Permanent Protections for the Dolores River Watershed
The Dolores River watershed represents one of the greatest angling and hunting conservation opportunities in the state.
We are working to maintain the Dolores River as it is to ensure fish and wildlife habitat and sporting opportunities are not lost.
The alpine tundra, high meadows, and aspen slopes of the upper Dolores merge perfectly with the desert landscape of pinon and scrublands lower in the basin. This largely intact western landscape offers world-class hunting and fishing opportunities. Native Colorado River cutthroat trout can be found in the headwaters and tributaries of the Dolores River along with rainbow, brook, and brown trout. The tailwater fishery below McPhee Reservoir can also offer excellent dry fly fishing for large browns. Hunting opportunities for game species include elk, mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, mountain lion and turkey. Some of the most sought-after elk, mule deer, and bighorn sheep units in Colorado are in the northern part of the basin.
Where is the Dolores River?
The Dolores River stretches across southwestern Colorado, from its headwaters above the town of Rico on the San Juan National Forest to where it eventually crosses into Utah near the town of Gateway. The river and its tributaries flow through millions of acres of public land managed by both the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. The Dolores River, a tributary of the Colorado River, weaves for 241 miles from south to north, and its watershed covers over 10,000 square miles.
What’s at stake?
The Dolores River faces threats from industrial scale mining, habitat fragmentation, climate change, and unmanaged recreation. Protecting intact habitat for mule deer, elk, and desert bighorn sheep, particularly winter range and movement corridors, is essential for retaining quality sporting opportunities and mitigating impacts from threats such as development, drought, and invasive species. Colorado is a fast-growing state and people are increasingly recreating in previously quiet and seldom visited locales. Trying to keep the Dolores River a secret is not a winning strategy for ensuring quality fishing and hunting experiences. Instead, we need to protect valuable fish and wildlife habitat, plan for increased visitation, and secure additional resources for recreation infrastructure.
After decades of trying to protect the Dolores River, now is the time for action. Without permanent protection, the Dolores will remain susceptible to a growing list of threats to fish and wildlife habitat that we rely on in the pursuit of fish and game.
The Upper Dolores River
Protections for the Upper Dolores River
In 2022, Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper introduced the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act. Montezuma, Dolores and San Miguel counties support the legislation along with a broad and diverse coalition of stakeholders. Targeting the southern reaches of the Dolores River, below McPhee Reservoir, the bill would conserve nearly 70,000 acres of public lands, benefiting both fish and wildlife habitat and sporting opportunity. For example, the special management area directly below McPhee Dam would be managed to enhance fishing and hunting opportunity along with other uses and resources.
The Hunters and Anglers for the Dolores coalition supports this legislation and is advocating for it to become law.
The Lower Dolores River
Protections for the Lower Dolores River
Further north, there is growing interest in securing protections for the lower Dolores River and its watershed. Hunters and anglers, conservation groups, and other stakeholders have been working with Colorado’s congressional delegation and local elected officials to develop legislation that would establish a National Conservation Area in parts of Mesa and Montrose counties along the river corridor, in addition to making other designations that would conserve the landscape within this watershed.
The Hunters and Anglers for the Dolores coalition seeks to permanently conserve priority public lands within the Dolores River watershed and retain the area’s high-quality sporting values. Although legislation has yet to be introduced, Hunters and Anglers for the Dolores supports this approach and is advocating for provisions that will safeguard and advance hunting and angling priorities in the region.
Provide Input
We welcome input from anglers and hunters across the state on protections for the Dolores Canyons. Your input is critical to ensuring that fish and wildlife habitat is protected and sporting traditions are continued on this landscape.
Partners
Our organizations represent hundreds of thousands of anglers and hunters nationwide and in Colorado who share in a collective belief that healthy public lands are essential to sustaining our angling and hunting traditions.
Dolores River News
Opinion | Conserve what’s best about the Dolores
By: Aaron Kindle at the National Wildlife Federation.
Opinion | Rooted in long-standing traditions of hunting, fishing, exploring wild places
By: Collin Hildebrand of Grand Junction is a sportsman and bird hunter.
News | Bennet, Hickenlooper voice support in protecting Dolores
Colorado’s Dolores River Canyons regions must be “permanently protected” and there is a way to do so going forward...
Business Supporters
