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<br />1
<br />1: Introduction
<br />
<br />Purpose
<br />
<br />The Kittitas County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) commissioned
<br />this Yakima River public access planning effort to determine:
<br />
<br />§ River geology, ecology, and history – including the geological
<br />features that define the river corridors and canyons and native
<br />wildlife habitats that resulted from natural occurrences - as well as
<br />the impact and importance of human settlement and utilization of
<br />river features.
<br />§ River hydrology – including the flood control and water
<br />reservoir measures that have been installed and managed on the
<br />hydrological characteristics of the Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers and
<br />the impacts these improvements have on public recreational use.
<br />§ Recreation demands and economic potentials – including the
<br />volume of future county residents and tourists who will seek to
<br />access the Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers for wildlife viewing,
<br />shoreline fishing, kayaking and canoeing, recreational floating, river
<br />guided rafting, fishing from a raft or drift boat, jet boating,
<br />picnicking, camping, hunting, and other activities – and the
<br />economic opportunities to be generated by such activities.
<br />§ Public access sites – including the location, improvements,
<br />ownership, and utilization of the numerous public and private
<br />shoreline riverfronts that are publicly accessible on the navigable
<br />stretches of the Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers in Kittitas County.
<br />§ River hazards – including diversion dams, irrigation flume,
<br />water releases, logjams, sweepers, rapids, and other seasonal and
<br />permanent hazards that affect safety and requirements for public
<br />emergency responses including the number and location of jet boat
<br />launch sites.
<br />§ Access site enhancements – including improvements to
<br />existing sites and the need for potential acquisition and
<br />development of new sites to support safe and accessible access that
<br />reduce high risk sites and situations, road and railroad conflicts,
<br />river, and Palouse to Cascade Trail (PCT) gaps – and increase
<br />wildlife and conservation opportunities, scenic viewpoints, day use
<br />activities, trail connections, and multiple public access sponsors
<br />and funding.
<br />§ Implementation – including illustrative designs for strategic
<br />access site projects, criteria to rank capital project funding
<br />applications, sponsoring organization assignment and participation
<br />in public education, marketing, and promotion of the public access
<br />recreation and economic potentials within the extent of the Yakima
<br />and Cle Elum River corridors.
<br />
<br />Participants
<br />
<br />The planning process was chaired by Paul Jewell, District 1 County
<br />Commissioner and overseen by the 17-member Yakima River Access
<br />Citizen Advisory Committee and the 12-member Public Lands
<br />Advisory Committee during a series of extensive workshops in
<br />April, May, and June 2018.
<br />
<br />Committee members, who were recruited through a public selection
<br />process, have extensive recreational and economic interests in the
<br />Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers including wildlife viewing, fishing,
<br />boating, picnicking, hiking, camping, and hunting activities as well
<br />as conservation, agriculture, forestry, fishery, and retail endeavors.
<br />
<br />In addition to biweekly meetings, committee members hosted a
<br />series of user and interest group workshops, conducted an on-line
<br />survey, participated in a day-long tour of strategic public access
<br />constraints and opportunities in May, and hosted open houses in
<br />Cle Elum and Ellensburg in June during the development of this
<br />public access plan.
<br />
<br />Public outreach
<br />
<br />User and interest group workshops
<br />The consultant team conducted a series of workshops at the
<br />beginning of the process to identify issues, concerns, proposals,
<br />and priorities with various river user and interest groups including:
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