The Bureau of Land Management is currently finalizing six regional Resource Management Plans that recommend that Congress designate 300 miles of suitable Utah rivers as wild, scenic or recreational under the act.
To our minds, that's a good start. But the Utah Rivers Council disagrees. It charges that the BLM should have included many more of the 1,000 eligible miles of rivers in its recommendations.
Philosophically, we are sympathetic to the Rivers Council's opinion, but we prefer to view the glass as half full. Wild and scenic designation is a political process, and 300 miles is a lot of river. If Congress were eventually to protect that much, it would be a tremendous legacy to the future.
The crown jewels of Utah's rivers are the Green and Colorado. They are the most famous worldwide for their rugged beauty and wildness, and they should be first on the list of wild and scenic recommendations. That's what the BLM has done.
The Price Field Office of the BLM has recommended 130 miles of the Green River as suitable for wild and scenic designation, including segments in Desolation, Gray and Labyrinth canyons. Desolation and Gray canyons are renowned as two of the nation's premier white-water recreation destinations. Labyrinth, by contrast, is a stretch of smooth water popular with canoeists. In addition to the magnificent scenery, the canyons harbor abundant wildlife and several endangered bird and fish species.
The Moab Field Office has recommended the entire length of that portion of the Colorado that falls within its jurisdiction, with the exception of a stretch between the Colorado state line and Westwater Canyon that is mostly private land. Included is 68 miles of the Colorado through the famed Westwater Canyon, another white-water paradise, and the stretch near Arches National Park and Moab to the edge of Canyonlands National Park, where the National Park Service has jurisdiction. In addition, the plan recommends 22 miles of the Dolores River, a tributary of the Colorado in the same neighborhood, and 65 miles of the Green.
Are there other streams in Utah that should be recommended? Undoubtedly. But the BLM plans are a good beginning.
