Nancy Neighbor Russell

Nancy Neighbor Russell (1932–2008) was an American conservationist. She was a co-founder of Friends of the Columbia Gorge, a leading conservationist, a negotiator, and a fundraiser.

Early life and education The daughter of Robert W. and Mary Ann Bishop Neighbor, Nancy Neighbor was born on January 11, 1932, in Portland, Oregon. She attended Miss Catlin's School and graduated from Scripps College in Claremont, California in 1953. She was an amateur tennis champion. She married Bruce H. Russell in 1957, and they had five children. By the following Spring, 31 members of "Friends of the Columbia Gorge" had begun to lobby local and national decision-makers to protect the Gorge. With the 1982 completion of the Interstate 205 bridge connecting Portland and Vancouver, she opposed impending industrial sprawl and subdivisions platted on scenic bluffs, as well as a planned marina and a factory.

An overlook named in her honor at Cape Horn has Columbia River and Multnomah Falls vistas: to the east, to Mist Falls, and down to Phoca Rock. On the Washington side of the river are the Prindle Cliffs, Beacon Rock, and the south face of Hamilton Mountain.