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. . No doubt more visitors will come if portions of the Dolores are included in the national system. Experience indicates as with other user groups - for example: hunters, jeepers, and fishermen - there will be a few bad apples, but most will be responsible river runners, hikers, and campers. I7J' '." If any segment of the Dolores is designated, the ensuing Master Plan will be developed to protect the river and its canyons while still allowing for maximum enjoyment. There will, for example, be a ceiling on the numbers of boaters allowed on the river and boating permits required (as there now is on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon); parties will probably be required to pack out all trash, and may even have to carry along their own chemical toilets. The Forest Service and BLM will enforce laws and regula- tions on the river, and closely manage all recreational use. 7. WATER RIGHTS. A number of people expressed concern that water rights would be condemned or otherwise taken away. Nothing of this kind is anticipated. Only "wild" river classifica- tion might limit diversions along the waterway, and a portion or portions of the river eventually designated as wild will have few if any existing diversions due to the restrictiveness of this classification in regard to developments present. Diversions are perfectly allowable on "scenic" and "recreational" river segments. More basically, any wild and scenic river designation on the Dolores will simply not affect any existing water rights. 8. A DRY RIVER. Many persons wonder how a river that runs low, and sometimes even dry, can possibly be considered for inclusion in the national system. The purpose of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is to preserve selected American rivers "in free-flowing condition," whatever that condition happens to be. It does not necessarily mean for river-running or any other kind of recreation; "geologic. fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, and other similar values" are also considered worth preserving. In addition, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act sets no minimum on river flows. The Dolores has known an erratic flow pattern - with spring flooding followed by low water in the summer and fall - for many centuries. Starting in the late 1800's, the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company diversion dropped the low flows considerably more; however, the Dolores Project, will guarantee a small but continuous streamflow below McPhee Dam that means the Dolores can be considered "free flowing. " ~ 'I' 6