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April 11, 2008 <br />Page 24 <br />ownership percentages, i.e. the percentage of federal lands within an entire reach has been <br />skewed by the lumping together of segments, and is not representative of private land ownership <br />on important sub - reaches. Sub - reaches of stream segments identified as preliminarily eligible <br />should be eliminated from based on a higher ratio of private lands to public lands. For example, <br />in the lower five miles of the West Fork of the San Juan River and the lower portion of the <br />Piedra River, the USFS owns only small slivers of land, which touch the stream segment, if at <br />all, only at points, not along an entire river segment. Such stream portions should not be <br />designated as eligible based on revised, appropriate land ownership classification figures. See <br />specific discussion of West Fork San Juan River, below. <br />3. The Draft's Plan's figure of the percentage of federal land within the 1/2 <br />mile river corridor does not provide the information needed to determine whether, should the <br />stream segment be Congressionally designated for WSR status, the US may condemn private <br />land within the corridor. 16 USC §1277(b) states: <br />Curtailment of condemnation power in area 50 per centum or more of which is <br />owned in fee title by Federal or State government <br />If 50 per centum or more of the entire acreage outside the ordinary high _water <br />mark on both sides of the river within a federally administered wild, scenic or <br />recreational river area is owned in fee title by the United States, by the State or <br />States within which it lies, or by political subdivisions of those States, neither <br />Secretary shall acquire fee title to any lands by condemnation under authority of <br />this chapter. Nothing contained in this section, however, shall preclude the use of <br />condemnation when necessary to clear title or to acquire scenic easements or such <br />other easements as are reasonably necessary to give the public access to the river <br />and to permit its members to traverse the length of the area or of selected <br />segments thereof. [Emphasis added] <br />4. The Draft Plan Appendix D, at p. D -7 acknowledges that "if streams have <br />long segments through private lands, it may be more complicated for the Federal Agency to <br />manage as a Wild & Scenic River ". This is one of the factors which has not been fully <br />considered in the suitability analysis, see for example, discussion of the West Fork of the San <br />Juan River below. <br />G. County Land Use Classifications. In discussing current county land use <br />classifications as they may affect a suitability designation for various streams, the Draft Plan <br />makes the significant mistake of assuming that the current land use classifications will simply <br />continue into the future, without any conflict with WSR suitability designation. Land use plans <br />may always be amended. <br />H. Primary Economic Bases. <br />