Toasted Dolphin

This historic film began as a slideshow that Friends of the Columbia Gorge founder Nancy Russell used in her various presentations to garner support for federal legislation to protect Gorge natural and cultural resources. For its time, the slideshow was an impressive tool with beautiful photography, built-in narration, music scored to the presentation and even character voices. The slideshow would be shown with multiple projectors so the images would seamlessly fade in and out giving a sense of motion. It's a fascinating, meditative, from-the-heart tribute to the special qualities of the Columbia Gorge, and a warning about what could be lost without swift protective action. Many decision-makers and crucial benefactors of the movement to save the Gorge were moved by this presentation.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act, which today helps efforts to ensure that the beautiful and wild Columbia Gorge remains a place apart, an unspoiled treasure for generations to come.