The San Juan Mountains boast many of the West’s finest rivers and streams, and yet the Wild and Scenic River designation has somehow eluded Southwest Colorado. That trend may be reversed in coming years, however. The San Juan Public Lands Center recently took a big step toward Wild and Scenic status for several of the region’s streams and is now looking to the Durango community to pick up the charge. In 1968, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was signed into law. The act created a policy “that would preserve other selected rivers or sections thereof in their free-flowing condition to protect the water quality of such rivers and to fulfill other vital national conservation purposes.” The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act has accomplished this goal in many places. The Pacific Northwest has had an especially strong record for Wild and Scenic Rivers. Forty-seven rivers and streams have been designated and preserved in Oregon alone. However, Colorado, a state known for contentious water politics, has but one Wild and Scenic River. After years of negotiations, controversy and in-fighting, the Cache la Poudre River, which flows from its Rocky Mountain National Park headwaters down through Fort Collins, was designated in the mid-1980s. Colorado’s poor record is destined to change, however, and a river in the San Juan Mountains could become the state’s second Wild and Scenic River.

To view the full article, visit the Durango Telegraph. For a copy of the original article contact the WIP at (970) 247-1302 or stop by the office at 841 East Second Avenue in Durango. Photo courtesy of the Durango Telegraph/David Halterman.