Thursday, December 18, 2008

Group works on river plan
Public lands office will update management strategy for Lower Dolores

Kristen Plank
Journal Staff Writer

Thursday, December 18, 2008


Roughly 50 interested residents from Cortez, Dolores, Dove Creek and beyond braved Monday's snowstorm to meet for the first Lower Dolores Management Plan Working Group meeting.

Members of the working group, including various stakeholders and organization representatives, will be meeting over the next year to give input on a comprehensive river management plan, known as the 1990 Dolores River Management Plan, that the Dolores Public Lands Office plans to update in the fall of 2009.

Monday's meeting took members of the working group and the public through much of the background issues related to updating the river management plan. Dolores Public Lands Office employees, including Manager Steve Beverlin and hydrologist Shauna Jensen, explained where the management plan began, where they are now, and what is ahead.

Part of the group's purpose is to help designate how best to "classify" the Dolores River, in a legal sense, so that it receives appropriate protection measures, Beverlin said. The group hopes to bypass a federal classification known as the Wild and Scenic River Designation because federal management of that river conflicts with current principles the Dolores River Dialogue has already established, according to a grant letter written by Dolores Water Conservancy Manager Mike Preston.

Throughout the year, the working group will gather ideas on how to best manage the river, creating a report with all of their suggestions. When the working group comes to a close in fall 2009, the report will be given to Dolores Public Lands Office officials.

Jensen then explained how the process of initiating a new management plan works, which includes public scoping, comment, and appeal periods.

"There is such diversity at this table," Beverlin said. "This opportunity opens the door wide open for the group and what this group deems appropriate (for the river plan)."

When Don Schwindt, a Dolores Water Conservancy District board member, asked how much of the new river management plan will be based off the 1990 version, Beverlin said the old plan can be used as a framework for updating the new version.

Marsha Porter-Norton, facilitator for the group, also told members what they should bring to the working group's table.

"We are looking for voices of the community, and we want you to reach out to constituents and find out what is really going on in your circles," she said. "We fully expect, when dealing with land management and water issues, for there to be a diversity of opinions."

The group's main goals will look at protecting the "outstandingly remarkable values" of the Dolores River, such as recreation and scenery, fish and wildlife, geology, ecology and archaeology. Porter-Norton also asked members if there were any other issues the group might have missed.

Clint Cressler of Dove Creek addressed off-highway-vehicles users and wanted to make sure those people, like himself, were covered.

"I have always had an interest in the way public lands are managed and how they affect me," Cressler said later.

He added that he might volunteer to represent the OHV community at the upcoming working group meetings.

The working group was formed in February under the direction of the Dolores River Dialogue, a group that has been holding regular meetings to preserve and improve water habitats in the Dolores River Valley. A grant, written by Preston, for $99,980 was received to fund the working group's progress throughout next year.

On the Web: http://ocs. fortlewis.edu/drd.

Reach Kristen Plank at kristenp@cortezjournal.com.