ADVOCACY

MAINTENANCE

CONSERVATION

The Great Spokane River Gorge Strategic Master Plan

For the Friends of the Falls and the many other organizations and individuals who have worked to bring it about, the Great Spokane River Gorge Strategic Master Plan is a milestone in a long and sometimes tumultuous process to realize the vision articulated nearly a century ago by the Olmsted Brothers, who foresaw a large greenbelt along lands adjacent to the river from Downtown to Fort George Wright connecting various neighborhood parks along the way.

The Great Spokane River Gorge Strategic Master Plan is the result of five years of public process and collaborative effort led by the Friends of the Falls Association and involving a broad and diverse cross section of Spokane citizens, neighborhood groups, Indian tribes, business groups and environmental and recreational organizations.

Published in March, 2005, the aim of the Great Gorge Plan is to enhance and preserve the splendor of the Spokane River Gorge as a central feature of the Spokane region for generations to come. The Plan provides an overview of what has come before; describes the market support that affects the Gorge area and Spokane as a whole; builds on the vision for the Gorge area by identifying goals, principles, and15 priority projects that will spur the restoration and enhancement of the Great Gorge area; provides the guidelines by which Spokane can make the most of the opportunities identified; and establishes a clear strategy to implement the numerous initiatives of the Plan, including project timeframes, lead agencies and budget estimates.

Stewarded by the Friends of the Falls Association, the Great Gorge Plan includes many trail-related elements in addition to other recreational, cultural, educational, and environmental amenities. The Great Gorge Plan challenges our community to imagine a dynamic, eleven mile river corridor minutes from Downtown Spokane, through the Great Spokane River Gorge and onto the 10,000-acre Riverside State Park, accessible to all people in kayaks, canoes, rafts and inner-tubes; bird-watchers and Frisbee golfers; mountain bikers, hikers, trail runners, equestrians, and walkers; and enhanced with thoughtful improvements which promote and preserve the natural, geographic, historical and cultural values of the River and Gorge.

Above all, the Great Gorge Plan is about the Spokane river and the natural landscape that surrounds it—a magnificent confluence of water and sculpted geology situated squarely in the heart of an increasingly vibrant and renewed urban environment— and about accessing it and enjoying its aesthetic and recreational opportunities, with minimal intrusion.

For more information, please see the Friends of the Falls web site: www.friendsofthefalls.org.