Which rivers are eligible for Wild & Scenic?

Which rivers are eligible for Wild & Scenic?

from a GMUG National Forest update

On January 2nd, the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forest will publish its draft Wild and Scenic Rivers Eligibility Report for a 30-day comment period.

Through the review of Eligibility Report, the general public will be able to give input on which rivers and streams should be considered eligible for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (NWSRS). Eligibility is the first of the three-step Wild and Scenic River process, each step of which includes opportunities for public engagement.

Consideration of the NWSRS is just one part of the GMUG’s Forest Plan revision process, which began in June 2017.  While only the US Congress can designate segments as Wild and Scenic Rivers, the forest plan revision plays an important role in which segments are considered.

The Forest Service will be hosting two webinars to walk interested people through the draft Eligibility Report and answer questions.  Interested community members are invited to join these webinars on

  • Tuesday, January 8th at 2:00-3:30 p.m. Click here to connect or for audio only, please call 1-888-844-9904, participant code 8454465#
  • Wednesday, January 9th at 9:00-10:30 a.m. Click here to connect or for audio only, please call 1-888-844-9904, participant code 8454465#

The recorded webinars will be available on the GMUG website after the scheduled webinars. If you are just joining the forest planning conversation, please check out the planning website for past publications, information on how to participate and other helpful resources.

For more information, contact Leah Lopez, Alliance community organizer, at 970-256-7650.

About the author

After working for our Alliance for 32 years, Brenda retired in 2018 and took a two-year hiatus before rejoining the fold as a board member. She is a treasure trove of little known facts about the organization after managing everything from the membership database to our communications. Her other interests include dabbling in a number of artforms, hiking, botany (her college major), t'ai chi and chi gung, and swing dancing. With roots in western Washington state, she has lived in Montrose with her husband Kevin since 1984.

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