Walla Walla County Land Use and Management Plan

for Federal and State Managed Lands

INTRODUCTION

Walla Walla County is a huge natural resource oriented county which lies in the southeastern portion of Washington State. The custom and culture of Walla Walla County has never altered from its historic beginnings. Ranching, farming, mining and timber activities provide the heritage of the County's residents, and they continue those activities today. The custom and culture of the County also includes the self-determination of its people. Life was never easy for the settlers of this County. This .is a land in which nature plays the upper hand. Water is scarce and access is difficult The settling developers of this land worked hard to establish their livelihood, and today's residents work hard to maintain their livelihood. The settling developers were diligent in pursuing legal protection of their property rights. Today's residents continue with that diligence. Ninety-Eight percent (98%) of all lands within the county are in private ownership.

Through the past decade, recreation use of the lands in Walla Walla County has rapidly increased. Sports minded people seeking recreation through motorcycling, trail biking,, and other motorized and non-motorized vehicle use, horseback riding, hiking, rock hunting, fishing and hunting have flocked to the open spaces of Walla Walla County. The potential for conflicts between these users and those residents who make their living here was huge. But cooperative efforts on both sides have kept the conflicts to a minimum, and recreation use has become part of the regular and daily custom and culture of this County.

Walla Walla County people are independent and strong-willed. Private property rights and interests are important to the residents of Walla Walla County. Private ownership and the incentives provided by that ownership are a driving force behind the innovativeness which has allowed the continuation of the custom, culture and lifestyle of the County. It is not a flight of fantasy to say that this independence of its people is part of the custom and culture of this County.

As a result of the importance of property rights to its citizens, Walla Walla County's government was one of the first to develop land use planning. Walla Walla County's people had commenced their planning process designed to continue the lifestyle which assures quiet enjoyment of property rights and interests and the highest possible degree of protection of those rights.

During most of the fifty-plus years of the planning activities in Walla Walla County, attention was placed on development of private lands. But, as federal policies began to change toward a

direction of reducing livestock grazing, reducing recreation use, seizing ownership of private property, water rights and rights-of-way, it became clear that Walla Walla County would have to extend its planning efforts to an area of concern for the federal lands. The Board of Commissioners adopted Ordinance #219 in 1993 to begin this planning process.

The Committee has continued its work and has assisted in developing this Comprehensive Plan which is designed to serve as the standard for land use planning coordination with the federal and state management agencies planning coordination which will sustain the custom and culture of the County.