United States Department of Agriculture Wild and Scenic River Eligibility Evaluation [draft] Carson National Forest Taos, Rio Arriba, Colfax, and Mora Counties, New Mexico U.S. Forest Service Southwestern Region September 2017 In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. 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Table of Contents Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Background ................................................................................ 1 Eligibility Evaluation Process ..................................................................................................1 Free-Flowing Determination .....................................................................................................2 Outstandingly Remarkable Value Determination .................................................................... 3 Scenery – Public lands in northern NM and southern Colorado ............................................................... 4 Recreation – Public lands in northern NM and southern Colorado ........................................................... 4 Geology – The Four Corners states (AZ, NM, CO, UT) ............................................................................ 4 Fish – The Four Corners states (AZ, NM, CO, UT) .................................................................................. 4 Wildlife – The Four Corners states (AZ, NM, CO, UT) .............................................................................. 4 Historic, Cultural – The Four Corners states (AZ, NM, CO, UT) ............................................................... 5 Other Values – The Four Corners states (AZ, NM, CO, UT) .................................................................... 5 Outstandingly Remarkable Value Criteria ............................................................................... 7 Classification of Eligible Rivers ...............................................................................................9 Interim Management of Eligible Rivers .................................................................................. 11 Evaluating Suitability of Eligible Rivers ................................................................................ 15 References ..............................................................................................................................15 Wild and Scenic River Eligibility for the Carson National Forest ........................................ 17 Eligible River Segments .......................................................................................................................... 17 Previously Eligible River Segments ........................................................................................................ 31 Previously Ineligible River Segments ...................................................................................................... 55 Previously Unevaluated River Segments ................................................................................................ 67 Appendix A: Process and Background Response to Comments ........................................ 73 i List of Tables Table 1. Outstandingly remarkable value evaluation criteria ........................................................................ 7 Table 2. Criteria for wild, scenic, and recreational classifications............................................................... 10 Table 3. Eligible river segments and their associated classification and ORVs ......................................... 17 Table 4. Eligibility evaluations of previously eligible river segments........................................................... 31 Table 5. Eligibility evaluations of river segments previously evaluated as being ineligible ........................ 55 Table 6. Eligibility evaluations of previously unevaluated river segments .................................................. 67 List of Figures Figure 1. Carson National Forest regions of comparison for each outstandingly remarkable value ............ 6 Figure 2. Camino Real Ranger District eligible wild and scenic rivers. Eligible rivers are highlighted by a thicker, colored line. ............................................................................................................................ 27 Figure 3. Questa Ranger District eligible wild and scenic rivers. Eligible rivers are highlighted by a thicker, colored line. ......................................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 4. Westside ranger districts eligible wild and scenic rivers. Eligible rivers are highlighted by a thicker, colored line. ............................................................................................................................ 31 Figure 5. Number of national forests grouped by the number of eligible wild and scenic rivers that they have identified ..................................................................................................................................... 77 ii List of Commonly Used Acronyms CFR Code of Federal Regulations FS Forest Service FSH Forest Service Handbook HUC Hydrologic Unit Code NF national forest ORV outstandingly remarkable value RGCT Rio Grande cutthroat trout RMBH Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep USDA United States Department of Agriculture USDI United States Department of Interior WSRA Wild and Scenic Rivers Act iii Wild and Scenic River Eligibility Evaluation Carson National Forest Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Background The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (National System) was enacted by Congress in 1968 (Public Law 90-542) to preserve the free-flowing condition of certain selected rivers with outstandingly remarkable values for the enjoyment of present and future generations. Designated Wild and Scenic Rivers “must be administered in such a way as to protect and enhance the values that made [them] eligible for the National System, but not to limit other uses that do not substantially interfere with public use and enjoyment of these values.” (IWSRCC 1998, p. 3). To be designated under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (WSRA) a river segment must meet two fundamental requirements: (1) the river segment must be “free-flowing” as defined by Section 16(b) of the WSRA, and (2) the river segment must have one or more outstandingly remarkable values (ORV) (Section 1(b)). Rivers may be designated by Congress or, if certain requirements are met, the Secretaries of the Interior or Agriculture, as appropriate. Once designated under the WSRA, rivers receive special management direction that ensures the maintenance of the free-flowing nature and the outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values of the river segment. Under the WSRA Section 2(b), river segments are required to be classified as wild, scenic, or recreational: Wild river areas – Those rivers or sections of rivers that are free of impoundments and generally inaccessible except by trail, with watersheds or shorelines essentially primitive and waters unpolluted. These represent vestiges of primitive America. Scenic river areas – Those rivers or sections of rivers that are free of impoundments, with shorelines or watersheds still largely primitive and shorelines largely undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads. Recreational river areas – Those rivers or sections of rivers that are readily accessible by road or railroad, that may have some development along their shorelines, and that may have undergone some impoundment or diversion in the past. The WSRA Section 5(d)(1) requires that, “consideration shall be given by all Federal agencies involved to potential national wild, scenic and recreational river areas” during land management