205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5 PM
Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 05/30/2018 - Kittitas County is hosting two public open house events on Tuesday, June 5th to provide information to citizens and gather feedback on the ongoing work to create a plan for improving access to the Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers. Information presented will include the progress made to date by the County’s citizen advisory committee for the project. The committee has completed an inventory of existing river access sites, gathered data and input from focus groups, and created a list of potential new access sites. In addition, the committee has developed illustrations on how the new sites may be constructed for different types of uses and prepared initial cost estimates.
The County began the process of creating a River Access Improvement Plan earlier this year by appointing a citizen advisory group and hiring a consultant to direct the effort. The project is intended to create a strategy for improving public access for a variety of recreational and other uses. One open house will be held in Cle Elum at the Upper Kittitas County District Court, 700 East First Street, from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM. The other will take place in Ellensburg at the Kittitas Valley Event Center, Manastash Room, 901 East 7th Avenue, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. Everyone in attendance will have an opportunity to provide input which will be included in discussion and decision-making by the citizen advisory committee as it finalizes the recommended plan. Tom Beckwith, with Beckwith Consulting, will be leading the sessions. Anyone who is interested in improving access to the Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers is welcome to attend one or multiple sessions. The river access improvement planning effort is led by the County’s Public Lands Advisory Committee. It is a county-wide effort focusing on the entire mainstem of the Yakima River within Kittitas County and the portion of the Cle Elum River downstream from Cle Elum Dam. Funding for the plan is being provided by the County’s lodging tax program.
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
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Contact: Paul Jewell, Kittitas County Commissionerpaul.jewell@co.kittitas.wa.us, (509) 962-7508