The Forest Service has been managing the Upper White Salmon River as a Wild and Scenic River since it was designated by Congress in 2005. This is the segment of the river on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest upstream of the Farmlands reach; paddlers may know it as the Mt. Adams section, Upper Upper White Salmon, or Green Canyon. 

 

While whitewater paddling trips on this run occur less frequently than the more popular Farmlands, Green Truss, and BZ runs, protection of the headwaters is still important to our community and we were active in the effort to designate this upper reach as Wild and Scenic.

 

In an effort to improve management and fully implement the requirements of the Wild and Scenic designation, the Forest Service is working to develop a Comprehensive River Management Plan and to develop a Final Boundary. The Forest Service has scheduled a listening session at the White Salmon Public Library:

 

Date/Time: Thursday April 28th from 6-8pm

Location: White Salmon Public Library, 77 NE Wauna Ave, White Salmon, WA 98672.

 

We encourage paddlers to attend to ensure that paddling is recognized as a recreational activity that does occur on this segment and is consistent with protection of river values.

 

At this listening session the Forest Service will present the work that has been completed to date on this project. More importantly, the Forest Service will be seeking feedback on the following questions:

 

* Are there locations where the river boundary needs to change to protect river values?

* What public uses are consistent or inconsistent with the protection of river values?

* Are existing Forest Plan standards and guidelines adequate or are changes needed?

* What are the desired future conditions we would like to see for this Wild and Scenic River? What work might be needed to achieve those conditions?

 

If you plan on attending please RSVP at jewer@fs.fed.us. This will help the Forest Service plan for logistics and set up the meeting room appropriately. If you would like more information please feel free to contact Justin Ewer at jewer@fs.fed.us or 509-395-3390.

 

Photo courtesy of Jason Rackley