Upper Wenatchee Valley Sustainable Trails Project

Active

Oct 10

background

The Upper Wenatchee Valley encompasses an area in the western portion of the Wenatchee River drainage between Leavenworth and Wenatchee, WA. It is a nationally recognized tourist destination, and the surrounding landscape provides a plethora of outstanding recreation opportunities. Recreational use has increased substantially over the past 10 years with a noticeable increase the last few years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This increased use has strained available infrastructure and management capacity resulting in a number of negative impacts such as litter, improper disposal of human waste, illegal or unsafe parking, resource damage and the proliferation of substandard user-created trails.

overview

In collaboration with over 45 local partners, TREAD is facilitating the Upper Wenatchee Valley Sustainable Trails Project, or UWVSTP, to create a non-motorized trail system with associated infrastructure for multiple user groups to easily access activities such as walking, hiking, trail running, climbing, paragliding and mountain biking.

Benefits

The proposed project will:

help disperse recreation from overused areas and promote active resource protection and management of natural resources and open spaces,
improve accessibility and quality of outdoor recreation opportunities for residents and visitors regardless of income,
diversify the local economic base,
foster relationships between government agencies, the community, public and non-profit organizations.

Phase 1

The trail system and associated infrastructure would be comprised of several project areas located on a mix of land ownerships and jurisdictions, necessitating both National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) processes. In 2023, TREAD contracted with Washington Conservation Science Institute and Sky Environmental to develop a sensing document for the project. The sensing document is intended to provide a high-level summary of potential key issues, data, and survey needs identified through a review of existing databases, management plans, and previous or proposed project NEPA or SEPA analyses in the Upper Wenatchee Valley area.

It will provide a foundation for the proposed project to initiate the NEPA. and SEPA planning process, including Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation, NHPA-106 compliance, and Tribal coordination and consultation. Decisions on actions on Federal land would be made through the NEPA process, while decisions on actions on State and private land would be made through the SEPA and Chelan County permitting process, including E.O. 21-02 compliance.

Sensing Document