The Majestic Columbia River Gorge

The Majestic Columbia River Gorge is a collection of stories, myths, and of a Vision Quest by several chiefs of the Watlalla Tribe belonging to the Chinook Nation. The stories within share of the gift of all things involving nature and of how the Native Americans may have associated themselves to those same gifts.

Photography by Steve Warnstaff Pacific Northwest Tours and Workshops Landscape and Art Prints www.warnstaffphotography.com

The Columbia River Gorge in Wash. State is one of the most majestic and unique areas in the world. Here the Columbia River carved out the only sea-level break through the Cascade range on its way to the Pacific Ocean. With the Cascades towering as high as 4,000 feet on either side of the river, one finds an everchanging panorama from lush Douglas-fir forests, craggy stands of pine and oaks, majestic stone-faced cliffs, and spectacular waterfalls, to windswept plateaus and semi-arid conditions. This illustrated document brings together information on its history, geology, ecology, natural resources, fisheries, and mgmt. issues.

His interests include the Native American history of the Northwest. This, the second manuscript of the series of three, pertains to the lives of those who walked the lands and worshipped everything they were offered from the Great Spirit above. Though the natives believed in spirituality, their beliefs were not far from understanding there is a God that offered mankind everything they would need to survive on a day-to-day basis. It is in that testament of their survival and toward their beliefs that these stories may bring one to hear the call of the coyote and the warning of the crow as they look down upon you and lead you safely across the many trails you may follow in your life. Steve now lives in the Portland, Oregon, area with his beloved wife, Joan.

The Columbia River Gorge is a land of scenic wonder, revered by tourists for its beauty and by recreationalists for its fishing, windsurfing, hiking, and rafting. The region is also a major transportation corridor, home to two vital east-west railroad routes: Burlington Northern Santa Fe on the Washington side of the Columbia River and Union Pacific on the Oregon side. Every day, dozens of freight trains—as well as Amtrak passenger trains—snake along on opposite banks of the wide river, and rail operations have become an integral part of the heartbeat of the gorge. The colorful images in this work celebrate the art and magic of the trains that move goods and passengers through this striking, rugged landscape.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act, setting into motion one of the great land-use experiments of modern times. The act struck a compromise between protection for one of the West's most stunning landscapes--the majestic Gorge carved by Ice Age floods, which today divides Washington and Oregon--and encouragement of compatible economic development in communities on both sides of the river. In Bridging a Great Divide, award-winning environmental journalist Kathie Durbin draws on interviews, correspondence, and extensive research to tell the story of the major shifts in the Gorge since the Act's passage. Sweeping change has altered the Gorge's landscape: upscale tourism and outdoor recreation, gentrification, the end of logging in national forests, the closing of aluminum plants, wind farms, and a population explosion in the metropolitan area to its west. Yet, to the casual observer, the Gorge looks much the same as it did twenty-five years ago. How can we measure the success of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act? In this insightful and revealing history, Durbin suggests that the answer depends on who you are: a small business owner, an environmental watchdog group, a chamber of commerce. The story of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is the story of the Pacific Northwest in microcosm, as the region shifts from a natural-resource-based economy to one based on recreation, technology, and quality of life.