Senate Committee Unanimously Advances Dolores River Conservation Area Bill

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources unanimously passed the Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act on Dec. 17. For the people of Dolores County and the broader Four Corners region, that vote marked the second time the same bipartisan measure has cleared the same committee by unanimous voice vote, without a single dissenting member. Sixteen-plus years of stakeholder meetings now hinge on whether 2026 delivers what the prior session could not: a bill signed into law.

The bill, sponsored by U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, both D-Colo., would protect more than 68,000 acres of public lands in Montezuma, Dolores, and San Miguel counties through new land management designations. Under the bill's specific acreage breakdown, the conservation area must consist of approximately 52,872 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, while the special management area must consist of approximately 15,452 acres of federal land in the San Juan National Forest.

The national conservation area focuses on the upper portion of the Dolores River, running from below McPhee Dam to Bedrock. Within that corridor, the bill targets Ponderosa Gorge for the strictest protections: Interior must manage those portions in a manner that maintains wilderness character, including by prohibiting road construction, the use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport, and projects undertaken for the purpose of harvesting commercial timber.

The bill would protect water resources and Outstandingly Remarkable Values while safeguarding water rights, private property, and Dolores Project allocations. That last point matters directly to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, whose tribal chairman, Selwyn Whiteskunk, issued a statement saying, "The Tribe is intent on protecting our Dolores Project allocations." Whiteskunk added that "local participation in the management of the area will provide better benefits for the native fish, scenic area, recreation, permitted federal land uses, private land values and water rights than a wild and scenic designation. I have ranching and farming operations in all three counties involved. I appreciate Senator Bennet for his many years of leadership on this bill and Senator Hickenlooper for joining him in supporting this bill. I hope this bill can go forward in the bipartisan way we have shown is possible with the diverse local groups that put this proposal together."

San Miguel County Commissioner Lance Waring, whose county sits at the geographic center of the proposed area, offered a blunt assessment of how the coalition got here: "For the people of Southwest Colorado, the Dolores River is more than just a landmark." Waring himself put it in terms of durability: "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. 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."

Bennet framed the vote in generational terms. "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."

The bill is supported by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe; Montezuma, San Miguel, Dolores, Archuleta, and La Plata Counties; the city of Cortez; the towns of Dove Creek, Norwood, and Dolores; and more than a dozen conservation and recreation organizations including American Rivers, Trout Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Colorado, and the Southwestern Water Conservation District.

Not everyone is on board. Allen Maez of Lewis told the Montezuma County commissioners he and others have concerns about who would manage the area. "I think the biggest concern is who is going to be the controlling committee when that NCA is passed," Maez said. "That committee won't be picked immediately but it will be folks who may not have the best interests of Montezuma County." Montezuma County Commissioner Gerald Koppenhafer, who served on the Lower Dolores Working Group formed in 2008, pushed back, pointing out that in 1976 the river was found suitable for designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which by law required it to be managed to maintain its character and Outstandingly Remarkable Values. "All those restrictions have been on this river for all these years and there's no way to get that designation off other than to legislate it off," Koppenhafer said.

The path forward remains steep. The bill cannot become law unless a House version also passes. Bennet told the Durango Herald: "I'm very glad that Dolores NCA passed out of the committee out of the Senate with Senator Lee as chair and I will consult with Congressman Hurd and others to do whatever it is we can to try to get it over the finish line in 2026." As of this reporting, no House companion bill has been introduced in the 119th Congress.