As Confluence Sites Close, Explore Confluence Videos From Home

The US Forest Service announced today that all the public lands they manage in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area are closed. This includes the Sandy River Delta in Troutdale, Oregon, site of the Confluence Bird Blind by Maya Lin. The Forest Service says, “there are too many people converging on both developed and unofficial recreation sites to ensure proper social distancing. Crowd sizes were too large to comply with current health authority guidelines, and we cannot ensure a COVID-19 free environment.”

This follows the closure on March 17, 2020 of all Washington State Parks, including Confluence sites at Cape Disappointment and Sacajawea State Park. Our eastern most site at Chief Timothy Park is also closed until further notice due to coronavirus concerns.

We urge you to stay away from Confluence River Sites until it is safe again to gather together. In the coming weeks, look for more stories and programs from Confluence Online, which you can explore at home. Take some time to check out the two below. For me, these stories are a comfort because they remind us of the resilience Indigenous people have demonstrated for as long as they have been here. Resilience is just what we need now.

Stay home and stay healthy.

Keep in touch,

Colin Fogarty
Executive Director

Go to Louie Pitt: You Have to Know “Where You’re From.”

Go to Tanna Engdahl: We Are a Mobile People