Chelan County Receiving Nearly $6 Million for Recreation Projects

Chelan County received nearly $6 million from the state recreation and conservation office to improve parks, trails, and conservation projects.

The grants are part of a statewide allocation of $148 million to support these projects throughout the state.

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“These grants are critical to keeping Washington a premier destination for outdoor adventure as well as a great place for Washingtonians to live,” said Megan Duffy, director of the Recreation and Conservation Office, which supports the board. “These grants are key to building great communities. The grants help communities light ball fields, make parks accessible to people with disabilities, connect gaps in trail systems, refurbish pools, and resurface pickleball courts.”

Millions in Grants Fund Chelan County Trails, Parks, and Boating Projects

Chelan County received $5,987,082 for a dozen projects, including trail maintenance, wildlife conservation, and boating facility upgrades. The awards come from multiple state programs.

Twenty-Five Mile Creek State Park will receive the largest grant, valued at $2.64 million to replace moorage floats. The Lake Wenatchee boat launch will have $754,000 devoted to improvements and $75,000 to maintain snow trails.

Chelan County Natural Resource Department received $617,085 to acquire four-and-a-half acres to expand Malaga Waterfront Park. The expanded park includes additional shoreline access, new trails, picnic areas, sport facilities, and river access.

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Trail maintenance projects include: $60,790 to the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust for repairs across the Wenatchee Foothills Trail system, $75,000 for the Chelan Ranger District to maintain nearly 300 miles of lower Lake Chelan trails, $200,000 for the Entiat and Chelan Ranger Districts to maintain 195 miles of multi-use trails, and $75,000 for the Chelan Ranger District to maintain 350 miles of trails in the upper Lake Chelan basin.

Ranger Programs, Trails, and Wildlife Habitat Get State Funding

Ranger programs also received funding for enforcement and education. The Wenatchee River Ranger District can expect nearly $200,000 to fund seasonal wilderness rangers in the Alpine Lakes, Henry M. Jackson, and Glacier Peak Wilderness areas, and $60,000 to provide patrols for the Entiat and Chelan Ranger Districts.

Ranger programs will also benefit from $124,000 to maintain trailheads, campgrounds, and day use sites in the Wenatchee River Ranger District. $200,000 will go to maintain motorized trails spanning 120 miles in Chelan County, $710,000 to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to purchase 742 acres near Colockum Creek in Scroggie Canyon, preserving habitat for elk, mule deer, and bighorn sheep, and $197,500 to the Department of Natural Resources to restore shrub-steppe habitat in the Upper Dry Gulch Natural Area Preserve.

“Washington is known for its great outdoor spaces and its legacy of farming and forestry,” Duffy said. “As Washington’s population grows, if we don’t conserve that land now, it won’t be there to continue those legacies.”

242 projects in 35 counties received funding of the 411 applications submitted.