PSU Magazine Spring 1995

sioners, see major problems with management and care of the Scenic Area. "There are plenty of ironies in all this," she says. "Many private lands have been purchased supposedly to ensure their pre ervation or protection. But these lands now become accessible to the public. ln many cases these new public lands are unsupervised or unmanaged." Price cites examples of newly purchased lands where all-terrain vehicles now may be seen, churning up ecologically sensitive stream ide areas. "There's no one to tell them to stay out of the area," she laments. "Boundaries aren't marked. Today, there's still no clear boundaries between the general management area and special management areas." Prospects for improvement look bleak. The Forest Service has een its budget chopped, and will have to deal with shrinking resources for recreation management. "It's clearly true that there's not enough money for land management of Forest Service lands, but that's not unique to the Gorge," says Doherty. "That's the case across all federal lands, and it's not likely to get any better." White Salmon resident F. Stuart Chapin] r., an original member of the Columbia River Gorge Commission, says there's inadequate staffing among the current Gorge Commi sion and the Fore t Service Scenic Area offices to carry on mandated responsibilities. Also, there need to be more educa– tional program to help citizens and young people understand the manage– ment plan and the need for pr tection of the Gorge's resources, he ay . "It's a matter of manpower," says Chapin, a retired professor of land-use planning. "There's a whole series of out– reaches that haven't been pur ued yet." A db •nd the Abbom "Y it'• hard to measure the succe s of something a complex as the Colum– bia River Gorge Scenic Area. "We've put a piece of Oregon's land-use planning approach on the Washington ide of the river, and that's ignificant," Adler says. "In typi- cal Oregon style, we try to do things ahead of a crisis, as we do in many policy areas. Many Gorge residents said, 'There's no crisis here, yet you want this elaborate apparatus in place.' But success, in the case of the Scenic Area, can be measured by the terrible things that haven't happened, such as unwanted or unsightly developments." Carl Abbott says the Gorge counties are learning how to take advantage of the economic benefits that can come out of the regulation-heavy Scenic Area plan, which manages an area that would have changed whether or not the Scenic Area was ever created. "Skamania County has learned to take advantage of its local powers. The county has been aggressive in getting benefits from the legislation," he says. Doherty points to the economic benefits Skamania County is gaining thanks to the recent construction of Skamania Lodge near Stevenson, Wash. The lodge became a reality because of $5 million in federal funds authorized by the Scenic Area, aided by $15 million from the lodge's private developer and $5 million from Skamania County. "The Lodge is there only because of the Scenic Area," Doherty says. "It's a new employer in a small community, creating 300 job . It brings in $12 million in total revenues each year. New businesses have been generated. A good economic analysis of how the Scenic Area has benefited the region economi– cally hasn't yet been done, but this is an example of how it can benefit the area." Adler believes that while the Scenic Area regulations are cumbersome, they allow Gorge residents to control their own destiny-a power they once feared they'd lose. "Folks in the Gorge have an opportunity that many people in re ource-dependent communities often don't have. They're able to talk in a public forum about their collective fate-and they have help," says Adler. "Thi is what planning is about-to provide the opportunity to talk about your future." D (Brian White is a staff writer in PSU's Office of Public Relations.) SPRING 1995 9