Page 137 - Clackamas County Watertourism Strategic Plan. Final.v3

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR WATER-BASED TOURISM IN CLACKAMAS COUNTY, OREGON THE OPPORTUNITIES
6-34

There are many approaches to creating a county wide visitor counting system. The final product will result from a collaborative effort between all the Institutional &
entities that collect data on visitors. So, the final product cannot be determined here. Currently, there is a wide range of disconnected and uncoordinated Organizational
entities colleting visitor data including state parks, county parks, municipal parks, visitor bureaus and Chambers of Commerce, federal agencies, PGE, and
large private destinations. Each entity collects data differently, using different fields, at different frequencies, and they are stored differently, or even
discarded in some cases. What is recommended here is the creation of a consistent data collection protocol across all entities. The DMO should coordinate
the creation of this database, monitor its implementation and be the collector, repository, and guardian of these data.
Recommendation 46: Create the Water Tourism and Economic Resiliency (WaTER) Advisory Board for Clackamas County
Approximately 25 of the recommendations presented here require coordination across multiple entities. Establishing a regional visitor database, creating
the largest river celebration in the state, building a bridge across Estacada Lake are just a few examples of projects that will require cooperation across
several levels of government. This project was funded and directed by the Mt Hood Territory DMO but only a minority of the recommendations can be implemented by them
alone. Therefore, this entire report is at risk of not being fully implemented because the other relevant and responsible entities may not be wholly committed to these
outcomes. Over the course of this project, many stakeholders were consulted, interviewed, invited to focus groups, and surveyed. All reasonable attempts were made to work
with them as best as possible within the confines of this project’s scope. Nonetheless, the project is concluding with a large number of recommendations that need these
entities’ cooperation, advise, expertise, and maybe even approval. Therefore, creating an interagency advisory board is necessary and highly recommended. The Water Tourism
and Economic Resiliency (WaTER) Advisory Board would be comprised of all relevant entities that would be involved in these recommendations. They would be responsible for
meeting to review these recommendations, ensuring their applicability, modifying them as necessary, soliciting resources as needed, and monitoring their progress. The WaTER
Advisory Board would start with being presented with the details of this plan, being knowledgeable of the data and supporting justifications for the recommendations, then
reviewing the recommendations to create buy-in, and finally using the implementation framework as a starting draft to modify and adjust timelines, budgets, responsibilities
and monitoring protocols. This process may take 4-6 months before a detailed and implementable plan can emerge.

Creating a new entity is not recommended, only a reshuffling of exiting staff who are currently involved. All levels of government should be involved including: municipal
economic development and parks; county and state marketing and recreation entities; federal agencies; non-profit organizations; and private sector interests. The exact name
of this group, their title (council, board, committee), and its level of authority does not matter much. However, the people involved should be highly knowledgeable in water-
based recreation, economic development, and tourism in Clackamas County. They should be invited/appointed by the county and recognized by them as advisory to the county
commissioners. Without a cooperative board of this type, the author is convinced that many of this report’s recommendations will be very difficult to implement.
Recommendation 47: Molalla River Management Structure
The Molalla River Corridor does not have a stable or fully resourced management structure that is suitable for the level of visitation is receives. The upper corridor, referred to
as Molalla River-Table Rock Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA), is the most visited section and currently managed by the BLM out of the Salem office. The BLM has
been working with the Molalla River Watch and the Molalla River Alliance to manage the SRMA. However, with limited resources and visitation of approximately 50,000 people
per year, this management structure is inadequate. The volunteer organizations can’t provide enough people to keep the campground open and the BLM does have enough
money to pay salaries. The result is the campgrounds are closed but still used illegally. A long-term solution for the management of this corridor is needed. Finding the correct