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CWCB <br /> 8/31/83 <br /> DOLORES RIVER <br /> WILD AND SCENIC RIVER STUDY <br /> Background <br /> Public Law 93-621 authorized study of the Dolores River. <br /> The segments of the Dolores River to be studied were: <br /> - the mainstem from Rico upstream to its source, including <br /> the headwaters; <br /> - the West Dolores from its source, including its <br /> headwaters, downstream to its confluence with the main- <br /> stem; and <br /> - the segment from below the proposed McPhee Dam <br /> downstream to the Colorado-Utah border, excluding the <br /> 6-mile reach from 1 mile above Highway 90 to the <br /> confluence of the San Miguel River. <br /> Of the 293 miles of total length of the Dolores, 194 miles were <br /> studied for potential inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic <br /> Rivers Systems by a joint Federal/State team. <br /> Eligibility and Classification <br /> The exclusion of 6 miles from the last study segment coupled <br /> with major differences in the characteristics of the river and <br /> its corridor below the San Miguel confluence resulted in division <br /> of the Dolores below McPhee Dam into two segments for study <br /> purposes. Map 1 shows the resulting 4 segments studied for the <br /> entire river . <br /> The segments on the Dolores River mainstem from the source <br /> to Rico anad that portion of the lower segment from the San Miguel <br /> confluence to Gateway were found ineligible for designation due <br /> to a lack of outstanding values and substantial alterations in <br /> the natural environment, including paralleling State highways and <br /> other intrusions. The remaining 8-mile reach of the Dolores <br /> River in the lower study segment between Gateway and the Utah <br /> stateline is eligible for inclusion but is too short to be <br /> designated by itself . It was subsequently included in a <br /> different study of the Dolores and Colorado Rivers in Utah and is <br /> not discussed further here. <br /> The other 2 study segments--the West Dolores and the <br /> mainstem below McPhee Dam to 1 mile above Highway 90--were found <br /> eligible for designation. <br /> 118 • <br /> wsr/dr <br />