Wild and Scenic River Eligibility Report-Bureau of land management, Grand Junction field office

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1— Introduction Rivcrs and river segments designatcd under the act are protected and managed to maintain thcir free flowing character and values that led to design�tion. Section 10 of the WSR Act mandates, "cach component of the national wild and scenic rivers system shall be administered in such manner as lo protect and enhance the valucs which caused it to be included in said system widiout, insofar as is consistent therewith, limiting other uses that do not substantially interferc with public use and enjoyment of these valucs." Protections put in place for designated segments are intended to protect and/or enhance the river from its current state. If a river or segment is added to the N WSRS a specific plan based on the characteristics of an area �vill be created, tailared to [he specific qualities and competing factors of an area. The act h�s bcen amended to add rivcrs ro the NWSRS and to declare additional rivcrs and river segments needing to be studied for potential inclusion in the system, an authority under Section 5(a). Induded in the January 1975 amendment to the WSR Act, sections of the Colorado and Dolores Rivers, parts of which fall within the boundarics of the GJFO (Chapter 4.8), were identified for study under Section 5(a) authority. �fhe US Department of the Interior, National Park Scrvice (NPS) completed an eligibility and suitability report for these segments in 1979, but Congress has not acted on these findings which are described in scction 4.8. 1.2 Steps in the Wild and Scenic River Prucess I'he study of and designation of watercourscs undcr the WSR Act follows a multi step process (eligibility —� suitability � congressional action). "�he GJFO is examining the eligibility and suitabiliry of watercourses during its RMP Revision. The eligibiliry portion initially begins with an inventory of all potential stream segments (Chapter 2), utilizing multiple sourecs to identify all po[en[ial segments (including public input). l�hen [hese segments are evalua[ed to dctermine if thcy meet the criteria set forth in the WSR Act. "fhe segments must be free Flowing and possess one or more ORV(s) (Chapter 3). Generally the area survcyed for ORVs includes a quartcr mile on each side of the river. Segments determincd cligible are then classified under three tentative categorics (wild, scenic, and recreational) depending on thc level of development in the river corridor. f'his report covers these steps and details the reasoning behind tinding a river segmcnt eligiblc (Chapter 5). The next step will bc lo examine the suitability (Chapter 6) of segments determined eligible and report these findings in thc Draft RMP and Uraft Environmental Impact Statcmcnt (F;IS), and Final RMP and Final h;IS. l�hc final dccision on the suitability of a givcn rivcr scgment will be made in the Record of Dccision (fiOD) for the GJFO [tMP. 1.3 'I'iming of the Eligibility Study Other than the 1979 report on the Colorado and I.owcr polores Rivers undertaken in conjunction with thc NPS. the GJFO has not surveyed and analyzed potential watercourses in itsjurisdiction for inclusion in the NWSRS. The WSR Act (Section 5(d)(I)) directs the BLM to survey rivers and rivcr scgments during planning efforts: "In all planning for the use and development of water and related land resources, considera[ion shall be given by all Federal agencies involved to potential national wild, scenic, and recreational river areas." In 2008 the GJ1�0 began the RMP rcvision process with the completion of a preparation plan, issuing a notice of intent, and beginning public scoping. The RMP process is expected to take four years. This eligibility W ild and Scenic River F.ligibility Report, Grand Junction Field Office, Colorado l