Grant PUD recreation plan completed

EPHRATA — Conditions have changed, so changes have been made to the recreation plan proposed by the Grant County PUD. The draft plan was reviewed by PUD commissioners Tuesday. It will be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in April.

Construction will continue on recreation improvements at Crescent Bar and improvements are planned at the lower boat launch at Wanpum Dam. But some improvements proposed in the 2008 rec plan have been eliminated in the new plan, said Shannon Lowry, PUD public lands and recreation manager.

Utility district staff conducted a survey in summer 2015, Lowry said, asking people why they visited the recreation facilities and what improvements they would suggest.

The study estimated about 350,000 people use the recreation facilities, about 55 percent of them from western Washington. “That was a bit surprising to us. We had always assumed our recreation base was much higher out of the west side.”

Most respondents said they were satisfied with the facilities provided, and that the PUD made the right decisions in the facilities built. Respondents did ask for something, structures or trees, that would provide more shade, she said, and lighting at boat docks to make them easier to find at dusk or after dark. Respondents said some of the docks and piers were dirty.

Lowry said the problems at the docks and piers mostly stemmed from people stopping there to clean fish. The PUD plans to address that by adding fish-cleaning stations at Priest Rapids and Wanapum dams, the Huntiziger boat launch and the Burkett Lake fishing pier.

“Even though we’re a power company, we don’t have electricity at our boat launches,” Lowry said. To address the lack of lights, the plan proposes installing solar-powered lights at all boat launches, and markers to show water levels. Shade structures will be added at Priest Rapids, the Vantage boat launch, Rocky Coulee, Sand Hollow and Frenchman Coulee, Lowry said.

The proposed plan includes a provision to eliminate a picnic area at Priest Rapids Dam. There was a picnic area at the spot in the late 1990s, Lowry said, but it was removed after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 and has since been turned into a parking lot. Other picnic areas are available nearby, she said.

The updated proposal eliminates plans for more development at Wanapum State Park and a nearby site known as the Airstrip. That plan reflected use of campgrounds by people attending concerts at the Gorge Amphitheater, Lowry said. Since then the Gorge has built its own campground and use of PUD parks has dropped.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.