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Chapter 11 RECREATION, PARKS, OPEN SPACE AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Although the Parks District does not have taxing authority it is currently engaged in several donation-funded projects in the County that will add to the County's portfolio of recreation opportunities. According to the District, the biggest projects underway are as follows: • Towns to Teanaway Corridor Project -This is a regional trail network planning process that will result in a Master Plan for establishing a trail network to connect the Cle Elum, Roslyn, Ronald and Suncadia to the Teanaway Community Forest. The first new trail from this project was built by volunteers in October of 2018. • Howard Carlin Trail head Park -working in conjunction with the City of Cle Elum and The Coal Mines Trail Commission, this project will result in a new park at the entrance to the Coal Mines Trail in Cle Elum. Although this park is located within the City of Cle Elum it supports regional park objectives. • Evergreen SnoPark -This is a five acre SnoPark located south of Woods and Steele Road, off of Forest Service Road #4510 in Cle Elum. It is open to the general public during the months of October through March and is closed and gated during the months of April through September. that provides an opportunity for day-use parking for snowmobile enthusiasts. 11.4 RECREATIONAL SAFETY According to the Kittitas County Sheriff's Department, the Cle Elum River drainage is the number one recreational destination in the Pacific Northwest and Kittitas County as a whole is the number one snow mobile destination during the winter months. In order to provide public safety and law enforcement to remote areas of the County, the Sheriff's Department has a variety of equipment to support the various recreation activities available in Kittitas County. 11.5 POTENTIAL IMPACTS As growth continues to occur both in the urban and rural areas of Kittitas County, there may be increased impacts on existing recreational areas and a demand for additional areas and opportunities. In order to address the potential demands and impacts, Kittitas County has taken the approach that incorporated communities should be primarily responsible for organized recreational opportunities and park systems, while the County is primarily responsible for the unorganized, passive recreational opportunities. The 2016 PROS Plan identifies the projected growth of Western Washington counties and counties adjacent to Kittitas County as having a potential impact on Kittitas County recreation. This is because, according to the PROS Plan, the County's recreational opportunities are utilized at a high rate of demand by out-of-County tourists, and this tourism traffic is linked to the 1-90 and US-2 corridors. The Kittitas County Tourism Plan indicated that 33% of its respondents lived in the Puget Sound Region and another 18% lived in other parts of Western Washington, for a total of 51 % of respondents. While growth within Kittitas County will require expanded recreational facilities and opportunities to maintain levels of service and quality of life for Kittitas County residents, the expansion of facilities and opportunities for use by out-of-County residents will be important to the economic prosperity of the County for attracting tourism. Page 135 KITTITAS COUNTY If) ---------------------Comprehensive Plan [i(IJ