Portland, Ore., developer Bob Naito thought he was putting together a green project that would fit great with the outdoor recreation so popular in Hood River, the Columbia Gorge town known for world-class wind surfing, craft beer and fruit orchards.

Naito Development, LLC, plans to build a waterfront hotel and commercial building - both certified as sustainable - along with Oregon's first wake-boarding park in a cove that had to go through a major pollution cleanup after a barge-building works closed down.

But some environmentalists are trying to scuttle the project.

Friends of the Hood River Waterfront and others have appealed local approval to a state land use board, and are threatening to file a federal lawsuit claiming the project threatens salmon and clean water in the Columbia River.