Legislative Action

Thousands of bills are introduced in the Oregon and Washington Legislatures each year, many of which have direct impacts on the Gorge. Staff and partners follow these bills and take action through letter writing, public testimony, and campaigns to get citizen conservationists to urge their representatives to protect the Gorge.

One example is Oregon’s Senate Bill 85 (SB85). SB85, in its original form, proposed a moratorium on new or expanded extremely large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (Mega-CAFOs) while the impacts these operations have on human health and safety were assessed. This contentious bill was amended, debated, and rewritten through several iterations, but the final version did not meet the original goal; while it closed a loophole that allowed Mega-CAFOs to draw water without limits, none of the other impacts to human health and safety that Friends was fighting for were addressed. This includes air quality, an issue that continues to threaten residents of the Gorge. Despite this setback, Friends will continue to work to improve air quality standards in the Gorge.

Another legislative priority this year was funding for the Gorge Commission. Significant staff time was spent trying to convince Oregon to match the funds Washington had budgeted for the Gorge Commission in the 2023-2025 biennium. Both states’ budget allocations for the Gorge Commission must match, otherwise the Commission is allocated the lower of the two states’ budgets. Oregon’s budget did not include funding for a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program and additional capacity for legal work and climate change adaptation. In an extremely difficult year full of walkouts, budget cuts, and somehow a record reserve, funding for these programs, like many needed programs throughout the state, was not funded.

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