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South Platte not 'wild, scenic'
Specific stretches of the South Platte River and its North Fork will not be added to the nation's wild and scenic rivers program under the U.S. Forest Service's recommended management plan for the rivers.
By By:Sean Hadden
Instead, the service has come up with a plan that protects the river's "outstandingly remarkable values," while recognizing its importance as a water source for the Denver metro area.
The service began studying sections of the rivers under the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in the mid-1990s and released their alternative to wild and scenic designation Jan. 28.
In a press release that day, the service solicited comments from those interested in the river's status.
Comments will be accepted until April 2.
The rivers met eligibility requirements of the act, the service's plan says.
But because the service opted for the alternative to wild and scenic designation, the suitability requirements of the act will not be evaluated, the plan says.
Under the plan, Denver Water gives up its South Platte right of way for 20 years, said Carol Ekarius of the Coalition for the Upper South Platte.
That right of way was issued to the water provider in 1931, and gave it the right to build a dam for water storage below the confluence of the South Platte River and the North Fork of the South Platte River, she said.
The coalition is a group of watershed conservationists based in Hartsel who have been working with the service on the plan's development since the rivers first were considered for the Wild and Scenic Rivers program, she said.
The plan is a good one because it protects the rivers' outstanding values while bringing together the environmental community, the recreational community, and water providers and consumers, Ekarius said.
"We need to protect the resources but still be able to live here," she said. "We have to support the population [by providing water]."
The plan allows Denver Water to develop other water supply infrastructure in the South Platte area, but not along the main stem of either river's channel.
Small reservoirs might be allowed under the plan, if it is approved after the comment period, Ekarius said.
But these would not be dams directly on the river. They would be projects in which water from the river was diverted to storage areas away from the rivers' canyons, she said.
"But that's not necessarily going to happen," Ekarius said.
She said she believes such projects might not be necessary because Front Range water providers and consumers are becoming more savvy about conserving and recycling water, as well as using it more efficiently.
After 20 years, Denver Water would be able to apply for a permit to build a smaller reservoir on the river than the failed Two Forks Dam proposal, for which the permit was denied in the 1990s, Ekarius said.
The segments of the river affected by the plan add to 99.5 miles, the plan says.
They include more than 27 miles of the North Fork of the South Platte River above Bailey, almost 23 miles downstream from Bailey to the confluence with the South Platte River, and almost 50 miles of the South Platte River from Elevenmile Reservoir to Strontia Springs Reservoir.
Comments should be sent to: Forest Supervisor, Pike and San Isabel National Forests, Comanche and Cimmaron National Grasslands, 2840 Kachina Drive, Pueblo, CO 81008.
Put attention to the South Platte Wild and Scenic River Study.
Comments can also be e-mailed to comments-rocky-mountain-pike-san-isabel@fs.fed.us.
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