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i ~h. The lower Sr Croil, River forms a por- tion of !fie Wisconsin- Minnesota bounaalY In order 10 preserve and prOlecl lhese priceless nalural resources, lhe Minnesota Wild and Scenic Riv- ers ACl became law in 1973. It em- phasizes rivers preservation in pres. ent condition, although some re- habilitation can be done where feasible. The Minnesola Wild and Scenic Rivers Act includes a tripar- tite classl!icallon system for rivers as "Wild," "Scenic,' or "Recrea- tional" The Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources is empowered to make wild and sce- niC river designations. Before a river can be included in the system, statewide standards and criteria and a speCific river management plan must be prepared by the department. Along desig. nated rivers, the pnmary means for controlhng land use is by local ordinances. Guidelines for the es- tablishment of these ordinances are contained In the stalewide stand. ards and criteria Acquisition of key parcels along the fivers is essential, but the application Of land use con- trols provides a '.bluepfln!" for the future use of Wild, scenic, and rec- reational river corridors. Thus far, MinnesOfa's Wild and Scenic River System includes four fivers. The Keltle, the Upper Mis. SiSSIPP; ('rom SI. Cloud to Anonka), the North Fork 01 the Crow, and the Lower 51 Croix (a component 01 the National System). Several other rivers are curren1!y under study for 12 000585 possible inclusion in the State sys- tem. At the time the Minnesota Wild and Scenic Rivers Act became law, approximately 2,000 miles of the State's network of streams were envisioned as ultimately forming the State system. Minnesota is well on lIS way loward realizing this am- bitious goal. New York New York Stale's Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers Syslem in 1972 designated sections of 15 riv- ers within the Adirondack Park totaling over 172 miles. The en- abling leglslallon is Title 27, Article 15, New York State Environmental Conservation Law. In 1973, a 5-mife section of the Connetquot River, within the Con- necticut River Stale Park, in Suffolk County (Long Island) became a Recreational River with approval of Ihe Legislature and Governor, In 1974, approximately 9V. -mites 0' the Carmans River in Suflolk Counly entered Ihe Rivers System: three sections tolating about 6'/.- miles received Scenic River classi- fication and two sections of about 3 miles a Recrealional River classi- flcallon. In 1975, an addilionall,027 miles on 55 rivers within the Adirondack Park became part of the Rivers Sys- tem. InCluding the "instant river" designation in 1972, there are now 155.1 miles of Wild River..; 504.9 miles of Scenic Rivers: and 539.5 miles of Recrealional Rivers within the Adirondack Park. The legislation of 1975 also des- ignated over 28 miles on sections of lour rivers just outside the Adi- rondack Park, In 1976, an additional1-mile sec- tion of the Carmans River head- waters became Scenic River, Thus, to date, over 1,214 mites on more than 70 rivers have been in- cluded in New York Slate's Wild, Scenic and Recreational Rivers System. Studies in varying degrees 01 de- tail also have been done by the Department of Environmental Con- servation or by citizen groups on ';';'.'~' .~,..'"~ ~~~..,} .. .. -~ - Amenca's aldesr fiver, the New Rlvor in Norrh Carolma 49 other rivers outside lhe Adiron- dack Park. Evaluations of these studies and/or follow-up studies are required. Pilot management planning is underway in two of the study river areas-the Ballen Kill and Beaver Kill-where local Citizen's Advisory Committees are working with the department 10 develop management plans before any proposals for des- ignation go 10 the legislature and the Governor. I I I North Carolina North Carolina's Natural and Sce- nic Rivers Act ot 1971 assures that some valuable river resources will be preserved in natural, scenic con- dition. The act, as amended, re- Quires public hearings, feasibility studies, a report to the Governor, and notification of allected properly owners before proposals may be submitted to the General Assembly, The system now includes the lin- VIlle RIVer and the Main Stem and South Fork of the New River. (See Bureau of Outdoor Region 5, South- east.) Streams idenlllied for poten. hal inclusion are the Green River, Sarem Creek, and Bennets Creek. A 1975 survey to gain insights into Citizens' preferences for rivers to be placed In the system drew rec- ommendations 01 more than 100 river segments for study, These have been evaluated and a list de- veloped to establish sludy priOrities,