Richland, Wash., Considers Partnership with Tribes on Wetland Area Story-Date: 02:21 p.m. PST Friday , May 1, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------ Richland, Wash., Considers Partnership with Tribes on Wetland Area By Chris Mulick, Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Apr. 27--From the freeway, the Yakima Delta in south Richland doesn't look like much. The terrain, which spills out on both sides of the Highway 240 causeway and bends up into southwest Richland, is little more than undeveloped land left to grow wild. But that is what makes the federally owned wetland so precious, says Carl Scheeler, wildlife program manager for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. "The opportunity to have an urban wildlife area smack dab in the middle of the Tri-Cities is a resource few municipalities have," he said. But most of the nearly 1,200 acres has come on the market recently. The Army Corps of Engineers has been told to sell the land, under the federal Water Resources Development Act of 1996. Instead, the city of Richland and the tribes are discussing co-leasing the land, keeping it in federal hands but managing it themselves. Both parties agree their objectives could be met easier if they partner together. Formal negotiations between the city and the Umatilla tribes are set to begin this week. Once a management proposal is agreed to, the corps would have to approve it. "These are properties of the United States," said corps spokesman Dutch Meier. "It's important that we get our T's crossed and I's dotted." The interests of each party are clear. The city wants to make sure there are no problems expanding the causeway from four to six lanes. Officials also are interested in developing a system of trails throughout the area, providing public access. The trails would connect to others in the Richland Y, an area where officials say development is long overdue. "The Y has been an area we've really neglected," Richland Mayor Larry Haler said. "Obviously, (the trails would) have some sort of stimulus." The city also would want to ensure a rail line through the delta, which eventually will serve the growing industrial park in north Richland, would be preserved. But on its own, the city would have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on expensive environmental impact studies to meet federal regulations. It also lacks the biological expertise the tribes have to manage the land. "They have the technical folks there that the city doesn't have the staffing for," Haler said. The Umatillas also have money from a Bonneville Power Administration mitigation plan, which could be used to maintain and enhance the Yakima Delta habitat. The BPA has financed similar projects to compensate for flooding caused by hydroelectric dams along the Northwest's river systems. But the tribes have no way to police the delta from 35 miles away. The city, meanwhile, could offer police and fire services already within the city limits. The tribe mostly is interested in preserving and improving the wetlands, which has suffered from the introduction of noxious weeds, Scheeler said. The delta also has suffered from unlimited access by people in an area where there are no developed trails intended for public use. City officials already are working on developing a land-use plan for the Chamna Preserve, a 276-acre portion of the delta the city is leasing from the corps. The Chamna plan may be used as a model for the rest of the delta, said Dennis Rhodes, a Richland project manager. "To treat a sensitive area such as the Chamna and the delta as a mud bog is a poor use of a public resource," Scheeler said, referring to off-road vehicle enthusiasts who periodically have been caught romping around the preserve. "Developing access management that is compatible with preservation values is critical." Though the tribes and the city agree in principle on many issues, the negotiations still could have sticking points. The tribes have expressed interest in co-leasing Bateman Island and 52 acres in the Richland Y area with the city. With bones and American Indian artifacts having turned up in the area, the tribes are interested in having a say about how those lands are managed. But under the WRDA, the lands are supposed to be conveyed to the city alone. The city council has expressed concern about giving up the land. There already are preliminary plans for recreational development on the land in the Y area. Haler says none of the land will be used as leverage during the negotiations. "There are no aces in the hole or anything else," he said. Though both the cities and the Umatillas could decide to seek the entire Yakima Delta for themselves, both sides say that's not a likely option. "Together, we can do more for the Tri-Cities than we can do apart," Scheeler said. "The average Joe is going to see a priceless natural resource that will be protected for generations to come." ----- Visit the Tri-City Herald on the World Wide Web at http://www.tri-cityherald.com/ ----- (c) 1998, Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------