Feb 21

Feb 21 Native American Flute player will be in concert at TD's Old St. Pete's on Saturday

Art, Education, Entertainment, Environment, Home Page, The Dalles, Wasco County

A free concert by Native American Music Award-winning flute musician James Edmund Greeley from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will be held on Saturday, Feb. 26th at 7 p.m. in the wonderful Old St. Peter’s Landmark.

Feb 17

Feb 17 Federal Grant Opportunity: USDA to Invest $1 billion in Climate-Smart Commodities

Cole Goodwin

Home Page, Environment, The Dalles, Wasco County

Does your town, business, non-profit, or local government produce climate-smart commodities or have an idea for a climate-smart program that needs funding? The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it will invest $1 billion in partnerships to support climate-smart farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.

Feb 15

Feb 15 TD Council takes first big step toward water conservation

Tom Peterson

Environment, The Dalles, Home Page

The Dalles City Council approved $950,000 for pipe and supplies for the Dog River Pipe replacement slated to start this year. The 3.5-mile pipeline delivering water to the city water treatment plant can leak up to a million gallons per day during peak runoff.

Feb 15

Feb 15 Salmon are No Longer Kings of the Columbia; That has Biologists Worried

Eli Francovich

Environment, The Dalles, Home Page

Even as ecological disruptions cause salmonoid populations to suffer in the Columbia River, Shad populations are on the rise.

Feb 14

Feb 14 Massive Expansion of Mt. Hood Recreation Areas Could Be Coming

Grant Stringer

Environment, Home Page, Hood River County, The Dalles

Sick of crowded trails? A major plan to disperse human traffic around Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge is in the works.

Feb 13

Feb 13 TD City Council poised to spend $950 K on Dog River Pipeline materials

Tom Peterson

Business, Environment, The Dalles, Home Page

The Dalles City Council is poised to approve near $1 million on purchasing materials for the long-awaited Dog River Pipeline replacement project at their regular meeting set for 5:30 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, Monday, Feb. 14.

Feb 3

Feb 3 TD Survey Results released: High School, Affordable Housing top priority list

Columbia Community Connection

Business, Education, Entertainment, Environment, History, Home Page, The Dalles, Wasco County

Locals want to see an upgraded high school in The Dalles and at the same time want to see more affordable housing, according to a City of The Dalles local survey recently completed for the 2040 visioning process. Find out what else people thought here.

Feb 3

Feb 3 History Forum to feature film on botanist David Douglas

Karl Vercouteren

Education, Environment, Positive News

During the years 1825-’26 Douglas explored the Columbia River and its tributaries, wintering over at Fort Vancouver. His journeys on the river included an overnight in The Dalles. Later explorations took him to California and eventually to Hawaii where he met an untimely death.

Jan 4

Jan 4 Stevenson Downtown and Famers Market to join forces in 2022

Columbia Community Connection

Business, Environment, Positive News, Hood River County, Klickitat County

The Stevenson Downtown Association announced the plans to absorb the Stevenson Farmers Market beginning in 2022. Each organization’s volunteer Board of Directors voted unanimously in favor of the move.

Dec 8

Dec 8 Columbia Riverkeeper Sues Army Corps Over Illegal Pollution and Lack of Clean Water Act Permitting

Columbia Riverkeeper

Environment, Home Page

Columbia Riverkeeper is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for alleged illegal pollution of the Columbia River with hot water, oil, and toxic chemicals. Columbia Riverkeeper alleged in today’s complaint that four dams operated by the Army Corps on the Columbia River between Portland, OR, and Tri-Cities, WA, discharge illegal pollution in violation of the Clean Water Act.

Dec 3

Dec 3 Locals To Put Electric Farm Equipment To The Test

Tom Peterson

Business, Environment, Home Page

Electric tractor? Yep. An utter void in electric farm equipment a decade ago is fast turning to a field of entries that are claiming equal power to diesel or gas models but with a reduced fuel cost and a smaller carbon footprint.

Dec 2

Dec 2 A conservation group just bought 35,000 acres of SDS timberland—now what?

Chuck Thompson

Home Page, Environment

Calling its acquisition “one of the largest conservation victories in the Pacific Northwest,” The Conservation Fund bets big on Basin conservation

Nov 22

Nov 22 Gorge Youth hold Climate Change Vigils

Tom Peterson

Environment, Hood River County, Home Page

The group has been holding vigils in front of the salmon fountain in downtown Hood River on Fridays from 4:30-5:00 for the past seven weeks and is part of a growing climate justice organization called, “Fridays for the Future,” as the long-term sustainability of the planet is becoming more and more uncertain.

Nov 12

Nov 12 Local Food Study: Healthy Food does not come cheap; many still insecure

Columbia Community Connection

Home Page, Education, Environment

The first community food assessment in more than a decade found the food system is well connected in the Gorge, with strong organizing work being done in tight-knit communities, especially in rural areas like South Wasco County and Sherman County.

Ten Year Anniversary: The Success of the Condit Dam Removal On Fish Populations Highlights Potential Benefits of Removing Lower Snake River Dams

Oct 26

Oct 26 Ten Year Anniversary: The Success of the Condit Dam Removal On Fish Populations Highlights Potential Benefits of Removing Lower Snake River Dams

Columbia Riverkeeper

Home Page, Environment, The Dalles

Today, October 26th marks the 10th anniversary of the Condit Dam removal. On that day, the White Salmon River in south-central Washington flowed unimpeded for the first time in 100 years. The resurgence of salmon and steelhead in the White Salmon in the following ten years has highlighted the potential benefits of removing Lower Snake River dams, as Northwest leaders are currently contemplating.

Oct 6

Oct 6 Mithcell Point Tunnel blasting to begin Oct. 12, expect delays on I-84

Columbia Community Connection

Environment, Home Page, Hood River County

Blasting has been delayed for the construction of the MItchell Point Tunnel until Oct. 12. The project to reconstruct the historic tunnel is part of the overall plan to reconnect The Dalles and Troutdale via the 73-mile Historic Columbia River Highway.

Sep 16

Sep 16 Port of The Dalles Reports Illegal Tree Clear-Cut Along Riverfront Trail

Cole Goodwin

Home Page, Environment, The Dalles, Wasco County

Over Labor Day weekend trees and brush were clear-cut from Port of The Dalles property between Riverfront Trail and the Columbia River just north of Klindt Cove Park.

Aug 5

Aug 5 600 Goats Munch Down in Maupin; Salmon Habitat Restoration Underway

Tom Peterson

Environment, Home Page, Wasco County, Positive News

600 goats descended on Maupin on Aug. 4th in an effort to restore Bakeoven Creek in its first two miles. Maupin’s Randy Klettke was able to build a team around the idea, bringing the Goat King from Pendleton and some pretty amazing Peruvian goat herders and their trusty guard and herding dogs. It’s the beginning of a long process, but one that could restore salmon spawning beds.

Aug 2

Aug 2 Hazy skies in Gorge due to fires; Air quality advisory in effect through Thursday

Columbia Community Connection

Home Page, Environment

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality advisory Monday for Northeastern Oregon and the Central Columbia River Gorge due to smoke from fires in Washington, Idaho and Canada.

Aug 2

Aug 2 Wasco County Library Newsletter August 2021

Columbia Community Connection

Positive News, Education, Environment, Weather

David Osborn will facilitate a program named “The Meaning of Climate Change” via Zoom on Wednesday, Aug. 4th, at 6 p.m. through the Wasco County Library District. Learn out what else is happening in this month’s Library Happenings newsletter.

Welcome, friends.