The time is now to protect the Dolores River
By Ruthie Boyd
The anticipation of summer is palpable, as swirling dust storms, the stubborn emergence of tulips and high rivers mark the changing season.
Over the past few months, town has been buzzing in a different way — in the absence of visitors, locals stroll their neighborhoods and stories of offseasons well enjoyed spill through the streets: trips to the desert, visits with family and friends and tales of river trips, to name a few.
This year, the usual drumbeat of offseason has been interrupted by a particularly exciting fact: the Dolores River is flowing, and river runners and conservationists alike are rejoicing.
While other river trips can be won through permit lotteries, carefully planned and routinely executed, a trip on the Dolores is not so straightforward. Originating just south of Lizard Head Pass on San Miguel Peak, the Dolores River travels towards Cortez, where it is dammed at McPhee Reservoir. Every drop in the reservoir is allocated for agricultural production, and McPhee does not have a buffer for recreational and ecological flow. In low-water years, the Dolores will barely run.
For many recreational boaters, a trip on the Dolores is a game of patience with a high reward: towering sandstone walls through Ponderosa and Slickrock canyons, regular beaver sightings, and the unique experience of floating through coyote brush and tamarisk offer the river runner a glimpse into another world, infrequently seen by the human eye. In 2016, the Dolores River ran high enough for recreational use for the first time in five years.
This year, thanks to a healthy winter snowpack, it’s running again.
From the high peaks of the San Juans, through sinuous red rock canyons, ancient Ponderosa parks and desert wildlands, the Dolores has been the backbone of life in southwestern Colorado for millenia, supporting Indigenous communities, nurturing vibrant wildlife and plant species, sustaining small towns and inspiring unparalleled outdoor recreation opportunities. Despite 50 years of community-led work to protect the public lands surrounding the Dolores River, its wildlife and wildlands remain unprotected and inadequately managed for the threats this place is facing.
Last July, Senators Michael Bennett and John Hickinlooper introduced the Dolores National Conservation Area legislation, which would permanently protect 38,000 acres of land surrounding the Dolores River. This legislation was developed through a truly collaborative effort between counties, representatives from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, conservation groups, recreationists, private landowners, as well as agricultural and industry representatives.
While this legislation is an important piece of the puzzle in protecting the Dolores River, further action is needed to preserve this special place. Recently, polls from Keating Research cited in The Colorado Sunshow growing support for a national monument surrounding the Dolores River: 75% of residents in the 3rd Congressional District and 73% of residents in the five counties (Dolores, Mesa, Montezuma, Montrose and San Miguel) supported the designation.
Despite the complex political landscape of this rural district, the issue of the Dolores River appears to cross political affiliations. With high flows and high support for Dolores River’s canyon country, now is the time to establish permanent, landscape-level protections for one of Colorado’s last, best wild places.
Early Spanish explorers called the Dolores “El Rio de Nuestra Señora de Dolores,” or the “River of Our Lady of Sorrows.”
Anyone who has been on the Dolores River knows that its magic is undeniable, but the reality that it may dry up completely in the future is impending. Today, the future of the Dolores River is uncertain. It’s a sad story, but one full of hope, too.
To learn more about efforts surrounding the Dolores River, visit protectthedolores.org.