Dolores River

With different understanding of what “protecting” means for the lands surrounding the Dolores River, residents and environmental organizations try to find a common solution to preserving the wild and rugged landscape.

A coalition of Western conservationists and tribes are working to protect more public lands before the November presidential election.

A plan to ask President Joe Biden to use the Antiquities Act to create a 400,000-acre national monument along the Dolores River in Montrose and Mesa counties stirs concerns over crowds, mining, and motorized access.

After almost two decades of meandering and navigating vastly diverse interests, The Lower Dolores Working Group is looking at a legislative solution to protect the river.

Last month, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper of Colorado requested a hearing for their Dolores River conservation bill. Now, groups advocating for the Dolores River Canyon are discussing the Biden Administration designating part of the river not covered by the legislation as a national monument.

The last time Colorado’s river basins swelled with above-average spring snowpacks in 2019, 12 people died in Colorado’s rivers and creeks.

The River of Sorrows could see increased protection with federal legislation as a survey shows growing support for a national monument around Colorado’s pristine Dolores River Canyon Country.

Senator Michael Bennett made a push for legislation to protect the Dolores River in the final days of the 2022 Congress.

For much of the last fifteen years, a working group in southwest Colorado has been putting together legislation to conserve the Dolores River.

Jonathan Thompson shares an extended essay about the beleaguered lower Dolores River.