A new boat launch is scheduled to be built this winter on the Shoshone River south of Powell, giving anglers and boaters better access for recreation. All of it is due to the work of the newly formed Park County Outdoor Recreation Collaborative.

The launch is being built on Wyoming Department of Transportation land on the southwest corner of the bridge crossing the river on Wyo. Highway 295. The launch is the first project nearing completion for the collaborative, a group of local stakeholders who organized to work on projects which encourage recreation in the county’s grand outdoor destinations.

The boat launch site is upstream on the opposite bank to the Game and Fish Willwood Access area, which recently was closed to motor vehicle traffic, making the traditional takeout area impossible to use for watercraft.

The project has to be completed during the winter, coinciding with low water levels, said Powell Mayor John Wetzel. He’s a member of the collaborative’s steering committee. He said he joined the group after realizing the benefit of having state and county representatives, citizens and legislators all coming to the table with the common goal of encouraging outdoor recreation.

“A big lightbulb lit up with me when I realized they were getting all the stakeholders together to attack community supported projects,” he said.

The boating access point is the first project being tackled. The group was spearheaded by Powell resident Rebekah Burns, executive director of the Powell Economic Partnership, Powell Chamber and Visitor Center. 

Wetzel, who is an avid fisherman, hopes the launch — which is likely to be more often used as a takeout point for boaters launching east of the Willwood Dam — is the first of several improvements made on the section of river. 

He would like to see more launches built on the stretch of the river, as well as signage on public land to assist boaters in identifying private land and being mindful of trespassing laws.

In April, the boat launch project was approved by the collaborative’s membership. Then in June the Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation, which facilitates several outdoor recreation collaboratives convened throughout the state by Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails, awarded a $20,000 grant to build the structure.

“We’ve identified the spot. We’ve got clearances from the land management. We have quotes from the people who are going to pour the concrete and people have gone door to door to local landowners with [information] to tell everybody what’s going on,” said steering committee member Wes Allen, an owner of Sunlight Sports in Cody. “There’s been a volunteer cleanup down there that built goodwill, and now we’re in the spot where some of the really important things need to be addressed; like how do we handle trash? Who do landowners call if there’s graffiti or somebody’s parked down there after dark.”

Vandalism, dumping and late night shenanigans were cited as reasons for closing the “Dog Ponds” portion of the Willwood access area on the northern bank of the river kitty-corner to the new boat launch site. Collaborative members cleaned up and painted over vandalism and graffiti at the site and on the bridge this past summer. 

“It was pretty graphic; so not good for families to see,” Burns said. “What [nearby] residents are most concerned about is that they don’t want the public to trash [the area].”

Members discussed proposals to keep the site tidy after the construction project is finished during their Tuesday meeting at the Park County Courthouse. Ideas included possibly installing surveillance cameras, routine maintenance and garbage collection. They are currently forming a working group to handle the issues. 

Wetzel pointed to local businesses who are helping with the project, including Engineering Associates, Ryno Rentals and MDM Custom Concrete. 

The Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation works in partnership with several outdoor recreation collaboratives in the state. These collaboratives bring together local community members, stakeholders, federal agencies, and state agencies to support sustainable outdoor recreation growth. Driven by Gov. Matt Mead’s 2017 Outdoor Recreation Task Force, the collaboratives are involved with several ongoing projects that will expand Wyoming’s outdoor recreation opportunities. Several of the collaboratives have already completed successful projects, and are continuing to garner momentum on both a local and state level.

The Bighorn Basin Outdoor Recreation Collaborative was the first collaborative to be assembled, and has been meeting since chartered in 2018. It represents communities that lie within the eastern and southern portions of the Big Horn Basin.

The Park County collaborative is discussing other projects, including the possibility of giving outdoors enthusiasts better access to Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation land on the east side of Heart Mountain from Lane 17. During a recent meeting, Heart Mountain Irrigation announced it has already drawn up plans for a bridge that would restore access to the public land. 

“They’re willing and excited at the possibility of putting in a bridge,” Allen said. “It’s gonna be quite expensive to build over that canal. But just because the irrigation district says they are willing to do it doesn’t mean that we can do it.”

He said land managers and area residents need to be contacted and research about the impact on that area needs to be done before they could move forward. The project is only in the beginning discussion phase and could take a lot of work — possibly years of effort — before they could plan to break ground.

They are also looking at projects like building mountain bike trails on Polecat Bench, making access easier to Cedar Mountain and Hayden Arch Bridge and creating better highway signage to area trailheads.

Steering committee members include Burns, Wetzel, Allen, Christi Greaham of Northwest College, John Gallagher of the Park County Pedalers, Brenda Miller with the Wyoming State Snowmobile Association, and Brooks Jordan, district manager for Wyoming State Parks.