In 1986, Oregon leaders put into place protections that have kept the Columbia Gorge the scenic wonder it is today. Celebrate the 25th anniversary with artistic and cultural events all summer long in the Gorge.

Beginning just 15 miles east of the Greater Portland area, the Gorge is a wild natural treasure that’s been largely unchanged by the last quarter century. This is not the product of chance but rather a foresighted effort to protect this wide chasm cut by Ice Age floods through the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act. This federal law confines development to small urban areas from Troutdale to the Dalles on the Oregon side and manages the rest of the land for open space and recreation.

To celebrate, artists and communities will be staging events throughout the summer. They begin with the launch of a new commemorative book from renowned photographer Peter Marbach at the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River on May 24 and open studios May 28 at Lorang Fine Art and Soderberg Bronze Works in Cascade Locks.

Of course, an appropriate personal commemoration could also include making one of the many accessible treks from river bed to Gorge rim, in order to stand and look out at the impressive, well-protected view.