Open Gorge: The Skamania Dispatch & Klickitattler

A tense day for the Columbia River Gorge Commission as legal counsel issues a stern warning over public records, while state leaders from Oregon and Washington deliver a "cold shower" on the upcoming budget cycle. This episode covers the May 12, 2026, Commission meeting at Elk Ridge Golf Course.

In This Episode:

• The ADU Debate: A new working group is formed to look at Accessory Dwelling Units.
• Climate Crosswalks: How the Gorge is aligning with new Executive Orders from Governor Kotek.
• Vital Signs: Why the Deschutes River is losing its status as a cold-water refuge for salmon.
• The "Data Center" Rhetoric: Residents and tribes push back against new transmission lines.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
• Official Meeting Materials & Video
• The Vital Signs Data Hub

Stay Connected with the Gorge

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.

In this episode, we dive into the April meetings for the White Salmon City Council and the White Salmon Tree Board. We’re looking at a growing push from residents for municipal childcare solutions, the rising costs of our water infrastructure, and why a procedural rule might accidentally doom a historic oak tree.

In This Episode:

• Water rates, reservoir cleaning, and the search for new infrastructure funding.
• How new state mandates are forcing changes to police body camera public records.
• The city's strategic grant application for the Bluff Trail's southern trailhead.
• The Tree Board's battle against a flat-fee loophole for developers cutting down mature canopy.
• The delay on the Gaddis Park volunteer cleanup.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
• White Salmon City Council Agendas & Minutes: whitesalmonwa.gov
• White Salmon Tree Board Agendas: whitesalmonwa.gov
• Documenter notes are available for republishing under Creative Commons license CC by 4.0. Please credit Columbia Gorge Documenters, powered by Uplift Local, and link in show notes to https://upliftlocal.news/columbia-gorge/columbia-gorge-documenters/

Stay Connected with the Gorge

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.

This month at the North Bonneville City Council, a long-simmering frustration with failing internet infrastructure escalated into a full-blown life-safety crisis. We break down the stark warnings from residents about disabled fire alarms, and how a regulatory gap leaves the city with limited leverage to fix the problem.

In This Episode:

• Water System Risk: Why the city had to authorize an emergency withdrawal from its Money Market account for a critical well pump.
• Fire Department Strain: Cascading vehicle failures and the ghost of a pre-COVID FEMA grant.
• The Dais is Full(er): Jeff Blakeley is appointed to Seat #4, and why the council rejected a mayoral pay raise.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch with comprehensive metrics and jargon-busters at skamaniadispatch.com.
• Join the next meeting: Stream or attend North Bonneville City Council on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.
• North Bonneville City Website & Agendas

Stay Connected with the Gorge

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.

Bingen's downtown takes a hit as a contractor strikes an unmarked water main, flooding local businesses and forcing month-long closures. We dive into the major flood that swept through town, and our request to help solve the mystery of who is clogging the city’s water system with a distinctive item: red cotton shop rags!

In This Episode:

• The missing locate wire and the fallout for Carmen's Kitchen
• Sewer plant upgrades and the expensive problem with red shop rags
• The BNSF Quiet Zone diagnostic timeline and the Walnut Street hurdle
• State-mandated middle housing friction on Lois Lane
• The new Building Committee and Gorge Heritage Museum repairs
• A forthcoming Immigrant Community Support Statement

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written text at skamaniadispatch.com
• Water main break floods Bingen businesses, forces closures
• Bingen City Council Agendas & Minutes: City of Bingen Website

Stay Connected with the Gorge

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.

In this episode, we dive back into the new proposal to fine reckless hikers $1000, including the legal strategy to keep that money local. We also cover the urgent bureaucratic "pinch point" threatening the Forest Youth Success summer program and how local businesses can access federal disaster relief. This episode covers the Skamania County Board of Commissioners meeting held on May 5, 2026.

In This Episode:

• The SAR Fine Debate: Why the Sheriff’s Office wants to bypass state revenue-sharing, and why rescue pros are worried it could make trails more dangerous.
• The FYS Funding Crisis: A federal contract rejection has fifty-four local students in limbo.
• SBA Disaster Relief: How to access up to two-million dollars in storm recovery loans.
• Local Safety: A shout-out to the Crag Rats and where to find hiking safety essentials.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
• Hiking Safety Essentials: The Ten Essential Systems
• Apply for Disaster Loans
• Official Meeting Agenda & Packet
• Reach out to provide feedback or make a public comment at [email protected]

Stay Connected with the Gorge

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.

 In this episode of the Skamania Dispatch, we dive into the April 16th Stevenson City Council meeting, where residents staged a highly organized pushback against the city's mandatory sewer connection ordinance. We break down the difference between "proximity" and "condition-based" rules, and look at how neighboring cities in Oregon and Washington are softening the financial blow for homeowners.

