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Hood River News Editorial
February 17, 2007
There is a sign reading “Mud” on the
Hood River pedestrian bridge that is not as curious as it may seem.
The sign is not a description of what lies below in the river, but
rather an advertisement for the drama on stage at CAST Theater.
Yet mud was the main mover in the river in November, when heavy rains
washed tons of woody and earthen debris down the Hood toward the
Columbia.
Much of the mud and many of the logs stopped at the mouth; the very
shape of the map must change with the creation of a new chunk of land
where the Hood meets the Columbia.
The delta dilemma is a big one faced by Hood River County agencies as
well as businesses that are directly and indirectly tied to water
sports and river-based tourism. Which means the entire community has a
stake in what will be done to solve the new access challenges from
earthen material gathering in all the wrong places.
“Mud” the play is about clashing emotions and expectations. But
meanwhile the Hood’s waters are running light emerald and clear.
Getting a clear view of what’s happening, what’s going to happen, and
how to proceed —without clashing — was at the heart of the Port of
Hood River’s forum on the delta, held last week.
For the most part, the mud of the delta isn’t going anywhere. There is
a new landscape at the riverfront door of Hood River.
What came out of Monday’s meeting was the strong sense that was once
silt has become shore, and solutions can be found.
Numerous questions abound, and what must be factored into any
physical, political, or practical decisions necessitated by the growth
of the delta are the needs not only of the Port but of all river
users, and local businesses.
It appears that the amassing of mud at the delta provides, literally
and figuratively, common ground. |
