Columbia Land Trust

1351 Officers' Row, Vancouver, Washington 98661
360.696.0131 voice, 360.696.1847 fax

In Our View: Tuesday, May 16, 2000 Check Mate Giving to land trust can be contagious Ever write a $50,000 check? It is an experience that isn't even an option for many people. But for those who can write such a whopper of a check (without it bouncing, that is), it's amazing and noteworthy when they choose to do so for a community's shared benefit. Norm Danielson, a Camas man who formerly owned four Thriftway grocery stores, gave that much dough to help the nonprofit Columbia Land Trust acquire prime land in the Columbia River Gorge. The land is one of many links that will eventually be transformed into a public hiking trail winding from Washougal to Cape Horn. The trust hopes the trail will one day extend to Stevenson. The $50,000 donation was unexpected, said Glenn Lamb, executive director of the land trust. He applauds both Danielson and the philanthropic Community Foundation for Southwest Washington for matching Danielson's money with the land trust. Other donors have also given generously to the trail dream (including Scott Campbell and Mason Nolan, two Columbian editorial board members). Anyone who has taken advantage of the Gorge's beauty knows it is more easily done on the Oregon side. The opportunity for public hiking is limited on the Washington side of the Gorge, so close in to Clark County. But in a couple of years, just a half-hour drive from Vancouver, outdoor enthusiasts will be able to hike a trail that winds up 500 feet above Cape Horn. Lamb describes the spot as 500 feet above that magnificent part of state Highway 14 that the "cliffs just drop off right in front of you." You know, the part of the highway where you are driving along and you kind of want to steal a peek, but as the driver, you just can't. Fifty thousand dollars is certainly out of reach for many, making it another one of those rich-guy unrealities that doesn't begin to challenge one's own philanthropic urges. So try this one on for size. Denise Schafte, who just six years ago interned for the trust, recently gave $1,000 to the organization. Her giving, every bit as grand as Danielson's $50,000, has inspired several of the land trust's own board members to follow suit. The community will have donors both big and small to thank when hiking in the clouds above Cape Horn becomes a reality. -- Elizabeth Hovde, for the editorial board Web editor for Opinion is Michael Zuzel.

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