7/10/2002
1157
WILD & SCENIC RIVERS: 531 RIVER MILES PROTECTED IN NEW MEXICO
In keeping with a legal
settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity and Amigos Bravos, the Carson
National Forest amended its Forest Plan on 6-26-02 to protect 531 miles of streams
and rivers in northern New Mexico. The Carson was one of four New Mexico National
Forests sued by the Center and Amigos Bravos in 1997 for failing to identify
and protect rivers that are eligible for designation as “wild,” “scenic,”
or “recreational” under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. The Forest
concluded that 67 river segments are eligible for protection under the Act,
and now must manage them so as to maintain their eligibility until Congress
votes on whether to formally add them to the list of wild and scenic rivers.
Though over 10,500 miles
on 150 river segments have been protected under the Act nationwide, very few
New Mexico rivers have been included. Combined with those determined to be eligible
by the Gila, Lincoln, and Cibola National Forests, the suit has brought protection
to over 800 miles of public rivers in New Mexico. On the Carson Forest, these
include the Rio Tusas, Rio Vallecitos, Rio Pueblo, Arroyo Hondo, Canjilon Creek,
El Rito Creek, Rio Chama, and the Red River; on the Gila Forest they include
the Gila, Tularosa, and Negrito rivers; on the Cibola Forest they include the
Canadian River; and on the Lincoln Forest they include the Sacramento River
and Rio Peñasco.
Many of the eligibility
determinations were based on the presence of imperiled native trout including
the Gila trout on the Gila National Forest and the Rio Grande cutthroat trout
on the Carson National Forest.
The case was argued by
Matt Bishop of the Western Environmental Law Center (Taos).
To learn more about the
Center’s Wild and Scenic River Campaign in NM, CO, AZ, CA, and MI click
here.
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