Eagle Creek Fire Restoration Fund

While fires are a natural part of many forested ecosystems, when they impact places like the Columbia River Gorge, our thoughts turn to how we can help the ecosystems, trails and wildlife habitat that we cherish recover. That is why the NFF established the Eagle Creek Fire Restoration Fund to aid the recovery of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

Once the fire was out the NFF has been working closely with the U.S. Forest Service to understand the impacts of the fire and how we can best support recovery efforts. Since almost 90 percent of the fire burned in the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness Area, the U.S. Forest Service will not plant trees and instead they will be allowed to naturally grow back on their own in the Wilderness Area.

However, there is a lot of work that needs to be done including reopening hiking trails, restoring wildlife habitat and planting native plants. In 2018, the NFF used funds raised in the Eagle Creek Fire Restoration Fund to reopen over 60 miles of hiking trails and reduce rock slides and erosion.

There is a lot more work to be done over the next couple of years to reopen all of the hiking trails and help the areas hardest impacted by the fire grow back. For this reason, we still need donations that will help us to get this important work completed.

As the non-profit partner to the U.S. Forest Service, the NFF is a 501c3 organization and all contributions are tax deductible. For every $1 that is donated, $0.85 goes to on-the-ground restoration efforts in the Columbia River Gorge that have been impacted by the Eagle Creek Fire.

Thank you for your support in helping the Columbia River Gorge recover from the eagle Creek Fire.