If you love unspoiled places on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge, you might have Pat Arnold to thank
February 19, 2026. If you’ve ever been involved with environmental issues in Southwest Washington, you’ve got an opinion about Pat Arnold.
For more than three decades, the Klickitat County farmer has had a voice, if not a hand, in just about every major conservation debate in the region.
Though her platform is Friends of the White Salmon River—she’s been with the advocacy organization since the 1990s, becoming part of its leadership in 2008—her interests and expertise are widespread. Timber sales. Renewable energy. Wildlife habitat. Dams. Arnold is a consistently passionate—and organized—steward of the land.
“What I am doing is advocating for things that are good for everybody. I care about the trees and the people,” she says.
Arnold is a fighter, but as even her adversaries admit, a fair and levelheaded one who understands compromise. She’s not against logging, upon which Southwest Washington’s historic economy was built. She’s not against development, which it needs for a sustainable future.
But she’s known for being quick to stand up to greed, poor planning and flimsy arguments. Debate with Arnold and you’d better be prepared—she will be.
Over the years, Arnold has commented on a number of Columbia Insight stories. Sometimes to praise them. Sometimes to criticize them. Sometimes to correct them.
She stays in the conversation because she cares in a way all of us should, and puts action behind her convictions in a way few of us manage.
Producer and writer Deborah Bloom made the daily rounds with Arnold to better get to know one of the Columbia River Gorge’s busiest environmental watchdogs. —Editor
Bravo for recognizing somebody who has dedicated so much of her life to so many good causes, and still does.