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2 Executive summary Chapter 1: Participants The planning process was chaired by Paul Jewell, District 1 County Commissioner and overseen by the 17-member Yakima River Access Citizen Advisory Committee and the 12-member Public Lands Advisory Committee during a series of extensive workshops in April, May, and June 2018. Committee members, who were recruited through a public selection process, have extensive recreational and economic interests in the Yakima River including wildlife viewing, fishing, boating, picnicking, hiking, camping, and hunting activities as well as conservation, agriculture, forestry, fishery, and retail endeavors. Chapter 2: River context The Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers are used for fishing, wading, tubing, kayaking, canoeing, recreational floating, guided river rafting, fish rafting, drift boating, and jet boating, especially during the summer months. The Yakima River is ranked between Class I and Class II rapids in the Upper Canyon and Class I in the Lower Canyon, depending on the circumstances and season. The Yakima River corridor is also used for hiking, particularly on the Palouse to Cascade Trail (PCT – formerly the Iron Horse Trail) and adjacent trails into Cle Elum, Ellensburg, and the Lower Canyon, as well as wildlife viewing, scenic sightseeing, picnicking, camping, and seasonal hunting. The upper and lower canyons provide significant aesthetic opportunities of diverse geological and ecological features. Chapter 3: Recreation demands and economic impacts Kittitas County’s principal market are counties served by major roadways including Interstate 90 serving King and Pierce Counties to the west and Grant County to the east, US-2 and US-97 serving Snohomish and Chelan Counties to the northwest and Douglas County to the northeast, and Interstate 82 serving Yakima and Benton Counties to the south. Given the significantly larger populations residing in western Washington, even minor increases in tourist attraction from western Washington could easily generate greater tourist visitation volumes than major increases from the smaller populations in central and eastern Washington. The Kittitas County geotourism demand and economic analysis results indicate the Yakima River contains attributes and assets that currently and potentially generate considerable resident and tourist activities of the most interest and economic potential. Whether this demand and economic potential can be effectively managed to the betterment of the river’s environmental and recreational prospects will depend on the insights incorporated into this public access plan’s proposals and implementation. The results of the public access users survey, though based on self- selected samples, indicate the Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers are significant recreational and environmental attractions to residents and tourists alike that currently and potentially generate considerable economic impact in Kittitas County if properly developed and managed. Chapter 4: Public access goals Public accessibility goals include statements governing river safety conditions, safe access on the rivers, emergency response capabilities, changing river conditions, river access gaps, multiple use capabilities, access to other public lands, wildlife habitat conservation, wildlife interpretive trails and exhibits, scenic attributes and viewpoints, ADA access, low impact development methods, comprehensive branding and promotion, joint ventures, and multiple, synergistic funding sources and opportunities. Chapter 5: Public access sites and river classifications The resulting inventory of publicly accessible sites consists of 43 existing and 5 proposed or a total of 48 sites along the 85 miles of the Yakima River, 7 miles of the Cle Elum River, and 11 miles of the Teanaway River.