an interest in the National Scenic Area must act strategically and collectively to immediately take steps that will help nature, communities, and economies to adapt. The Commission will implement the Climate Change Action Plan as a top priority.”
For the latest information on the effort, and to download the Draft Climate Change Action Plan, go to http://www.gorgecommission.org/initiatives/climate-change.
To follow this and other topics, the public is welcomed to attend Gorge Commission meetings held monthly on the second Tuesday by Zoom. Agendas are available at www.gorgecommission.org a week prior to each meeting.
About the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area encompasses 292,500 acres of Washington and Oregon, where the Columbia River cuts a spectacular river canyon through the Cascade Mountains. The USDA Forest Service manages National Forest lands in the National Scenic Area and works together with the Columbia River Gorge Commission to protect and enhance scenic, natural, cultural, and recreational resources of the Columbia River Gorge while encouraging local economic development consistent with that protection. Learn more about the USDA Forest Service at www.fs.usda.gov/crgnsa and more information about the Gorge Commission at www.gorgecommission.org.
