Last month, American Whitewater and our conservation partners won a monumental shift in Wild & Scenic River considerations in Colorado. The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) reversed its long-standing policy of opposing federal Wild & Scenic River protections and voted unanimously to support the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) draft Resource Management Plan and Wild and Scenic Suitability determination for key segments of the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers. Now the BLM is accepting public comments on their Uncompahgre Field Office draft Resource Management Plan, including Wild & Scenic River Suitability, through November 1st and we need your help to support these new suitability findings. 

 

 

TAKE ACTION: The BLM needs to hear from you that these rivers deserve protection for their outstanding scenic and whitewater recreational values! Comments can be sent by email uformp@blm.gov or by mail to the BLM, Uncompahgre Field Office, 2465 S. Townsend Ave., Montrose, CO

81401.

 

Key Points to address in your comments:

 

1. As a concerned river advocate you believe that the Dolores and San Miguel River segments meet suitability requirements for Wild & Scenic designation because of their outstanding recreational and scenic values, and that the BLM should maintain their suitability as part of their Resource Management Plan.

 

2. That you support the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s request to manage flows through the Colorado State Instream Flow Program (ISF) but that you’ll also expect the BLM and the Secretary of the Interior to pursue other flow protections if the ISF’s are not sufficient to protect whitewater recreation and ecological values. 

 

3. Any personal experiences you’ve had with the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers, and their current flow regimes and how these have affected your recreation experience. 

 

Please submit your comment on the Resource Management Plan including the Wild & Scenic suitability for the Dolores and San Miguel Rivers by Tuesday, November 1st! For more info check out our more detailed web article here, and you can review the Draft Plan here.

 

Thank You for Taking Action Today!