History of Columbia River Gorge Chapter, IAFI

The Columbia River Gorge Chapter was founded in 2007 through the efforts of Terry and Patty Hurd, Les Hastings, Pat Culver, Linda Turner, Bernadette Price, and several early member enthusiasts whose Floods interests were piqued on local field trips.

The chapter has organized presentations at the Hood River library, White Salmon library, Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center, Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, Vista House, and at the old jail and the Historic Wasco Co. Courthouse in The Dalles. Presenters have included Nick Zentner, Scott Burns, Bruce Bjornstad, Jim Connors, Richard Waite, John Soennichsen, Ellen Morris Bishop, Rick and Sylvia Thompson, Bob DeTar and others. Terry also did a few presentations at Memaloose campgrounds for the Oregon Park Service ,  one for Sherman County Wheat Growers, and represented the chapter at Wagons and Wheels when they were getting the Horsethief Lake State Park system set up. The chapter hosted the 2010 IAFI Annual Membership Meeting based out of The Dalles. 

The chapter has also organized scouting and field trips to Strawberry Mountain, the Cherry Orchards Conservancy near Lyle, the grounds at Maryhill museum, a farm behind Arlington, up Phillipi Canyon, several around Fifteen-Mile and Nine-Mile creeks where the Flood waters spilled over the walls of the Gorge, and even a wine tour with Alan Busacca. We’ve also done presentations at local school classrooms.

It was on one of those field trips that Terry met Lloyd DeKay, whom Terry convinced to help organize and lead a more comprehensive Columbia Gorge Geology field trip. That field trip ran regularly 2-3 times each year from 2011-2017, and still runs occasionally as fundraisers for local groups. Lloyd took over the presidency of the chapter in 2015 as Terry’s health deteriorated and he eventually passed away. Lorrie DeKay became the IAFI Membership Manager in 2023 after the previous manager, Sylvia Thompson, moved away.

Lloyd is also the IAFI.org webmaster, has spearheaded two redesigns of the IAFI website (IAFI.org), redesigned brochures for IAFI and each of its 11 chapters, redesigned and publishes the quarterly Pleistocene Post, helped remake the Ice Age Floods in the Pacific Northwest map and a new Glacial and Temporary Lake map, developed display panels for meetings and conventions, and provides ongoing technical support for IAFI in general..

There is a critical need for chapter volunteers to help arrange regular public presentations and chapter activities, and to fill chapter leadership positions of vice-president, secretary and treasurer.

We recognize that there is considerable controversy and diversity of opinions regarding the source and timing of the ice-age megafloods and the landscape they impacted, even whether indigenous people were in the area to experience the megafloods.  We also recognize that some of our chapter’s geologic features are somewhat obscured or altered in places due to the impacts of Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and Umatilla Dams and the deep reservoirs behind each of them which has raised the height of the Columbia River and its tributaries and covered significant features such as Celilo Falls. There has also been controversy within our chapter when a prominent member left the chapter over issues with strong proponents of Biblical Flood theories. While we welcome members with various beliefs, ideas and points of view, our public and educational emphasis is focused on science-based facts and theories.   

Patty Hurd – IAFI Store Manager