The Columbia River Gorge Commission just rewrote its own open-government rulebook, over a protest from Friends of the Columbia Gorge and a lone no vote. This episode covers what the new rules actually give you, the one-year Burdoin fire rebuild scorecard, a commissioner's on-the-record dissent about tribal voice and two energy projects, and a new Gorge spider with a Sahaptin name.

In This Episode

• The Commission adopts its first full rules overhaul in decades: what changed for records requests, meeting notice, and executive sessions
• Friends of the Columbia Gorge's notice objection, and why the Commission voted anyway
• Disaster-recovery rules become ordinance: the no-application RV process and the rebuild size ladder
• One year after Burdoin: who has rebuilt, who is still waiting
• Commissioner Pah-tu Pitt's dissent on Pushpum and Cascade Renewable silence, and a commissioner-pay equity proposal
• A farewell to Barbara Bailey, and a live fact-check on the resolution
• Gorge 2030, the 40th anniversary, and the $80,000 farm-income test

Resources & Links

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
• Gorge Commission agendas, Zoom links, and the new rulemaking notice list: gorgecommission.org
• Next full Commission meeting: September 8, 2026
• Budget deadlines: Oregon July 31, Washington September 15
• Disclosure: during the Executive Director's report, Commissioner Fowler praised a public comment on accessory dwelling units "from Kate Bertash," saying she'd "done a spectacular job of setting the stage of where we are in the Gorge right now." That comment, a regional ADU policy brief, was submitted by the author of the Skamania Dispatch, who hosts this podcast and maintains the Open Gorge Public Meetings Archive. It is independent analysis, speaks for no government, and you can read it in the meeting record.

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The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org.

To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.