$25M Steigerwald resrotration kicks off

Several years ago, Washougal Mayor Molly Coston, then the president of the Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards, was approached by Chris Collins of the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership (LCEP), a Portland-based environmental protection nonprofit coalition of public and private groups.

Collins told Coston about the agency's plan to reconfigure the Port of Camas-Washougal's existing Columbia River levee system to reduce flood risk, re-connect 960 acres of Columbia River floodplain and increase recreation opportunities at the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat who represents Oregon, told the crowd that as the co-chair of the House Oceans Caucus and Congressional Estuary Caucus, "projects like this are really at the forefront of the work that I do."