Citizen's Guide to Colorado's Environmental Era

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farmhouses once stood. By the 1980s, much of the Poudre, both in the canyon and on the plains, was easily accessible by trails and paved roads. It was surrounded by a national park, national forests, private and municipal land. Its waters were scru- pulously divided, extensively used and jealously guarded by farmers, municipalities, industries and, increasingly, recreators. The Road to Wild and Scenic Inevitably, the issue of protecting this important resource arose. Those who wanted to safeguard the Poudre from future development and overuse faced off 4' �si.TVVTY Of against those who had traditionally used the river's water and depended on it economically. Intense negotiations and compromises ensued over the status of the Cache la Poudre —as a working river and protected river. The story of how the Poudre became Colorado's first and only Wild and Scenic River is a lesson in compro- mise. Cooperation between various water management agencies and environmental groups on Wild and Scenic legislation is a testament to all those involved, including one of Colorado's most remarkable public servants — Hank Brown. The Wild and Scenic story began in 1968 when Congress passed the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System Act. This was one of many new environmental laws passed in the 1960s and 1970s as the United States entered an era of environmental consciousness and contention. In 1977, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) undertook a study to determine if the Poudre qualified for Wild and Scenic status. As the study evolved, water users, environmentalists, public officials and others became actively involved in the process. The USFS released an environmental imp state- ment in April 1980 recommending,, �;�,� v