[All-Gorge] ⚖️ New Rules & a Fire-Year Reckoning - Gorge Commission 6/18 - 7/14

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 EpisodeThe Commission adopts its first full rules overhaul in decades: what changed for records requests, meeting notice, and executive sessionsFriends of the Columbia Gorge's notice objection, and why the Commission voted anywayDisaster-recovery rules become ordinance: the no-application RV process and the rebuild size ladderOne year after Burdoin: who has rebuilt, who is still waitingCommissioner Pah-tu Pitt's dissent on Pushpum and Cascade Renewable silence, and a commissioner-pay equity proposalA farewell to Barbara Bailey, and a live fact-check on the resolutionGorge 2030, the 40th anniversary, and the $80,000 farm-income testResources & LinksRead the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.comGorge Commission agendas, Zoom links, and the new rulemaking notice list: gorgecommission.orgNext full Commission meeting: September 8, 2026Budget deadlines: Oregon July 31, Washington September 15Disclosure: 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.Stay Connected with the GorgeThe 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.