Knowing what he was going to ask Nancy, John
Yeon planned the dinner for a night when the
full moon would rise over Multnomah Falls.
help. Hatfield told them that he’d push for special federal
status if they could organize supporters from both sides of
the river and both ends of the gorge to stand behind him.
At about the same time, in August 1979, the late
architect and preservationist John Yeon invited Nancy
and Bruce to his estate near Skamania, Washington,
overlooking the gorge. Knowing what he was going to ask
Nancy, Yeon carefully planned this dinner for a night
when a full moon would rise over 620-foot Multnomah
Falls, one of the best-known attractions on the Oregon
side of the gorge and dramatically visible from the Yeon
estate. Nancy later described the evening as “superb.”
As sunset washed the gorge walls pink and the moon
appeared above the falls, Yeon urged Russell to lead a
fight for federal protection.
Russell soon founded the Friends group and
recruited a high-powered board of directors, including
two Oregon ex-governors, Tom McCall and Bob
Straub; ex-Washington governor Dan Evans; and Mike
Lindberg, a Portland city commissioner. “With all of the
heavy hitters we had on board from the beginning, Nancy
certainly started with a bang,” says Kevin Gorman, the
group’s executive director role since 1998. Aubrey Russell,
Nancy’s son, remembers her first few months of organizing Friends as intense. She pounded the pavement for
money and responded to each sizable donation with a
handwritten note of thanks. Gradually funds began to
come in, and she set about working to protect key properties throughout the gorge.
One important piece of land Nancy was not able to
protect in those early years was a basalt bluff on the
Washington side, in the western part of the gorge
known as Cape Horn. Driving along Washington Route
14 in 1981, she spotted signs advertising 16 lots for sale
there, in a development that was to be known as Rim
View Estates. Russell was outraged. Not only was Cape
Horn one of her favorite spots—she and Jolley had sought
wildflowers there for years—but its lofty eminence commanded views up and down the river, making it the logical
By the Numbers: COLUMBIA GORGE
Length in miles of the Columbia River Gorge: 85
Gorge depth in feet at its deepest point: 4,000
Number of acres in the Columbia River Gorge
National Scenic Area: 292,500
Average annual inches of rainfall in the western
portion of the gorge: 75
In the eastern portion: 12
Number of Columbia River streams and
tributaries in the gorge: 54
Number of waterfalls on the Oregon side of the
gorge: 77
Estimated annual visits to recreation sites in
the gorge, in millions: 3. 2
Approximate number of state and federal parks
and recreation sites there: 60
Number of wildlife refuges: 3
Gorge conservation projects completed with
TPL’s help since 1987: 80
Approximate acreage protected in those projects:
17,000
Number of human hearts lifted by gorge scenery
each year: incalculable
RONCRONIN
Hood River, Oregon, near the east end of the gorge, is a
popular windsurfing site.
