Briefing Paper for the Stakeholder Group Alternative Management Plan Proposal

• Description: Documents related to the Upper Colorado River Wild and Sceni Stakeholders Process
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Title: Briefing Paper for the Stakeholder Group Alternative Management Plan Proposal
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Meeting

Upper Colorado River Wild &Scenic Process
Briefing Paper for the
Stakeholder Group Alternative Management Plan Proposal
Process Background
The Bureau of Land Management (Kremmling and Glenwood Springs Field Offices) and the Forest
Service (White River National Forest) are in the process of revising Resource Management Plans
for a combined Planning Area that includes a large segment of the upper Colorado River within
Colorado. As a part of the plan revision process, the federal agencies are required to inventory and
evaluate waterways within the Planning Area pursuant to requirements under the Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act to determine if those waterways meet the Act's free flowing standard and also possess
Outstandingly Remarkable Values (ORV's) that would be subject to agency protection under the
Act.
Because this reach of river is so critical in supporting Colorado's many other existing and future
water uses, a Stakeholder Group" (SG) has formed to bring local government, water users, and
other interested entities together to balance protection of the ORV's with Colorado's other
competing needs through cooperative and voluntary efforts. The SG includes a broad range of East
Slope and West Slope interests including sportsmen, conservation, and recreation groups in
consultation with the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the
Bureau of Reclamation. The SG Plan developed by the group over the past five years has been
included as one of the 4 management alternatives in the Bureau of Land Management's Draft
Resource Management Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
This briefing paper describes the salient features of the locally-controlled and voluntary SG Plan,
which can be integrated with federal agency management needs in a way that balances protection
of the ORV's and also brings local interests and state agencies together to balance the many other
competing needs that face Colorado now and in the future.
SG Plan Purpose
The SG Plan is being proposed to BLM and USFS as a Wild and Scenic management alternative to
protect the outstandingly remarkable values (ORVs) identified in the Eligibility Reports for BLM
Segments 4—7 (USFS Segments 1—2) of the Upper Colorado River2. The purpose of the SG Plan is
to "balance permanent protection of the ORVs, certainty for the stakeholders, water project yield,
and flexibility for water users." The SG Plan is under evaluation by the federal agencies as part of
their resource management plan revision process. The SG Plan would become effective upon its
approval by BLM and USFS without material change as the Wild and Scenic Rivers management
alternative for these segments.
1 See attached membership list
2 See attached map
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