ELLENSBURG, Wash.—This
week, the Bureau of Land Management announced that it plans to acquire Yakima
Canyon Ranch from Western Rivers Conservancy using recreation access funding
from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The acquisition will conserve 812
acres along the Yakima River and provide permanent recreational access to the
Big Horn boating access site and 3.5 miles of the Yakima River that flow
through the ranch.
“This project is the perfect marriage of conservation
and recreation,” said Sue Doroff, president of Western Rivers Conservancy. “Our
partnership with BLM is helping the agency deliver its recreational access
goals for the public while conserving outstanding fish and wildlife habitat
along one of the West’s truly great rivers.”
Yakima Canyon Ranch lies within the scenic 27-mile
Yakima River Canyon, between the towns of Ellensburg and Yakima. Yakima River
Canyon State Scenic Byway, Washington’s first ever state scenic byway, runs the
length of the canyon and provides access to six recreation sites along the
river. The area is heavily visited by anglers, summer floaters, hikers and
hunters.
“Yakima Canyon Ranch has long been an acquisition and
conservation priority for the BLM,” said Kurt Pindel, BLM’s Spokane District
Manager. “Thanks to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Western Rivers
Conservancy, the property is finally moving into public ownership so that
people will always have access to the Yakima River at this spectacular
location.”
Media
photos can be found at: https://www.westernrivers.org/yakima-canyon-ranch-image-gallery
The ranch is comprised of three blocks of
land—Bighorn, Beavertail and Umtanum—and controls critical access and launch
points along the river. All three blocks are inholdings in the BLM’s Yakima
Canyon Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).
At the upstream end of the ranch is the private Big
Horn recreation site, which controls a popular boat launch, campground and
river frontage, all of which will transfer into BLM ownership for public access
and conservation management within the ACEC.
The downstream end of the ranch includes roughly 15
acres at the Umtanum recreation site, which will also go to the BLM as part of
the sale. This will expand the Umtanum Campground, triple the amount of Yakima
River frontage within the recreation site and add stands of old-growth
ponderosa pines to the site. Umtanum also provides trail access into the Wenas
Wildlife Area via a footbridge over the river from the east bank; one follows
Umtanum Creek and other climbs to a lookout point with stunning views of the
canyon.
"Yakima Canyon Ranch is an exquisite piece of the
Yakima River Canyon, and people from all over the Pacific Northwest know the
property, if not by name, then because they’ve dropped a boat in at Bighorn,
camped out at Umtanum, or fished the ranch’s banks with a fly rod,” said
Doroff. “We are thrilled to bring this into public ownership with the BLM at
long last.”
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ABOUT THE PROJECT PARTNERS
Western
Rivers Conservancy acquires lands along rivers throughout
the West to conserve critical habitat and to create or improve public access
for compatible use and enjoyment. By cooperating with local agencies and
organizations and by applying decades of land acquisition experience, Western
Rivers Conservancy secures the health of whole ecosystems. Western Rivers Conservancy
has protected hundreds of miles of stream frontage on great western rivers,
including the Hoh, Skagit, Rio Grande, Yampa, John Day, Gunnison, Salmon,
Snake, North Umpqua, Klamath and Madison Rivers. To learn more, visit www.westernrivers.org
The Bureau of Land Management manages more than
245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states,
including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers
700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our
mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s
public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. To learn more,
visit www.blm.gov.
