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There they go again. For the second consecutive week, our Rogue radar settled on Republican lawmakers, this time for reneging on a promise to fund the Columbia River Gorge Commission. The commission, made up of appointees from Oregon and Washington, is charged with overseeing federal legislation that governs the management of the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area. The commission has long been criticized for putting environmental protection ahead of economic development. Last week 10 Republican legislators, including Beaverton Sen. Eileen Qutub and Boring Rep. Lynn Snodgrass, voted to quash $75,000 in funds earmarked for the commission. When the '97 Oregon Legislature adjourned, it set aside $75,000 for the commission. As required by law, the money wouldn't be authorized until it was matched by funds from the state of Washington. The Washington Legislature balked, so Washington Gov. Gary Locke scraped together $75,000 from a contingency fund and added $19,000 the commission said it needed. Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber offered to kick in $19,000 from his own rainy-day fund, but last week Oregon lawmakers nixed their $75,000 commitment. In defending their vote, lawmakers used some roguishly disingenuous logic. Because the money from Washington didn't come from legislators, they said, it would be more appropriate for Kitzhaber to come up with all the Oregon cash. Kitzhaber says he doesn't have that much money in his contingency fund. So not only does the commission lose the $75,000 from the Oregon Legislature, it loses a matching $75,000 from Locke. As a result, the commission will have to cut two full-time positions, making it impossible to conduct a scheduled review of its management plan. John Mabrey, chairman of the Wasco County Commission, says if lawmakers thought they were helping rural policymakers, they're mistaken. By slashing funds needed for the review, Mabrey says, commission critics have forced gorge residents to live with existing flaws. "They probably thought they were getting back at the commission," he says. "But really they're [hurting] the people who live here." |
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