[1][3] Russell was one of the principal figures responsible for passage of federal legislation protecting the Columbia River Gorge as a National Scenic Area in 1986.

In November 1980, Nancy Russell was one of four people named at a Portland Garden Club meeting to build an organization establishing the Columbia River Gorge as a national scenic area.

According to The Trust for Public Land, "the gorge was at risk of being transformed by development from fast-growing Portland and nearby Vancouver, Washington".

[3] 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.

He said he would advocate for special federal status if they organized people "from both sides of the river and both ends of the gorge" to support his stance.