Yakima River Coalition
Just Hatched
My name is Patrick and I’m an avid Yakima river user. The river corridor is important to the way of life for many people. It is vital to the agricultural industry, but is also important to fisherman, rafters, kayakers, paddleboarders, canoeists, tubers, bird watchers or anyone who just enjoys watching the water flow by.
At the present time, motorized watercraft are prohibited in the Lower Yakima Canyon downriver of the railroad bridge as you enter the Canyon. However, motorized watercraft are legal upriver from that point on. I and others have witnessed a disturbing increase of jet boat activity. This is not only a safety concern, but it also threatens the relative solitude and overall outdoor experience that we all enjoy.
We also have reports of jet boats running over spawning redds. Jet boats can run in very shallow water which makes this potentially quite problematic for salmon restoration efforts and the trout population.
In 2018, Kittitas County created the Yakima River Public Access Plan. This plan researched user activity along with present and potential access points along the river corridor. At that time the county estimated a 200% increase in river activities within the next ten years. The county themselves recognize that jet boat activity is dangerous as stated in the 2018 report on page 49: “Jet boats can create hazardous conditions for other smaller watercraft on the river given the jet boat’s speed and the wake the boats create that can swamp other watercraft”.
Myself and other like-minded river users are hoping to mobilize other river users, concerned citizens, and organizations that feel the same way we do… that this activity is not appropriate for our river system. Just a few people could ruin the river experience that hundreds enjoy.
To be quite honest, jetboating it looks be a blast! Screaming up a small river at high rates of speed, weaving around blind bends, islands and dodging log jams, but unfortunately that also means wade fisherman, drift boats, rafts, paddle boards and inner tubes.
We are forming a coalition in order to convince the Kittitas County commissioners to change the code and ban motorized watercraft from the Yakima headwaters down to the Rosa access point. We are hopeful that a variety and large number of voices in favor of this change will succeed in convincing the County commissioners to act. If you know of, or are involved in any organizations that are like minded, please forward contact information to: yakimarivercoalition@gmail.com
The coalition believes now is the time to act and to be proactive instead of waiting until someone is seriously injured.
If you agree with us, please take the time to sign this online petition https://chng.it/6NxjKr7b and forward this email to any like-minded individuals.
Thank you for your time
Yakima River Coalition
(image redacted by mods)
At the present time, motorized watercraft are prohibited in the Lower Yakima Canyon downriver of the railroad bridge as you enter the Canyon. However, motorized watercraft are legal upriver from that point on. I and others have witnessed a disturbing increase of jet boat activity. This is not only a safety concern, but it also threatens the relative solitude and overall outdoor experience that we all enjoy.
We also have reports of jet boats running over spawning redds. Jet boats can run in very shallow water which makes this potentially quite problematic for salmon restoration efforts and the trout population.
In 2018, Kittitas County created the Yakima River Public Access Plan. This plan researched user activity along with present and potential access points along the river corridor. At that time the county estimated a 200% increase in river activities within the next ten years. The county themselves recognize that jet boat activity is dangerous as stated in the 2018 report on page 49: “Jet boats can create hazardous conditions for other smaller watercraft on the river given the jet boat’s speed and the wake the boats create that can swamp other watercraft”.
Myself and other like-minded river users are hoping to mobilize other river users, concerned citizens, and organizations that feel the same way we do… that this activity is not appropriate for our river system. Just a few people could ruin the river experience that hundreds enjoy.
To be quite honest, jetboating it looks be a blast! Screaming up a small river at high rates of speed, weaving around blind bends, islands and dodging log jams, but unfortunately that also means wade fisherman, drift boats, rafts, paddle boards and inner tubes.
We are forming a coalition in order to convince the Kittitas County commissioners to change the code and ban motorized watercraft from the Yakima headwaters down to the Rosa access point. We are hopeful that a variety and large number of voices in favor of this change will succeed in convincing the County commissioners to act. If you know of, or are involved in any organizations that are like minded, please forward contact information to: yakimarivercoalition@gmail.com
The coalition believes now is the time to act and to be proactive instead of waiting until someone is seriously injured.
If you agree with us, please take the time to sign this online petition https://chng.it/6NxjKr7b and forward this email to any like-minded individuals.
Thank you for your time
Yakima River Coalition
(image redacted by mods)
Last edited by a moderator:
