Blue Mountain Regional Trails Plan stakeholders receive 2019 Smart Communities, Smart Partnership award from Gov. Jay Inslee

WALLA WALLA-The Blue Mountain Regional Trails Plan has garnered the 2019 Smart Communities, Smart Partnership award from Washington State Governor Jay Inslee. Over thirty stakeholders were on hand to celebrate at the Walla Walla County fairgrounds Pavilion.

Roughly ninety people crowded the Pavilion to hear Commerce Director Dr. Lisa Brown, and Dave Andersen, Managing Director for the Commerce Growth Management Services Unit, talk about the significance of the award and recognize all the stakeholders with a certificate from the governor's administration.

Dr. Brown said the Smart Communities program recognizes the achievements of local leaders who promote smart growth planning and projects that contribute to a prosperous economy, sustainable infrastructure and thriving communities in Washington State,

"One of the exciting things is how this leveraged community participation, and hours, and hours, of community labor," she said.

Dr. Brown said the BMRT plan "hit the mark" for economic vitality, and for bringing communities together.

She said the judges who chose the BMRT Plan to receive the award agree it is one of the best for this year.

The Governor's Policy Advisor for Recreation and Outdoor Development, John Snyder, said the trail plan is the result of "really astounding" collaboration. Recreation in Washington State is a 21 billion dollar per year industry employing 200,000 people, and in Walla Walla and Columbia Counties there are 3.4 million user day trips a year for recreation, he said.

"Imagine what that would be like when you get the trail done," Snyder said.

The BMRT Plan was born out of a 2015 Walla Walla Community Council study on Enhancing Outdoor Recreation Opportunities.

It outlines a plan for a region-wide non-motorized transportation and trails network that spans southeast Washington and northeast Oregon, with first implementation from Dayton to Waitsburg.

Initially, there were just 14 stakeholders involved in the BMRT Plan, but after receiving a grant for technical assistance from the National Park Service, that number has grown to 30 local, regional, state, and federal stakeholders and they are: The Cities of Walla Walla, Waitsburg, Prescott, Starbuck, Dayton and College Place, the county planning and health departments for Columbia, Umatilla, and Walla Walla counties, Palouse RTPO, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Walla Walla Community Council, the Walla Walla Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. National Park Service, the Washington and Oregon Departments of Transportation, the Partnership for Greater Burbank, the Ports of Columbia County, Walla Walla County and Umatilla County, Ski Bluewood , and the Waitsburg Commercial Club.