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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Among special provisions of this amendment was one requiring that <br />the Dolores be studied in a single year - instead of the several <br />normally allowed for this kind of work. This limit was set for <br />two primary reasons: <br /> <br />'~"- <br /> <br />j~~,' <br /> <br />1) To quickly identify and resolve conflicts that might exist <br />between the Dolores Reclamation Project and possible wild and <br />scenic rivers designation of parts of the Dolores, and <br /> <br />2) To avoid further delay in the Dolores Project. <br /> <br />As a result, the team's actual field work was limited to 1975. <br />However, much additional data, gathered as far back as 1928, was <br />also reviewed - and team members observed portions of the river <br />throughout the year (on foot, on horseback, by motor vehicle, <br />and from the air). The team's May 1975 raft trip down the Dolores, <br />from the Bradfield Ranch was only a more publicized and evident <br />portion of its work. <br /> <br />2. WHAT'S NEXT? A number of people have been uncertain about the <br />purpose of the Dolores River Study. Several have asked what would <br />happen when it was complete. <br /> <br />The basic purpose of the Dolores River Study is to examine the four <br />designated segments and make recommendations to the President and <br />the Congress regarding their possible inclusion in the National <br />Wild and Scenic Rivers System. This work will be completed by <br />the end of this year. <br /> <br />At that point, the Dolores River Study Team will cease to exist; <br />it will be Congress's job to decide if or how the river will <br />finally be classified, and there is no guarantee that the Senators <br />and Representatives will follow the team's recommendations. Two <br />points are certain, however: 1) by law, Congress cannot act to <br />include any of the Dolores in the National System before the close <br />of the 1976 session of the Colorado State Legislature, and 2) there <br />will be several more opportunities for public input and comment. <br />See item 15 of this paper for a run-down of these opportunities. <br /> <br />3. THE DOLORES RECLAMATION PROJECT. Well over 100 persons, most of <br />them residents of the Cortez-Dolores area, expressed fears or assumed <br />that any wild and scenic river designation would automatically <br />doom the Dolores Project. This was focused in a July 10, 1975 <br />headline in the Montezuma Valley JOURNAL which read, "Wild Rivers <br />Talks Can Be Fatal." <br /> <br />.:' <br /> <br />~ <br />~, <br /> <br />1:&,,- . <br /> <br />2 <br />