2025 NPSO Annual Meeting
Last Updated on March 2, 2025 by Tom Pratum
| The Portland Chapter is proudly hosting the statewide NPSO Annual Meeting at an iconic riverside setting at the award-winning Best Western Plus Hood River Inn during the peak of wildflower season in the Columbia Gorge! The meeting will be held May 16 to May 18, 2025. You must be a current active NPSO member to attend an annual meeting. Renew or have your family or partner join at www.npsoregon.org/membership. Note that each member with a two-person membership (Family, Sustaining, Patron, or Life) must pay the registration fee to cover the conference room costs and to ensure enough seating for the evening banquets. Registration Fee How much is the registration fee going to be?Attendance is limited to the first 120 “active members” who register, meaning your membership must be current to register. Registration for the meeting opens in the March Bulletin on a first come, first served basis via our website being built to hopefully accept credit card payments. Estimated costs and required gratuity fees for most services and food have increased dramatically since 2023 when we reserved the venue. Every effort is being made to keep the registration fee and required meals as low as possible below $200 per person for the weekend. Abundant free parking is available on site; the award-winning Riverside Restaurant and Cebu Lounge Bar with local Hood River brewery and distilleries offerings are onsite, two jacuzzi spas (one outdoor/one indoor), and a large heated outdoor pool are open many hours of the day. River walkways for exercise and access to the waterfront begin at the Inn. It’s a fabulous place to stay for the price! The March Bulletinwill have all information about registration with access to the 2025 Annual Meeting website to view the reception, breakfast, and banquet menus as well as all field trip locations/choices. Who will the evening Speakers be? The Friday night speakers are Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust staffers Sara Woods and Frances Fischer offering “From Waterfalls to Desert Bluffs: Protecting the Columbia River Gorge“, an introduction to the vast region they manage and updates on private land acquisitions adding more acreage to sensitive native plant and fauna habitats. Our keynote speaker on Saturday night is the venerable Paul Slichter, long-time NPSO member, telling us about his work with “Citizen Science – Rare Plant Monitoring in the Columbia River Gorge.” Field Trips Where will the field trips be offered? We have so many incredible sites to choose from on both the Oregon and Washington sides of the Gorge! Ten hikes per day are planned to choose from with very knowledgeable guides. A U.S. Forest Service botanist, Washington State Department of Natural Resources ranger, local experts like Barbara Robinson and Paul Slichter, as well as our Portland Chapter hike leaders will be taking groups of twelve to see the endemic and unusual native flora and fauna of this unique landscape east from The Dalles, north to Husum and Trout Lake, Washington and west to Cascade Locks inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Note that NPSO state policy is firm about “no dogs allowed“ on any field trip or left in a vehicle. Please make arrangements for your dog(s) if you leave a pet at our lodging, especially the Hood River Inn! Hotel Reservations How do you receive an NPSO discount on a room reservation at the Inn? We reserved a bank of fifty-five guest room accommodations at a special NPSO group discount rate until they’re gone. Room rates increase closer to “high season” which starts in April. Members should make room reservations now to have the best selection of the various accommodations with bed sizes and views of the river or budget offerings. “Dog-friendly” guest rooms are available at the non-discount rate by calling the Hood River Inn at 541-386-2200 to make that reservation. The popular Best Western Plus Hood River Inn will reach full capacity for the “high season” well before March. Reservations can be cancelled without a fee until mid-April 2025. Save this Bulletin to make your room reservation with the Best Western Hood River Inn’s reservation site via the blue button link below to receive the “Native Plant Society” special rates. Do not call the Hood River Inn to ask for this special rate! Email the Portland Chapter organizers at np************@gm***.com if you need help with your guest room reservation. |
| Alternative Campground reservations are also highly recommended via a search of Oregon State Parks at the blue button link below with three maps of the Mid- Columbia River region within ten miles of Hood River. We like the Memaloose State Park the best; it’s just east of the town of Mosier on the I-84 westbound river side. Note: all public campgrounds in the Columbia Gorge are either on the Columbia River prone to winds and commercial vessel traffic noise or adjacent to Interstate I-84 or a train track on the south side! Be forewarned this is not a quiet camping area. Thank you from The Board of the Portland Chapter |
| Find your Campsite Here Watch the video “Geology of the Columbia River Gorge” by Central Washington University geology professor Nick Zentner at the link below. Featured courtesy of Nick Zentner. Watch the Geology Video Here |