DRAFT Simcoe Mountains Unit Management Plan

In June 2016, the Eastern Klickitat Conservation District (EKCD), the Central Klickitat Conservation District (CKCD), and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (Appendix B) to facilitate the habitat conservation and stewardship of lands in the Simcoe Mountains, in Klickitat County. One of the agreements in the MOU called for the development of a Simcoe Mountains Unit Property Management Plan using the established guidelines of the Coordinated Resources Management process. The Simcoe Mountains Unit Coordinated Resources Management (CRM) community process was initiated in September 2016 by the EKCD, CKCD, and the WDFW. The CRM planning process was designed to provide a collaborative approach to the development of an adaptive property management plan to include components for each of the Conservation Values within the MOU which are: Recreational Values, Fish Habitat Values, Wildlife Habitat Values, Water Quality, Quantity, and Hydrology Values, and Working Lands Values, including grazing and forestry.

Participants in the CRM and the development of this Property Management Plan includes representatives from: WDFW, EKCD, CKCD, Yakama Nation, Klickitat County, grazing permittees, NRCS, Western Pacific Timber, Columbia Land Trust, neighboring landowners, and the local outdoor recreation community. Anyone is welcome to participate in the CRM process at any time.

All participants in the CRM process agreed to the following Objectives Statement for the Simcoe Mountains Unit management plan:

“Collaborative management, habitat stewardship, and conservation for multiple uses – cultural, recreation, working lands, fish and wildlife.”

Participants also agreed to a plan format, which would include chapters addressing forest management, range management, wildlife/and habitat management, recreation management, hydrology, cultural resources, and infrastructure and maintenance. Subgroups from the CRM participants were assigned to write individual chapters, which were each then reviewed by all participants for review and comment. Participants reviewed the plan again together and reached consensus on the final drafts of each chapter. This was accomplished by meeting monthly until all chapters had been completed. The final Simcoe Mountains Unit Management Plan is included as an addendum to the Klickitat Wildlife Area Management Plan, though the process of writing the content of the Simcoe Mountains Unit Management Plan is unique and distinct from the other portions of the Klickitat Wildlife Area Plan.