We need your help to protect Colorado’s West Slope rivers!

The time has come for us to protect Colorado's West Slope rivers and we need everyone's help. The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests are revising their forest-wide management plan for the first time in 38 years. This is the first opportunity in decades to protect rivers like Oh-Be-Joyful, Upper East, Taylor River, and the Uncompahgre Gorge under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The Forest Service must study all named rivers on the Forests to determine if they are eligible for Wild and Scenic River protection. Eligible rivers must be free-flowing and have at least one outstanding value - such as paddling, scenery, geology, scientific research, or another value.

Many of the rivers on the GMUG are unlike any other rivers and creeks in Colorado and paddlers have an intimate relationship with these special places. The most effective way to ensure these rivers are protected is for the public to submit comments to the Forest Service sharing what makes these rivers outstanding and what your personal connection to them is. Comments are due by November 26!

If you have paddled or know one of the rivers in the list below, please pick one and write a short statement about why you love the river and what makes it outstanding.

Rivers with paddling on the Forests: East River, Daisy Creek, Slate River (headwaters to CB), Taylor River (above the reservoir), Taylor River (Lottis Creek to Almont), Oh Be Joyful Creek, Ruby Fork of Anthracite, Anthracite Creek, Uncompahgre Gorge (Quality Quickie), Uncompahgre River, Roubideau Creek, San Miguel (Keystone), San Miguel (Norwood Canyon).

You can review all the GMUG rivers and Forest boundaries using Outdoor Alliance's GIS map for the GMUG

Photo: Uncompahgre Gorge

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Dear Forest Planner Sam Staley,

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As a boater and river enthusiast, the rivers on the GMUG are very important to me.  Boaters have a unique and intimate relationship with these rivers, having the opportunity to experience them on the water itself in their raw and wild environments. Based on my personal experience exploring these rivers, there are numerous rivers on the GMUG that are free-flowing and are outstandingly remarkable in their own right.

In the Final Plan, I respectfully ask the Forest Service to: 
Broaden the interpretation of the Recreation ORV to acknowledge all quality recreation experiences as outstandingly remarkable. A quality recreation experience isn’t necessarily a commonly used one; some of the highest quality rivers are remote and challenging and that is what makes them outstanding. 
Use multiple scales for the Region of Comparison for the purposes of including more ORVs, rather than excluding them. If a value isn’t outstanding when compared to the local region, then it should be assessed against the state, regional, and national scales. 
Add additional Standards and Guidelines for the management of eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers as directed by the 2012 Forest Planning Rule 
Only consider free-flow character and outstanding values in the eligibility process; land ownership, politics, water quality, and other factors should not be considered as part of eligibility
Determine all rivers to be eligible in the GMUG that are free-flowing and have at least one outstandingly remarkable value.

In particular, I strongly believe that the following rivers should be considered eligible in the Forest Plan:

East River, Daisy Creek, Slate River (headwaters to CB), Taylor River (above the reservoir), Taylor River (Lottis Creek to Almont), Oh Be Joyful Creek, Ruby Fork of Anthracite, Anthracite Creek, Uncompahgre Gorge, Uncompahgre River, Roubideau Creek, San Miguel (Keystone), San Miguel (Norwood Canyon).

Sincerely, [Your information here]