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<br />001999 <br /> <br />CWCB <br />8/31/83 <br /> <br />DOLORES RIVER <br /> <br />WILD AND SCENIC RIVER STUDY <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />Public Law 93-621 authorized study of the Dolores River. <br />The segments of the Dolores River to be studied were: <br /> <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 /> <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 FederallState team. <br /> <br />Eliqibility and Classification <br /> <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 l shows the resulting 4 segments studied for the <br />entire river. <br /> <br />The segments on the Dolores River mainstem from the source <br />to Rico and 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 /> <br />The other 2 study segments--the West Dolores and the <br />mainstem below McPhee Dam to l mile above Highway 90--were found <br />eligible for designation. <br /> <br />118 <br />wsrldr <br />