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119-s-1787119th CongressWALLET

Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act

Sponsored By: Senator Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]

In Committee

Summary

Creates the Dolores River National Conservation Area and a Dolores River Special Management Area to protect native fish, whitewater boating, scenic, cultural, and ecological resources while keeping existing water and tribal rights. The bill would set new rules for land use, require coordinated management plans, and formalize local and tribal consultation for river flows and recreation.

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  • Families, landowners, and ranchers: Keeps private property rights intact, preserves grazing permits, and guarantees reasonable access across covered land. The Dolores River Road must remain in its current primitive condition and owners are not required to pay for plan implementation.
  • Recreation and conservation interests: Establishes roughly 52,900 acres as a National Conservation Area and roughly 15,500 acres as a Special Management Area to conserve native fish and recreation. Motorized travel is limited to designated routes and the agencies must finish long term management plans within 3 years.
  • Water managers, tribes, and energy stakeholders: Affirms the Dolores Project and McPhee Reservoir operations and protects valid water and treaty rights. It requires regular consultation with the Native Fish Monitoring and Recommendation Team, tribes, and water managers, an annual report on native fish, and preserves existing Department of Energy uranium leases.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

Private land and grazing protections

If enacted, the bill would say private property owners outside the areas cannot be forced to stop activities just because those activities are visible or audible inside. The Secretary would have to provide reasonable access through covered land when other routes are blocked by physical barriers. Grazing leases, permits, trailing permits, and allotments would be issued and managed under existing law. The Secretary would also be authorized to take measures to control wildfire, insects, and disease in the covered land.

New Dolores River conservation areas

If enacted, the bill would create the Dolores River National Conservation Area (about 52,872 acres) and a Special Management Area (about 15,452 acres). The agencies would prepare maps and legal descriptions, including an NCA map dated December 13, 2024, and file the SMA map with congressional committees. The Interior Secretary would write the NCA plan and the Agriculture Secretary the SMA plan, each within three years. The bill would also require a 14-member advisory council within one year to help develop and monitor the plans.

Limits on roads, mining, and easements

If enacted, the bill would limit motorized use in the covered land to designated routes and ban new permanent or temporary roads except for administration, safety, or reasonable access. It would require the Secretary to keep a named Dolores River Road segment in its current primitive state. The bill would withdraw the covered land from mining claims and leasing laws, while honoring any active Department of Energy uranium leases. The Secretary could buy or accept easements only from willing sellers and could relocate an existing transmission line inside the area to a new right-of-way up to 150 feet wide if the move furthers the Act's purposes.

Protect Dolores water and native fish

If enacted, the bill would keep responsibility for the Dolores Project and McPhee Reservoir with the Interior Secretary and the Dolores Water Conservancy District, and require operations to follow existing contracts, operating agreements, laws, and mitigation. The bill would not change state-decreed water rights or create a federal reservation of water. It would bar federal assistance for new or altered water projects that harm free-flowing streams or unreasonably diminish the area's resource values, while allowing limited exceptions for small diversion dams, stock ponds, and routine work on existing projects. The bill would allow hydrologic and weather monitoring devices when essential for public safety or water management, and require an annual public report on native fish starting one year after enactment.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]

CO • D

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO]

    CO • D

    Sponsored 5/15/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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