Act passes Senate Committee with bipartisan support
Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), celebrated the Committee’s unanimous passage of their Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act out of ENR.
“For the people of Southwest Colorado, the Dolores River is more than just a landmark – it’s the lifeblood of their communities and way of life,” Bennet said. “This bill was written by Coloradans who live, work, and depend on the Dolores River. It represents a balanced, sensible way forward to resolve many long-standing disagreements, protect the river for all parties, and provide long-term certainty for generations. I am glad to see that it has once again passed out of Committee unanimously, and I will keep pushing to ensure this becomes law.”
“Southwestern Coloradans care deeply about the Dolores River,” Hickenlooper said. “Leaders on the ground have spent years deciding how to best protect and invest in the Dolores. We worked with them side by side to design a bipartisan bill to preserve this landscape.”
The Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act, which passed the ENR Committee by a unanimous bipartisan voice vote, would protect over 68,000 acres of public lands in the three Colorado counties of Montezuma, Dolores, and San Miguel.
For over a decade, Senator Bennet has led congressional engagement with local stakeholders to craft legislation that could garner broad support. As a result, more than two dozen stakeholder groups and local and tribal governments have sent letters to Senator Bennet in favor of the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act. In 2021, Bennet invited Coloradans to share suggestions to improve the bill during a 45-day comment period and introduced the bill in July 2022 with Senator Hickenlooper. This is the second time the bill has been passed out of the Senate ENR Committee with a unanimous bipartisan voice vote.
“The Tribe is intent on protecting our Dolores Project allocations,” said Selwyn Whiteskunk, Chairman Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. “We believe the proposed NCA legislation supports this goal by legislatively addressing the potentially conflicting authorities of Reclamation over the Dolores Project contracts and the jurisdiction of the Forest Service and BLM below McPhee Reservoir. This legislation also protects tribal cultural rights and practices within the NCA and provides for a Ute Mountain Ute representative on the Resource Advisory Council that will be involved in developing a Resource Management Plan for the NCA.”
“For over a decade, San Miguel County has been engaged in discussions with Dolores and Montezuma Counties, the Ute Mountain Utes, and other regional stakeholders to determine a locally driven long-term management solution for the Dolores River,” said Lance Waring, San Miguel County Commissioner. “Collaboration and compromise have brought all these parties together on this issue. The Dolores County NCA is a locally built and broadly supported proposal that protects both natural resources and existing uses. I’m grateful to Senator Bennet for leading this effort and to Senator Hickenlooper for supporting this bill to ensure the protection of this magnificent river canyon.”
“This legislation has been in the works for many years, involving careful consideration and compromise of the needs of every involved interest,” Whiteskunk said. “The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe believes that now is the time to move this legislation forward.”