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Lyle update

 
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moondog

Since 15 Aug 2007
697 Posts
white salmon
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PostMon Jul 17, 17 9:03 am    Lyle update Reply with quote

Just got off the phone with David Sauter, the Klickitat County Commissioner. We have been working on the access for the last 4 or 5 months. The main agencies involved are the Army Corps of Engineers (controls the water), BNSF, WDOT, Forest Service (controls the bar) and the Yakima Nation Fisheries.

The Yakima Nation put up a huge roadblock right off the bat. They have four other battles they are fighting in the Gorge and are pretty sick of "The Man" screwing them over. I can't say I blame them! Our first step is to self police and demand that kiters STAY OUT OUT OF THE MOUTH of the Klickitat. Secondly we need someone on NW Kite that has a relationship with the Yakima Fisheries so we can have a face to face discussion. You can contact David at 509-773-4612.

I mentioned to David that a kiter got a $300 ticket there from BNSF. He would like that person to contact him for more details.

With five agencies involved, just one can shut down the project, so it is very important to start a dialog with the Yakima Nation to get this ball rolling.

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wannabekiter

Since 14 May 2015
269 Posts
Hood river
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PostMon Jul 17, 17 9:12 am     Reply with quote

There is always people down there kiting. I have talked to several offenders and they just shrug their shoulders. I think signs explain WHY and some flyers would be a great start. Do we need permission to post signs?
Last edited by wannabekiter on Mon Jul 17, 17 9:26 am; edited 1 time in total

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Nevo




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PostMon Jul 17, 17 9:20 am     Reply with quote

I've tried talking to people kiting in the mouth and explained in detail why they shouldn't kite there.

They don't care at all.

I don't think signs or anything else is going to change the situation.

STZZ

Since 06 May 2013
39 Posts
N.Couve
 



PostMon Jul 17, 17 10:17 am    Don't kite in the mouth of the Klickitat? WHY? Reply with quote

I am open minded, but why not?
People fish, SUP and kayak there.
What about the ponds (shallow flat water?)

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Scriffler

Since 03 Jul 2005
581 Posts
LYLE
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PostMon Jul 17, 17 10:37 am     Reply with quote

Anyone who thinks that kiting in the Rivermouth scares the fish is ignorant. I have been kiting there at least 20 times when I have seen fisherman pull in huge salmon. From the shore and from boats. If that is the agreed upon rule, though, signage would at least deter the rule followers from kiting in the mouth and would help the cause for permanent access.

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ldhr

Since 21 Jul 2009
1470 Posts
Hood River
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PostMon Jul 17, 17 10:43 am    Re: Don't kite in the mouth of the Klickitat? WHY? Reply with quote

STZZ wrote:
I am open minded, but why not?
People fish, SUP and kayak there.
What about the ponds (shallow flat water?)


STZZ,
In order to gain some sort of legal access - it requires the whole community of Lyle to support the movement. If kiters need to build a tunnel or a bridge or work with BNSF railroad to get a crossing - locals have to buy in.
Last winter there was a meeting with all the stake holders to discuss the issues.

Local fishermen who have fished at the mouth of the river for Salmon and Steelhead in the summer have been doing it for 50++ years. They were here first.
They expressed the opinion that when they fish at the mouth - their catch rate goes to zero if there are kiters buzzing around the river mouth.
Salmon and Steelhead are extremely skittish and the fishermen are 100% confident that kiters on the east side of the delta scare the fish away from being caught.
Same goes for anyone in the water (sup, etc).

At the meeting there initial attitude was - "we will fight against access for kiters".
In their minds - Lyle is a fishing town with a kiting problem.

We asked them what the real issue was - they agreed that kiters on the west side of the delta is not a problem and they could support access if the kiters stayed away from the river mouth.

That's why the emphasis on not kiting on the east side of the delta.

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Sella

Since 21 Apr 2007
1794 Posts
Doin' The Dalles
FLY'IN HIGH PIE GUY



PostMon Jul 17, 17 11:09 am     Reply with quote

Mooner, thanks for the update/effort. Thumb's Up

Mr. Sauter also commented during last years Lyle town meeting a feasibility study was approved and he was going to be push forward with the COE regarding attaching a metal catwalk under the bridge. Any insight on that initiative??

That's truly the first step because signage is an educational and necessary given for visitors entering the space and since nobody listens to the "stay out of the river mouth" talk anyway which means policing and ticket enforcement will be required along with who is going to pay for garbage mgmt, toilets and emergency response liability once access is legally gained comes into play. The meeting discussed these needs and you should have seen the local faces cringe when they realized the financial burden would fall upon them.

Sorry to be a buzzkill.....but getting those 5 agencies / land owners to play nice in the proverbial sandbox is a very very long shot which Sauter also highlighted over and over during his presentation but when the locals don't show interest as they've had free access to the sandbar since they were kids my prediction is in 5 years we'll still be bringing up "shhhhh....we don't talk about fight club" on this forum and it will continue to repeat every 5 years unless Lyle truly wants to grow their tourism because a nwkite'r setting up a face-to-face meeting with the Y-Nation fisheries is grasping at straws. What are they going to discuss?????? How could any commitment be guaranteed by a volunteer when it seems failure is inevitable and it gives the Y-Nation the perfect out? Maybe that's what Sauter wants because he already knows it's a dead Tatonka and he's trying to figure out how to shut the initiative down?

David, if you're reading this please jump in and add insight or perhaps push for another overview meeting because with Trump now in charge I'm curious to know if your 2016 quote "thankfully money is not a problem in this matter" is still valid because if that's changed future volunteer kiter hours should be directed at launches with a higher probability of growth.

Last edited by Sella on Mon Jul 17, 17 12:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

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moondog

Since 15 Aug 2007
697 Posts
white salmon
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PostMon Jul 17, 17 11:52 am     Reply with quote

We haven't moved forward with the cat- walk under the RR trestle because the Yakima Fisheries stopped us dead in our tracks. Until they are on board there is no reason to move forward. Sauter feels confident that State money will be available because this could be such a tremendous park for all types of recreation.

On the fish scare topic: Some fishermen went postal with me one day when I was kiting off the island below Bonneville. They said the salmon are spooked by us because they see our kite shadow on the water surface and the fish think it is an eagle or osprey diving in for lunch. I'm no expert, but instead of pulling my double blade kite line knife on them, I left.

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