The Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway

“Wow…” was probably the word that most often passed through my mind in that hour and a half. Then there is that “time” thing: How on earth did it take six years to accomplish this – and how on earth could something this good be put together in just six years?

A couple days ago, two handfuls of us, representing various partners in the Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway Initiative, sat down to catch up and look ahead. Jill Scheffer, representing the Kittitas Environmental Education Network (KEEN) – certainly one of the founding partners of the initiative – had called us to order.

Let us review a bit. In 2010, Jill’s KEEN and the Cascade Land Conservancy (Now Forterra) pulled together nearly two dozen public and private partners to accomplish something several decades overdue.

You know that the Yakima River Canyon was the very first “Scenic Corridor” proposed in the state. 1967. You may recall that there was a never-quite-implemented management plan for this Scenic Corridor. Governor Dan Evans supported the Yakima Canyon because of its “great potential for allowing the traveler to pass through beautiful country at a pace enabling him to enjoy and appreciate its beauty.”

In 1968 Yakima River Canyon Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan (YRCSB CMP) was prepared. Its primary goal was to simply enhance enjoyment of the byway’s aesthetic, historical and cultural values, while allowing access for hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking and biking in some way that that could dodge automobile traffic. Unfortunately, a lot of our recreational activities today seriously interfere with safe driving conditions along the byway. Thus, KEEN, Forterra, and those couple dozen partners set out in 2010 to update the CMP and plans to implement it.

Environmental education, economic values, and interpretive planning were not in the 1968 plan. Hiking, biking, wildlife viewing and other current activities were rare at the time. Most of the land along the byway was private. Signage was considered in ‘68, but interpretive panels, kiosks, interactive maps, websites and most of today’s tourism products were fantasy.

Some things have changed over the decades. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) bought over 9,000 acres along the byway, including three heavily used public access areas – Umtanum, Big Pines, and Roza – which draw 500,000 users annually. (Reserve camping and use sites in those areas at http://www.recreation.gov/). Our Department of Fish and Wildlife purchased a lot of the scenery along the byway, supporting fishing, hunting and hiking access to the river and over 100,000 acres of the Wenas and LT Murray Wildlife Areas. All that was, and is, only a start.

Under the constant coaching and watchful eyes of KEEN’s Jill and Forterra’s Deidre Petrina, byway partners and a couple dozen experts in every aspect of the Yakima Canyon’s chronological and natural history created an up-to-date CMP. The Washington State Department of Transportation adopted the plan earlier this year.

Work at Helen McCabe Park, including a great deal of cleanup, new plantings, graveled pathways and fishing platforms, has created a safe and welcoming place for families. Many partners and community folks, including KEEN, the Kittitas County Field and Stream Club, Boy Scouts, CWU students and faculty, have made that happen. Today, the Ellensburg Outdoor School is leading regular kids’ field classes at the park, better signs are being developed and some devoted county architects and fund-raisers are designing the new community visitors’ center at McCabe – at the mouth of the Yakima River Canyon. It is really happening.

Get up to date in a couple ways. First, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMwzHkLHJF4 for a three-minute YouTube video with terrific views of the Canyon and info about the new plan. Then, see the CMP at www.wsdot.wa.gov/LocalPrograms/ScenicByways (select “Corridor Management Plans…” and then the “Yakima River Canyon…” at the bottom of the list). The nearly 300-page document is in sections ranging from background to the natural history of the Canyon. This is a remarkable document, and one with which all residents of Paradise ought to be familiar. Take a look.

I go into the Canyon regularly. Each time, I think about The Old Man’s love-hate relationship with it. In the ‘40s and ‘50s we often made the trip from home in East Wenatchee to cousins in Yakima. Every time we turned into the Canyon onto that old and twisted road (from either end) he would turn to my mom and say something like, “Gawd, Dorothy, here we go again…The longest 30 miles in the country!” Then he would excitedly point out deer, eagles, sheep, marmots or fishermen. That “30 miles” was really closer to 20, but he stuck to his story.

Now, we have a CMP. A long way to go yet, but an amazing amount of work and progress thanks to a number of hard-working visionaries.

Wow.