Local Leaders Urge Representative to Back Dolores River Conservation

Two Southwest Colorado officials on December 14 asked Representative Jeff Hurd to bring forward a locally crafted bill to establish a Dolores River National Conservation Area and a Special Management Area. The officials say the proposal emerged from more than a decade of negotiations among ranchers, irrigators, tribes, recreation groups, conservation organizations, miners and local governments, and they urged Hurd to introduce the measure in the U.S. House without delay.

The legislation, as described by the officials, would codify protections for existing water rights and for the operations of McPhee Reservoir while explicitly safeguarding grazing activity and private property. It would also prohibit new major water developments and prevent future mineral leasing in specified reaches of the river. Supporters present the NCA approach as an alternative to a Wild and Scenic River designation, arguing the locally developed framework better balances multiple uses and local priorities.

Five Southwest Colorado counties including Dolores County and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe back the locally crafted NCA model, according to the letter. That regional endorsement signals broad local buy in across interests that often compete over water access, land use and economic opportunity. For residents of Dolores County, the proposed protections could affect agricultural operations that rely on stable water deliveries, recreational businesses that depend on river access and communities that weigh conservation against resource development.

Policy implications are significant. Establishing an NCA and an SMA would require congressional action and would set federal management standards for stretches of the Dolores River and adjacent lands. Prohibitions on new major water projects could limit large scale infrastructure proposals in the basin, while restrictions on mineral leasing could curtail future extraction in protected reaches. Those outcomes will influence planning decisions by local governments, water managers and private landowners.

Next steps hinge on Representative Hurd. Introducing the bill would start a formal legislative process that includes committee review, stakeholder testimony and potential amendments. For Dolores County residents, the debate will center on whether the proposed federal designations deliver the promised protections while preserving local control over water, grazing and property rights.