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) q~Q.. I"'~ IOU G ~ 8 8 avtlr..k^""""- '-t . . , ALERT * ALERT * ALERT * ALERT * ALERT * ALERT * ALERT * ALERT ) Colorado ~nvironmenta1 ~oalition WILD & SCENIC PROTECTION PROPOSED FOR SOUTH PLATTE RIVER! YOUR LETTER OF SUPPORT NEEDED BY JUL Y 10, 1997. The Forest Service has proposed major sections of the South Platte River, upstream of the Denver metro area, for protective designation under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Your letters are needed by July 10, 1997 to support and strengthen this recommendation. . . HISTORY Denver has long eyed the South Platte River as a source of municipal water. The fiI'St attempt to build the highly controversial Two Forks Dam and Reservoir occurred at least as early as 1906. The latest attempt began in about 1980. This proposed reservoir would have flooded about 20 miles of the mainstem and 10 miles of the North Fork, destroying a world class fishery, as well as a populare river among whitewater boaters and other recreationists. Citizen outrage at this proposal allowed the Environmental Protection Agency to apply an obscure section of the Clean Water Act to veto the project in 1990. . . WILD & SCENIC RIVERS ACT The 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act allows rivers to be protected under one of three designations: Wild. which is similar to wilderness, in that only primitive transportation methods are allowed for access; Scenic. where shorelines are accessible in places by roads or railroads, but are largely primitive; and Recreational. which are readily accessible, but the river is still free of impoundments. To be eligible for protection, a river must be free-flowing and its It, mile wide corridor must have at least one outstandingly remarkable characteristic, such as recreational, historical, wildlife, fisheries, etc. Once a river is found eligible, an agency like the Forest Service will prepare a suitability study to determine all the pros and cons of actually designating the river. The agency then recommends suitable rivers for designation. To designate a river, Congress must pass a law which must then be signed by the President or passed over his veto. Once designated, no dams or diversions can be constructed, nor can any other actions be taken that would damage the free-flowing nature of the river or damage any outstandingly remarkable values in the river corridor. However, rivers recommended for desil!Ilation have the same orotection until Congress decides not to desil!Ilate them. Thus a recommendation for designation is extremely important. . FOREST SERVICE PROPOSAL The Pike-San Isabel National Forest , through which much of the upper South Platte River flows, has completed a draft suitability study of72.3 miles of this river, from Elevenmile Dam in Park County to the backwash of Strontia Springs ' Reservoir southwest of Denver on the mainstem , and on the North Fork from the confluence with the mainstem to near Bailey. Two preferred alternatives are proposed: (1) Altemative A2 would somehow provide protection for the South Platte's outstandingly remarkable values without any federal designation, and (2) AllemaliveJwouldrecommend48.1miles of the mainstem for designation. In the latter, the sections from Elevenmile Dam to near Corral Creek north of Lake George (16.4 miles) and from the Wigwam Club in Douglas County to the North Fork confluence (18.2 miles) are proposed for recreational designation; the segment from near Corral Creek to the backwash of Cheesman Reservoir (lOA miles) is proposed for Wild designation except for a 3.0 mile segment in the middle which would receive scenic designation. The 3.1' mile segment from Cheesman Dam to the Wigwam Club (known as "Cheesman Canyon")