WSP06980

• File Number: 7630.285
• Description: Wild and Scenic - General
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 5/1/1977
• Author: US DOI
• Title: Outdoor Recreation Action - Wild and Scenic Rivers - Number 43 - Spring 1977
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

Minnesota
The Department of the Inte-
rior has approved a $4,003,000
Land and Water Conservation
Fund grant to Minnesota for the
acquisition and development of
outdoor recreation areas along
the Upper St. Croix Scenic River-
way.
The project includes acquiring
11,477 acres 01 land along the
river and developing or improv-
ing campgrounds, trail cenler,
canoe and boat accesses, picnic
areas, primitive campsites, trails,
and bridges, burying electric
lines, and landscaping, Of the
land acquisition, 8.430 acres are
being donated by lhe Northern
States Power Company and fee
title and easements will be pur-
chased for 3.047 acres. The
value of the land donated by
Northern States Power will be
used by the Minnesota DNR to
match the Land and Water Con-
servation Fund project.
The Upper St. Croix Scenic
Riverway is jointly administered
by the State of Minnesota and
Wisconsin and by the National
Park Service. The riverway is ex-
pected to become a major-use
recreation area for the Upper
Midwest.
Contact: Bureau of Planning, De-
partment of Natural Resources,
301 Centennial Building, St.
Paul. Minn. S5155,

tion. The river with its immediate
environment possesses outstanding
scenic, recreational, geological, bi-
ological, historical and related val-
ues and assets. For most of its
length it is hemmed in by foresl,
without fields, farms, homes or
other signs of civilization. It is one
of the few mountain rivers in the
four-State area of North Carolina,
South Carolina, Georgia and Ten-
nessee without substantial com-
mercial, agricultural. or residential
development along its shores. Al-
though located near the great popu-

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ation concentrations of the easem
United States, a visitor to this river
is instantly transported into the
midst of an unspoiled primitive
whitewater environment. The Chat.
tooga is accessible by auto at only
five places and these road pOints
break the river into approximately
equal sections.
The segment from 0.8 mile below
Cashiers Lake in North Carolina to
Tugaloo Reservoir (54 river miles)
and the West Fork Chatlooga River
from its junction with Chattooga
upstream 7.3 miles are now part of
lhe National System.
The New River in North Carolina
became part of the National Wild
and Scenic Rivers System in ac-
cordance with the provisions of
Section 2(e) (ii) of the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act. Under this sec-
tion, rivers which are permanently
preserved and administered, at no
expense to the United States, by the
State or political subdivision of the
State through which the river 110ws,
and which meet the criteria estab-
lished by the Act, are eligible for
inclusion in the system upon appli-
cation by the Governor of the Stale
to the Secretary of the Interior.
Legislative actions of the North
Carolina General Assembly in 1974
and 1975 resulted in the main stem
and then the South Fork of the New
River being designated as a com-
ponent of the State Scenic Rivers
System. Subsequent applications
by the Governor on December 12,
1974, and July 11, 1975, resulted
in the determination that the New
River met the criteria for compo-
nents of the Nalional System. Con-
sequently, on April 13, 1976, the
Secretary of the Interior officially
designated New River as a State-
administered component of the Na-
tional Wild and Scenic Rivers Sys-
tem. Additional protection for the
New River was added by Congress
through Public Law 94-407, on Sep-
tember 11. 1976. This act limited
the scope of a Federal Power Com-
mission license for the Blue Ridge
Power Project on the New River in
Virginia in such a way that no in-

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undation of the river protected by
the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
would be allowed.
The New River in North Carolina
consists of the North Fork, South
Fork and 4.5 miles of the main stem
from the confluence of the North
and South Forks to the point where
the river crosses the State line into
Virginia. These streams are located
in the Appalachian Mountains in the
northwestern corner of the State.
The South Fork rises in Watauga
County near Boone, N.C., and flows
northward about 85 miles before it
meets the North Fork. The seg-
ment in the National System con-
sists only of the lower 22 miles of
the South Fork plus 4.5 miles of the
main stem.
The river is about 90 miles north-
east of Asheville and about 60 miles
northwest of Winston-Salem, N.C.
Principal highways are U.S. 221
and U.S. 21. The Blue Ridge Park-
way can be reached about 10 miles
to the east of the river. A short dis-
tance north of the State line, in
Virginia. is the Mount Rogers Na-
tional Recreation Area. The South
Fork New River has more than one
outstandingly remarkable resource
value. Geological points of interest
include the presence of ancient lava
flows and billlon-year-old meta-
morphic rocks and the fact that the
New River is part of the oldest river
system in North America and the
second oldest river in the world.
The archeology of the South Fork
area has not been fully explored,
but preliminary investigations indi-
cate that a variety of cultures have
inhabited the upper New River Val-
ley during the past several thousand
years. In addition, the area has
valuable fish and wildlife resources,
including many State rare and/or
endangered species and high rec-
reation and scenic values.
The Obed River in Tennessee
was authorized for study by Public
Law 90-542. October 2, 1968. The
study commenced in 1973 but was
not completed until June 1976. A
total 01 46.2 miles of the Obed River
was included in the National Sys-

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