Tag Archives: dolores river

Transforming a river corridor: An ambitious partnership has battled invasive plants along 180 miles of the Dolores, providing job training for young people in the process

July 26, 2017
Janneli Miller

Print this articleWhat happens when you dam a river, use the resulting reservoir to irrigate 63,000 acres (sending the water to a different watershed), control downstream flows through human-dictated releases, and then have an extended drought? The ecosystem changes. This … Continue reading →

Published in July 2017 Tagged

Here it comes! Dolores River to see a big, long rafting spill

April 1, 2017
Gail Binkly

Print this articleThe start of this year’s rafting season on the lower Dolores River was for only the hardy. When managers began ramping up releases of frigid waters from the bottom of McPhee Dam on March 29, snow still lay … Continue reading →

Published in April 2017 Tagged

Boating the Dolores for the first time: a personal account

August 9, 2016
Gail Binkly

Print this articleWhen I heard there was to be enough water for boating on the Lower Dolores River this spring, I knew there would be a lot of happy rafters and canoeists, but I didn’t figure I’d be among them. … Continue reading →

Published in July 2016 Tagged

NCA talks begin: A water attorney says a conservation area could help constrain federal agencies and protect rights

November 16, 2015
David Long

Print this articleThe choices are simple when it comes to making decisions on managing the water and federal lands along the Lower Dolores River, an expert told a group of concerned citizens Sept. 30 in Cortez: One, do nothing and … Continue reading →

Published in October 2015 Tagged ,

Dolores River NCA idea encounters turbulence: Montezuma County opposes the proposal, but others say it would protect water, values

March 22, 2015
David Long

Print this articleMontezuma County opposes the proposal, but others say it would protect water, values Worried about water and wary of anything involving the federal government, the Montezuma County commissioners and the San Juan Basin Farm Bureau have come out … Continue reading →

Published in March 2015 Tagged

New bridge eases troubled waters

September 21, 2014
Shannon Livick

Print this articleThe structure is aimed at reducing boater-landowner conflicts Cheers echoed Friday, July 25, over the rushing sound of the Dolores River as a small group of volunteers stretched the river’s first boater-safety fence across its waters. For nearly … Continue reading →

Published in August 2014 Tagged

Juggling act on the Dolores River

May 8, 2014
Gail Binkly

Print this articleCounty planners struggle to balance property rights and public safety as they mull the valley’s management plan After countless hours of discussion and debate about the Dolores River Valley Plan, members of the Montezuma County Planning and Zoning … Continue reading →

Published in April 2014 Tagged ,

Rafter-rancher conflict makes for troubled waters

November 1, 2013
Shannon Livick

Print this articleIf river water runs through anyone’s veins, it’s those of Tom Wolfe. Wolfe, 49, of Dolores, has spent 25 years rafting rivers in four different countries, logging an impressive 100,000 river miles. [Disclosure: Wolfe’s partner, Janneli F. Miller, … Continue reading →

Published in November 2013 Tagged

Boaters mull a plan to aid native fish on the Dolores

February 1, 2012
Jim Mimiaga

Print this articleBoaters on the Dolores River below McPhee Dam are being asked to concede some of their whitewater flows towards improving habitat for a declining native-fish population. And they seem to be in a sharing mood. Since the Dolores … Continue reading →

Published in February 2012 Tagged

What kind of rafting season can boaters expect?

May 1, 2011
Jim Mimiaga

Print this articleA short whitewater rafting release is “probable” for the lower Dolores River canyon this month, according to water officials. Beginning May 20, the Dolores Water Conservancy District expects to release 800 cfs from McPhee Dam into the lower … Continue reading →

Published in May 2011 Tagged ,