Carson River Regional Recreation Steering Committee

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. October 14, 2008

CARSON CITY, NV, January 2, 2007. A proposed plan to make stretches of the Carson River safer and more accessible for whitewater rafting and kayaking will be aired in eight public hearings in Carson City beginning in January, it was announced today.

The Carson River Aquatic Trail Master Plan, designed and promoted by a steering committee of state, county and city agencies, is intended to improve and enhance areas of the Carson River for recreational boating. The plan identifies measures to improve public river access areas, create informational signage and remove hazardous obstacles in the river that could injure rafters and kayakers.

Public hearings begin Jan. 9 at Eagle Valley Middle School at 6:30 p.m., and conclude March 15 before the Carson City Board of Supervisors. The board is expected to vote whether to accept the plan after the hearing concludes. The public hearing schedule is available at http://www.carson-city.nv.us/Index.aspx?page=621 or by calling Vern Krahn, park planner for the Carson City Parks and Recreation Department, at 775-887-2363 ext. 1006.

"The Carson River is a precious natural resource that can provide great enjoyment for recreational boaters and others, but it lacks adequate areas to get in and out of the water and contains hazardous objects and debris that threaten public safety and should be removed," Vice Chair Ed James of the Carson River Regional Recreation Steering Committee said. "The Aquatic Trail Plan would accomplish those goals for safety and recreation."

The eight-member steering committee of representatives from Carson City and Lyon County government, Carson Water Subconservancy District, Nevada Commission on Tourism, Nevada Division of State Lands and Western Nevada Resource Conservation & Development, is committed to promoting safer, more accessible river recreation. The panel has no budget or enactment powers.

The Aquatic Trail Plan, which is being incorporated into Carson City's Unified Pathways Master Plan, calls for improvements along 13.7 miles of the Carson River in two stretches: a calm area suitable for beginners from Carson River Park to Morgan Mill Road river access area near the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Carson City Field Office, and a more adventurous area from the Morgan Mill access through Class III whitewater rapids in the Carson River Canyon to a proposed river access area at the Santa Maria Ranch in Lyon County. Officials are seeking funding from a $200 million voter-passed statewide bond that earmarked $10 million for Carson River improvements in four counties.

"Demand for river recreation is increasing across the United States and we should create an aquatic trail that our growing numbers of residents and visitors can safely enjoy," Carson City Supervisor Pete Livermore said. "The aquatic trail would provide recreation for boaters of all levels of experience, from kayakers, canoers and rafters to inner tubers." Livermore represents the board of supervisors on the steering committee.

The Aquatic Trail Plan was created by Carson City whitewater expert Lynn Zonge, a river designer with Resource Concepts, Inc., who is working with the steering committee, and also headed the team that designed a 2001 whitewater recreation plan for the Truckee River in Reno. Winston Associates of Boulder, Colo., is helping to incorporate the Aquatic Trail Plan into the Unified Pathways Master Plan.