In This Episode:

• Balancing pedestrian safety and stormwater runoff on Lasher Street.
• Securing the Rock Creek water intake before summer.
• The appointment of a new City Council member.
• Approaching deadlines for the permanent City Administrator search.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com.
• Review the April 16 Meeting Packet & Agenda
• Watch the full City Council Video via the city website.

Stay Connected with the Gorge

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.

Klickitat County is shifting how it views childcare, moving from a private family issue to treating it as critical economic infrastructure. We look at a recent site visit to Boardman, Oregon, to see how public-private partnerships might cure our local "childcare desert." We also break down the county's pushback against state energy codes, and why housing experts are warning that our regional fear of short-term rentals might actually be making the housing crisis worse.

In This Episode:

• A $21 million state public health funding cut forces lean operations locally.
• The new "Frontier Defense" strategy against state energy mandates.
• How the Planning Commission is updating ADU rules, and the "Option-Value" catch-22 of missing middle housing.
• Bids awarded for Courthouse exterior stucco and painting.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
• Read Nathan Wilson's reporting on the county's childcare desert in the Columbia Gorge News.
• View the official meeting agendas and packets at the Klickitat County website.

Stay Connected with the Gorge

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.

Did you pack your map and compass? We are diving into the April 21st and April 28th Skamania County Commissioner meetings, where the Sheriff's Office introduced a controversial new proposal: a one-thousand-dollar fine for negligent hikers who trigger Search and Rescue missions. We unpack the county's funding strategy, the pushback from national rescue professionals, and what it could mean for your next weekend on the trail.

In This Episode:

• Armed Auxiliaries: The county officially approves a new volunteer Sheriff's Auxiliary force.
• Quarry Tensions: The Storedahl Quarry Environmental Impact Statement is finally public, sparking immediate pushback from the West End.
• Space Crunch: Why the Hegewald Center's community meeting space is being eliminated.
• Boat Launch Crackdown: County officials coordinate with state wildlife agents to monitor unpermitted commercial fishing guides.
• Library Hours: Good news for readers as the Stevenson library prepares for seven-day-a-week operations.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch with deeper policy analysis at skamaniadispatch.com.
• Audio recordings and full meeting packets for the April 21 and April 28 meetings are available via the Skamania County meeting portal.
• Documenter notes are available for republishing under Creative Commons license CC by 4.0. With thanks to Columbia Gorge Documenters, powered by Uplift Local: https://upliftlocal.news/columbia-gorge/columbia-gorge-documenters/

Trail Safety Resources:

• Ready, Set, GORGE!: Your local guide to trail conditions and seasonal hazards.
• The Ten Essentials: A checklist of the ten items you should never hike without.
• WTA Trail Smarts: Expert advice on navigating PNW terrain safely.
• Safety Tip: Always text a friend your exact route and a "panic time" to call for help if you haven't checked back in.

Stay Connected with the Gorge

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.

Today marks exactly eighty years since the devastating May 5, 1946 fire that wiped out the bustling riverside village of Old Underwood. In this special anniversary episode, we explore the sheer ambition of the early Gorge fruit growers, the “Sunday conflagration” that changed the town's trajectory, and the new life taking root on the waterfront today.

In This Episode:

• The ancient Indigenous roots of the Underwood crossing.
• How a pioneer boat landing became "The Most Famous Fruit Belt in the World."
• The perfect storm of economic shifts that kept the lower commercial core from rebuilding.
• Underwood’s hopeful next chapter, happening right before our eyes
• A shoutout to our favorite local historical archives.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at SkamaniaDispatch.com
• Underwood Through the Years by Mary Kapp and Kathy LaMotte
• The Upbuilding of the White Salmon Area: Historical Misinformation Exposed by Ralph Brown
• Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum
• Confluence Project
• Yakama Nation Cultural Center
• Columbia Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
• Underwood Park and Recreation District (UPRD) 
• Gorge Heritage Museum
• HistoryLink.org

Stay Connected with the Gorge

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.

At the April 2026 EFSEC meeting, the state is pushing forward on major energy infrastructure, clearing significant pre-construction hurdles for the massive Horse Heaven project, including legally binding plans to track local pronghorn antelope. We're also breaking down averted state budget cuts, new legal rules for authentic tribal consultation, and what the latest environmental scoping means for local transmission lines.

In This Episode:

• The Cascade Renewable Transmission project hits a major environmental review milestone.
• A deep dive into how wildlife mitigation actually works on the ground for solar projects.
• Good news for the agency's budget and technical hiring freeze.
• New state laws changing how the council conducts government-to-government tribal consultation.
• Brief updates on the Columbia, Hop Hill, and Wallula Gap solar sites.

Resources & Links:

• Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com
• Text of Bill SHB 2496
• Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center
• Read the full April 15 meeting packet and agenda, and watch the full video at EFSEC's website. 

Stay Connected with the Gorge

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.