Recreational Use of King County’s River System Prepared for: King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks Water & Land Resources Division Prepared by: Carol MacIlroy Consulting Corporation and King County Water & Land Resources Division June 30, 2009 Portions of this project were produced with support from the Puget Sound Partnership. This report represents the conclusions and synthesis of the consultant based on a large amount of data collected via written and oral surveys and interviews. Not all comments made by respondents were consistent nor specific enough to be interpreted accurately. Any misrepresentations are the error of the consultant. Acknowledgements This report is only possible because of the enthusiastic and willing participation of those experienced with King County’s rivers. The timeframe for this project was incredibly short and numerous people took time to deliver substantive and thoughtful responses with little advance warning. A very special thank you is extended to Tom O’Keefe of American Whitewater who helped shape the survey tool into a more useful document; who provided endless amounts of information, contacts and resources that were significant contributions to the success of this effort; and gave generously of his limited time. For those of you who contributed photos or information not represented in this document please know that an additional CD of information was transmitted to King County staff and that all surveys are held anonymously. Thank you. Carol MacIlroy Table of Contents 1 Introduction....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 REPORT ORGANIZATION ............................................................................................................... 1 2 Background ....................................................................................................... 2 2.1 CURRENT RECREATIONAL TRENDS .............................................................................................. 2 2.2 SCOPE AND TIMEFRAME OF REPORT............................................................................................. 3 3 Survey Process and Terminology.................................................................... 6 3.1 WRITTEN SURVEY ........................................................................................................................ 6 3.2 INTERVIEWS ................................................................................................................................. 6 3.3 DEFINING RIVER SEGMENTS/REACHES.......................................................................................... 6 3.4 TERMINOLOGY: HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW, AND INFREQUENT USE..................................................... 7 3.5 TERMS FOR RECREATIONAL USE AND TYPE OF CRAFT .................................................................. 7 3.6 DEFINITION OF SEASONALITY....................................................................................................... 8 4 Key Findings...................................................................................................... 8 4.1 RECREATIONAL USE IS HIGHLY VARIABLE AND DEPENDENT ON KEY FACTORS............................. 8 4.2 HIGH-VOLUME VS. HIGH-VALUE RIVER REACHES ....................................................................... 11 4.3 CURRENT VOLUME OF USE IN KING COUNTY RIVERS ................................................................. 11 4.4 SEASONALITY OF RECREATIONAL USE........................................................................................ 12 4.5 RECREATIONAL USE GROUPINGS ................................................................................................ 13 5 Key Findings by Rivers and Reaches............................................................ 14 5.1 SKYKOMISH WATERSHED .......................................................................................................... 14 5.2 SNOQUALMIE WATERSHED ........................................................................................................ 17 5.3 CEDAR RIVER/LAKE WASHINGTON WATERSHED ...................................................................... 26 5.4 GREEN RIVER WATERSHED........................................................................................................ 30 5.5 WHITE RIVER WATERSHED........................................................................................................ 32 6 Potential Next Steps........................................................................................ 35 6.1 ADDITIONAL RESEARCH, SURVEY WORK AND OUTREACH .......................................................... 35 6.2 GIS WORK.................................................................................................................................. 35 6.3 KEY PARTNERSHIPS.................................................................................................................... 36 7 Appendices....................................................................................................... 37 Page i 1 Introduction Recreational use of King County rivers is diverse and growing. From the most advanced whitewater kayakers to the casual inner tuber, King County’s rivers have something to offer for everyone. River recreation is also inherently dangerous and the county has a strong interest in understanding how recreational activities intersect with the county’s responsibilities for flood protection, salmon recovery, public lands management and other functions. In particular, the use of large wood as a component of bank stabilization and habitat restoration poses a potential risk to river recreation, even though intentionally placed wood is only a very small fraction of the wood that is naturally found in our rivers and streams. The purpose of this report is to improve the level of knowledge regarding the location, type and seasonality of river recreation in the major rivers within King County. Based on interviews and surveys of knowledgeable individuals and organizations, the report provides a reach-by-reach characterization of river recreation and identifies some of the key factors that influence patterns of use. The study results confirm that King County has an amazing recreational resource in its river system, including several nationally and internationally recognized river reaches. For example, the North, Middle and South Forks of the Snoqualmie River are regarded as waters of regional and national significance, in addition to being local favorites. These rivers - noted for their wilderness experience and whitewater quality - are part of a broader mix of rivers in King County that supports a variety of recreation opportunities in both the mainstem rivers and larger tributaries. The recent designation of the Pratt River as a Wild and Scenic River; the use of the Cedar River at Landsburg for national kayak qualifications; the sixty commercial flyfishing trips in the month of August on the Snoqualmie River; the hundreds of floaters at Flaming Geyser State Park on a hot day in July; and the international acclaim of the Class V+ “Ernie’s Canyon” run on the North Fork Snoqualmie River are all indications of the range of possibilities that exists within King County’s rivers. 1.1 Report organization Section 2 of the report provides additional background on the issue of managing King County’s rivers and defines the scope and context for this project. Section 3 describes the survey process and terminology. Sections 4 and 5 describe the detailed findings on a river-by-river basis. Section 6 includes recommendations for next steps. Additional resources as well as survey data are included in the Appendices to this report. Page 1 2 Background On November 27th, 2007 the King County Council passed Motion 2007-0622 directing the Department of Natural Resources to address public safety concerns in the placement of large wood in the waterways of King County. The task was completed in March 2008 and presented to the County Council in a document titled “Report Addressing Public Safety in Placement of Large Wood in King County Waterways1” (hereinafter, King County Large Wood Report). Appendix C of the report describes the protocols utilized by the county in its wood placement projects to ensure consideration of public safety. As part of the King County Large Wood Report, the county identified a list of primary recreational waterways that includes substantial portions of every major river and several larger tributaries. However, even within these identified areas, recreational uses differ by reach, flow condition and season. Thus, in order to craft policies and practices that address multiple public benefits and agency responsibilities in a riverine context, county staff recognized the need for more detailed information about recreational use patterns. Carol MacIlroy Consulting was hired by King County’s Water and Land Resources Division, with the support of a grant from the Puget Sound Partnership, to conduct a preliminary survey of recreational use of King County’s river system to fill this gap. The goal of the recreational use survey was to determine where and when different types of recreational use occur on King County rivers. The survey focused on users and user groups active in King County. A copy of the written survey, as well as a list of survey recipients and respondents, can be found in Appendices A and B. 2.1 Current Recreational Trends A statewide recreation survey