Bill > S1787

This bill establishes the Dolores River National Conservation Area (covering approximately 52,872 acres of Bureau of Land Management land) and the Dolores River Special Management Area (covering approximately 15,452 acres of National Forest System land) in Colorado, with the primary purpose of conserving and protecting the area's native fish, recreational, ecological, cultural, and scientific resources. The bill creates a 14-member advisory council to provide input on the management of these areas and requires the development of comprehensive management plans within three years of enactment. The legislation ensures the protection of existing water rights, tribal rights, and traditional uses, while prohibiting new road construction and limiting motorized vehicle use to designated routes. Key provisions include protecting the area from new water resource projects that could diminish its ecological value, maintaining the wilderness character of certain sections (like Ponderosa Gorge), and allowing continued operation of existing projects like the Dolores Project and McPhee Reservoir. The bill also explicitly protects private property rights, ensures that no new buffer zones are created, and allows for continued traditional tribal uses of the land, while maintaining the existing jurisdictional and regulatory frameworks of local and state governments.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1787/all-info