Columbia Gorge Air Quality project

The Columbia River Gorge is an area of beauty and diversity. It is also an area that over 70,000 residents of Oregon and Washington call home. The National Scenic Area Act of 1986 lays out a unique challenge. Namely, to protect and enhance the scenic, natural, cultural and recreational resources of this National Scenic Area while at the same time supporting the local economies. Achieving the goals of the Scenic Area Act will require us to look both locally and regionally at sources influencing air quality in the Gorge, and develop an air quality strategy that closely involves stakeholders and the public.

The Columbia Gorge Air Quality Project is the response to the May 2000 Gorge commission's adoption of an amendment to the Gorge Management Plan calling for the protection and enhancement of Columbia River Gorge Air Quality. The first study plan was issued in 2001 and revised in 2003 in response to funding changes. The initial peer-reviewed study was developed jointly with the Southwest Clean Air Agency (SWCAA), the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), the Washington Department of Ecology (WDOE) and with some grant funding from the US EPA. The study was redesigned after subsequent changes in funding and the disinvestment of WDOE from the project. The current study is a "stand alone" study that leverages other studies and will provide processes and models for current and future assessment, and an initial assessment of air quality in the Gorge.

The resulting redesigned Technical Study Plan outlines a program for scientific study and a collaborative public process for developing an air quality strategy for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The project's mission is consistent with both the resource protection and economic objectives of the National Scenic Area Act.

• Draft Gorge Strategy Document PDF
• Appendices PDF
• Gorge Science day presentations and reports (September 2007)
• Upcoming events for the Columbia River Gorge Air Quality Project

[print version]