The San Juans give birth to remarkable rivers and streams, providing life-giving waters for farms and cities but also supporting recreation and aesthetic values. Requires Flash Player 8 to view.
 

 




In 2002, the summer’s algal blooms in the Animas River below Durango led to a basin-wide water-quality sampling program. Out of this effort came the Animas River Nutrients Working Group.

 

 
The San Juans give birth to remarkable rivers and streams, providing life-giving waters for farms and cities but also supporting recreation and aesthetic values. SJCA works to permanently protect our last free-flowing streams, enhance our rivers’ water quality and promote democracy in water policy. On the Dolores River, we have engaged water users, government agencies, whitewater enthusiasts, and conservationists into a productive collaboration aimed at freeing more water for downstream flows.
 

 

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act directs land management agencies such as the San Juan National Forest to evaluate rivers and streams for their potential eligibility for protection as wild, scenic, or recreational rivers. If found eligible, the San Juan NF may further propose to Congress that the rivers be designated as wild and scenic under the law. Only Congress can ultimately create a wild and scenic river.

If designated wild and scenic, no dams can be constructed on that river segment, and enough water must be left in the river to protect its “outstandingly remarkable values.” The river corridor is also withdrawn from mineral development.


 

 
SJCA launched the Dolores River Campaign in 2004 with the dual objectives of improving downstream flows below McPhee Dam and protecting the landscape of the Dolores River Basin.

 
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