Rebuttal Report of Office Of Parks and Recreation, Steamboat Springs

Home Browse Search

V 4. Yampa River Management Plan (YRMP) The primary thrust of the 2003 YRMP was to formally present a plan for managing recreational uses along the Yampa River throughout town in a manner that preserves a quality experience for ALL users while protecting the biological integrity of the river. This was done through designating appropriate iypes and levels of recreational use for different reaches of the river as it flows through town. The 20 members of the Citizen's Advisory Committee working on the plan divided the roughly 6.5 mile stretch of the river flowing through town into five separate River Management Areas or RMAs. We then established, by consensus and after much discussion, what were appropriate types of recreational use for each reach and the intensity of each use within each reach. The boating course is contained within RMAs 4 and 5, respectively designated as the "Downtown" and the "Stockbridge" reaches. Both RMAs were designated for "high" levels of intensity uses and all forms of recreational use including private and commercial tubing as summarized in Table 3 from YRMP. Commercial tubing upstream of RMA 4 is now permanently prohibited by ordinance as was recommended by the YRMP. It should be noted that the decision to restrict commercial tubing to RMAs 4 and 5 came about after several years of discussion among the community at large and with the Trails & River Committee and commercial river outfitters in particular. It should also be noted that the City spent several hundred thousand dollars on river improvements within RMAs 4 and 5(including the C Hole) in part to make this reach of the river more suitable for a variety of recreational uses. The YRMP also discourages private tubing upstream of Fetcher Park (RMA 2) in order to protect the relatively natural character of the Yampa River upstream of the Park. This policy will have the effect of moving private tubers downstream as well and increasing the number of floaters through the Boating Park. In the opinion of the Citizens Advisory Committee, which included representatives of commercial river outfitters as well as the Yampa Valley Flyfishers and every river-related interest group in between, tubing above Fetcher Park is not compatible with the goals of protecting the natural resources of the river ecosystem and minimizing user conflicts in RMAs 1 and 2. The stretch of the river where the D Hole is located was identified as an appropriate location for a"kayak feature" in the City's March 2001 404 permit application for the river improvements project below the 13`h Street bridge. The location of Charlie's Hole was identified as a suitable reach for a hydraulic control structure through extensive discussion among the local boating community, the Friends of Yampa, the Corps of Engineers, the structure designers, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife. In both locations, the river channel characteristics, particularly the gradient, were deemed appropriate for hydraulic control structures or "play waves". In addition, the City owns most of the property on both sides of the river throughout the boating course, there were adequate existing parking and bathroom facilities available, and access to both features is also facilitated by the Yampa River core trail. Both locations were also deemed highly desirable for holding whitewater rodeo type events in terms of river characteristics, suitability for handling crowds, ease of installing bleachers, lighting systems, porta potties, etc. In fact, both features have been used for professional and amateur Page 3 5/19/2004