From the Water

Many people first fall in love with the Columbia Gorge when they're on a trail. For Si Simonson, it happened on the water. When Si moved to Portland thirty years ago, he was active in the Island Sailing Club, and he first fully appreciated the Gorge during frequent sails near Vancouver. Looking eastward, he would sit in awe of the expansive river and towering tree-lined cliffs in the distance. Si grew up exploring the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, and today, he's restoring forty-nine acres of oak habitat on his land near Corvallis. He sees these conservation values as his parents' legacy. Since Si doesn't have children, he wants to be sure his own legacy will make a real difference. When he thought about it, he kept coming back to those transformative experiences he had sailing on the Columbia. "The definition of legacy," Si said recently, "is the impact you have after you're gone. If the Gorge is lost to development, we will never get it back." Including Friends in his estate plans is Si's way to "make sure there are a few more trees where there could be condos instead," and that others can experience the majesty of the Gorge the way he first did, decades ago. We're honored and humbled that he has chosen Friends of the Columbia Gorge to carry out his legacy.