Columbia Land Trust

1351 Officers' Row, Vancouver, Washington 98661
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Couple decides multi-million dollar view property really belongs to us all Friday, January 4, 2002 Erik Robinson for pdxguide.com     PORTLAND, Oregon -- Emil and Dory Brooking, who discovered their dream property 44 years ago along the north bank of the Columbia River, have made sure it will be preserved for future generations to enjoy.     Working with Columbia Land Trust, the couple signed a conservation easement that will ensure the 8 acres of riverfront property remain open to public access indefinitely.     The Clark College Foundation wants to have an environmental education center on the site.     In fast-growing Clark County, the Brookings' commitment is remarkable to land trust director Glenn Lamb.     "Dory will tell you that land isn't even hers," he said. "It belongs to everybody. Everybody should have the opportunity to experience the Columbia River. It's incredible, their generosity of spirit, sense of community and real connection to the river."     By signing the easement, the Brookings and their family forgo a big payoff from selling the property for a housing development.     But that's not what they wanted.     "We just watched so much of our open space disappear," said Dory Brooking, as chattering geese flew over the river Thursday afternoon. "We have a choice, and we don't want this open space to disappear."     Situated between Vancouver and Camas with a dramatic view of Mount Hood, the property has multimillion-dollar homes on either side of it. The couple couldn't envision anyone putting up no-trespassing signs on their land after they're gone.     "I think we need to open the natural world to more people, and at the same time protect it," she said.     In a three-way agreement involving the couple, the land trust and the Clark College Foundation, the property is slated to be the site of an outdoor environmental education center. The Brookings' place, with two large man-made ponds fed by springs, will complement the nearby Columbia Springs Environmental Education Center and an arboretum also held by the college, foundation president Elson Strahan said.     Though the Brookings and the college haven't yet worked out a sale agreement, the conservation easement on the deed will remain in place no matter who owns the property.     More than four decades ago, Emil Brooking, a retired physician, noticed a "For sale" sign on the property as he drove from his Camas office to see hospital patients in Vancouver.     The former site of a barge dock directly below the old Fisher Quarry, the property was the staging ground for massive rocks used to build up the jetties at the mouth of the Columbia River.     It had been abandoned by the time the young ex-Army doctor noticed it.     "Curiosity finally got the best of me," he said.     A few weeks after taking his first walk through the property, Brooking made an offer. It would be another 20 years before the couple had their large A-frame home built on the property.     Until then, it served as a weekend and vacation getaway for the couple and their eight children.     One of them, Connie Durkee, says she remembers floating down the river on summer days from a small, rocky cove on the eastern edge of the 900-foot-long property.     Each year, the kids return to help their parents clear blackberry brush.     Though the kids are now adults with 10 children of their own, they're not above taking a dip during warm summer days.     "We've had two weddings down here," Durkee said.     Emil and Dory Brooking, 86 and 78, respectively, signed the easement with the encouragement of their children. Their intentions are plain.     "I want to honor the land," she said.

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