The Yakima River Canyon in Washington state is a popular recreation area visited by nearly 650,000 people each year for its wildlife watching, fishing for trout in the state’s only Blue-Ribbon trout stream, family-friendly rafting, and camping. State Highway 821 follows the scenic bends of the river which was designated as Washington’s first State Scenic Byway in 1960. In addition to the existing lands, BLM acquired over 600 acres of land within the canyon which will be used for recreation access and riparian/upland habitat conservation. Visitor use of the area has increased, maxing out existing infrastructure.
The Langdon Group implemented a multi-faceted public involvement strategy, including a situational assessment among a diversity of interests to identify preferences and ideas for how the new acreage can balance the recreation demand while maintaining a healthy ecological environment; a series of listening sessions in regional communities, on site at canyon recreation sites, and in Seattle where many recreationists originate from; and an online story map, allowing the public to attached feedback to an interactive map. Future work will include agency partnering meeting facilitation among the many local, state, and federal agencies with presence in the canyon.
Click to View
Related Services
