Comprehensive Plan

• The County’s Comprehensive Plan was adopted in July 2007 after a public process that began in January 2006. The Comprehensive Plan is an official public document that guides policy decisions related to the physical, social, and economic growth of the county.  It provides a framework for future growth, development, and public decision-making.  Generally, a Comprehensive Plan is a 20-year guide for the future of the county.  A Comprehensive Plan provides direction for how the County will grow and evolve over time and establishes the goals and policies that the County should pursue to improve its quality of life, preserve and promote the community’s assets, and ensure that Skamania County is an attractive, safe, and prosperous place to live and work, now and into the future. 

  The overall vision statement of Skamania County is:

  “Skamania County is strongly committed to protecting our rural character and natural resource based industries while allowing for planned future development that is balanced with the protection of critical resources and ecologically sensitive areas, while preserving the community’s high quality of life.”

Carson Subarea Plan

• Adopted in 1994, The Carson Community Subarea Plan is an area-specific comprehensive plan for the Carson Urban Area located north of the intersection of SR-14 and the Wind River Highway. It establishes goals and policies for the Carson Community in more detail than provided by the county-wide comprehensive plan.

Swift Subarea Plan

• The Swift Subarea is an 89,000-acre area of Skamania County beginning at the Skamania-Cowlitz county line and extends eastward above the Swift Reservoir to approximately one-half mile upstream of the confluence of the Muddy and Lewis Rivers. The Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is located in the northwest corner of the subarea. The Swift Subarea Plan was adopted in 2007 after a planning process that began in 2006.

West End Subarea Plan

• The West End Community Comprehensive Subarea Plan was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in 2007 after a multi-year planning process initiated by area residents in response to increase development pressure on the west end of Skamania County adjacent to east Clark County. The plan includes goals and policies for land use, natural resources, rural lifestyle, and property rights.

Management Plan for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

• The Management Plan functions as the subarea plan for the 87,000 acres of land in Skamania County that are part of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The Gorge Commission and Forest Service adopted the management plan in 1991 with input from Indian tribal governments, county and city governments, state and federal agencies, citizens, and non-governmental organizations. The management plan contains the land use and resource protection standards, non-regulatory programs, and actions for protecting and enhancing Columbia River Gorge resources, as well as a description of roles and relationships of governments and agencies responsible for implementation of the National Scenic Area Act. The Forest Service develops the land use regulations for federal land and land in the “special management areas.” The Gorge Commission develops the land use regulations for the general management area.