WSPC06237

• File Number: 7630.650
• Description: Wild and Scenic - Yampa River
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 7/19/1976
• Title: Recommendation of CU Wilderness Study Group - RE-Classification of Green and Yampa Rivers According to Wild and Scenic Rivers Act as Amended through PL 93-621
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

OJ:S35

system. The 46 mile stretch of the Green from Flaming Gorge Dam to the

Utah-Colorado state line is worthy of study. Terminating a river study at a

political boundary is a meaningless determination. Below Flaming Gorge is

Red Canyon, an area of fast water and moderate rapids. Ann Zwinger writes of

of Red Canyon,

We skim a clear, deep-green river shot with lines of crystaline sparks,
absolutely enchanting canoeing. Now that Flaming Gorge is covered,
Red Canyon is the first red rock canyon on the Green River. The walls
are a soft rose red in the morning light, 800 feet high, rising back
to two thousand on the mountainside to the south.

Below Red Canyon is the beginning of Brown's Park. Only half of this

area, that park within Colorado, is now being considered!

The lower section of the Green from the Utah state line to Split Mountain

'"
,~
;-j
Ii
! '

should logically also be studied. Not only is this section of wild quality, but

it is also still within the monument. There is no c~a~ge in the character of

the river until below Split Mountain. There are no physical features at the

state line, and no logic in stopping the classification at, that point.

There is a section on the Yampa that also deserves study, that from the

l1

upstream end of Cross Mountain Canyon down to the monument. Cross Mountain

Canyon is a spectacular gorge, with straight cliffs of about 1500 feet. The

water through this canyon is rough, few have made it through with their boats,

although many have tried. The water below Cross Mountain is slow, meandering

through sagebrush and grass~ands. It is a lovely stretch for a leisurely canoe

trip. Above Cross Mountain the Yampa has many roads leading up to it, ranches

along the banks, telephone lines, and electric pumps. Therefore, the entrance

to cross Mountain Canyon seems to be the most logical place to start the study

at a physical, ecological boundary, not a political one"

We ask that the study team recommend that the study be expanded to include

these important segments. We realize that extending a river study costs time

and money. However, it has been done before (on the Penobscot in Maine). There

may never again be a chance to gain legal protection for these stretches of the

river that are so obviously worthy.