Tiffany Asher, [email protected]
GREEN RIVER, WYOMING — During the last city council meeting in Green River, John Freeman presented the Greenbelt Taskforce Master Plan, but due to some revisions needing to be made, it was unable to be approved. Tonight, Brad Raney, CPRP, Director of Parks and Recreation, presented the final revision at the Green River City Council Meeting, and the Green River Task Belt proposal was approved.
“This was accomplished through a grant that John and I worked on a couple of years ago through the National Parks Service. It was a different kind of grant, we weren’t even given money, just an expert from the National Parks Service to work with us. Based on the cost of other master plans, I would say the services they gave us were about $7,500,” Raney explained. Raney mentioned that in about six months they had different focus groups, surveys, public comments, and advertisements explaining that they wanted the community to comment about how money should be used to enhance the Greenbelt and better Green River as a whole.
According to the documentation, “Through a technical assistance grant obtained through the National Parks River and Trails Conservation Assistance Program the Greenbelt Taskforce Master Plan has been rewritten. The process included a robust public outreach effort including public open houses, a general survey with 760 responses, focused working groups featuring a cross-section of the community, booths for public comment at public events, a public hearing, and a final 6-week open comment period. It has almost been a 2-year process. The chair of the Greenbelt Taskforce, John Freeman, has made presentations on the results of public engagement in several public settings including Green River City Council Meetings, Sweetwater County Commissioners Meetings and the Sweetwater Outdoor Recreation Collaborative to name a few. The document will be vital in the future development and use of the Greenbelt and compliments other City planning documents. The draft form of the document has already aided the City and Greenbelt Task Force in obtaining several grants and will be key to obtaining more grants in the future.”
In the Greenbelt Taskforce Master Plan document, it mentions that the Green River Greenbelt is a ‘popular system of trails, parks, and habitat along Green River’ and that it ‘improves recreational access, protects wildlife habitat, promotes economic development and tourism, and improves the quality of life in Green River.’ The Greenbelt Taskforce put together a new master plan on ways the city can help keep this system updated and make improvements to either extend the trails, improve river access or even address the erosion the riverbank has caused on these trails over the last few years.
The master plan talks about their vision, which is to ‘help conserve, develop, and promote the open space, natural areas, and greenbelt pathway along the Green River’. The goals that the Greenbelt Taskforce hopes to achieve are:
- Help the City develop a greenbelt that will improve recreational access and opportunities to the river for all segments of the population
- Protect and preserve wildlife habitats, wetlands, and riparian areas
- Restore the river’s fishery to a Blue-Ribbon trout stream status
- Beautify the City and enhance economic development
- Assist the City in obtaining corporate donations
- As the GBTF looks to expand trail opportunities the board will need to expand its role to a trail maintenance organization enlisting volunteers and expanding organization membership to accomplish this
Some of the recommended enhancements include ideas of linking all of the trail systems to one another. When asked to prioritize the most important to least important of the trails, the document states, “The trail that ranked the highest was Scott’s Bottom soft surface trail that would extend downriver from the end of the existing trail. This trail was followed by the Skyline Trail single track near Western Wyoming Community College and the Cedar Street Trail, which would connect the Trona Bridge to the neighborhood up the hill to the west. The Bitter Creek Trail ranked the lowest, as it requires significant negotiation with landowners and should be viewed as a long-term effort.” Widening some of the trails is also in the works to ensure more people can walk side-by-side or in groups.
Scott’s Bottom will be worked into a more multi-recreational use hub. “It is contained in the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area boundary and would offer an opportunity to partner with the Forest Service. This route would curve around private property and would terminate at the trailhead for the Wilkins Peak bike trail system. Other improvements could include a boat ramp, RV and tent sites, day-use covered pavilion, overnight horse corrals, side-by-side access, and downstream trail extensions on Forest Service-owned lands.
Cedar Street, Wetlands, Wild Horse, the Cemetary, Skyline, Man’s Face, Bird Island, Bitter Creek, Red Barn, Jackman, Viaduct (that connects to the north side of town), and Riverview are many of the other project areas listed that will see improvements over the next few years.
One of the concerns Freeman had during that last meeting was accessibility. According to the master plan, “the next step to increase accessibility is for the City and Greenbelt Task Force will need to develop a more defined plan of what accessible improvements are needed. Engage citizens who are older or have disabilities to understand and prioritize improvements through a small focus group.”
Lighting, signage, art, boat access, fishing access, riparian vegetation, bank stabilization, Killdeer Wetlands, and stormwater drainage are some ideas that the Greenbelt Taskforce will also be working towards. Bank stabilization is high on their list due to the dangers of the bank erosion has caused and also to help enhance riparian habitat that was destroyed by the erosion.
There are more items not mentioned that the Greenbelt Taskforce will be working on over the next few years to help Green River. The Master Plan can be viewed HERE.
