• Download the Snaggletooth Roadless Area map [pdf]
The proposed Snaggletooth Wilderness comprises 31,635 acres of BLM and San Juan National Forest lands split into two units by a powerline. The area is located six miles east of Dove Creek and about 25 miles north of Cortez. The northern unit encompasses approximately 18,000 acres and the southern unit approximately 14,000 acres. The proposed Snaggletooth Wilderness is named for a rapid in the Dolores River, which runs through the unit.
12,172 acres of the proposed wilderness are administered by the San Juan NF; the re maining 19,427 acres are managed by BLM.
The Snaggletooth unit was never inventoried for its wilderness potential previously because the Dolores River Canyon below Bradfield Bridge consisted of alternating, intermingled BLM and Forest Service jurisdiction up until 1983. Congress enacted Public Law 98-141 in 1983 to modify boundaries of the San Juan National Forest. In brief, the Forest Service transferred 22,717 acres below Bradfield Bridge to the BLM, while BLM transferred 4,124 acres above Bradfield Bridge to the Forest Service (plus additional lands near Silverton).
Most of the proposed Snaggletooth Wilderness is presently managed by BLM as part of the Dolores River Special Recreation Management Area in recognition of its extraordinary recreation activities. The Forest Service component consists largely of the rugged eastern tributary canyons, and the sloping tablelands above these canyons dominated by ponderosa-pine forest.
The river segment through the wilderness is one of the premier whitewater rafting stretches in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West. In the last visitor study BLM estimated more than 12,500 visitor days annually during the typically brief snowmelt period during May and June (1984 figures). After several years of drought that decreased visitor use, the spring of 2005 saw a large jump in visitor use, with record release flows from McPhee Reservoir.
The entire segment of the Dolores River flowing through the proposed wilderness was studied and recommended for designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in a study completed in 1976. The recommendation was forwarded to Congress but no congressional action was ever taken. A temporary mineral withdrawal associated with the Wild and Scenic study expired in 1981 leaving the river corridor susceptible to road construction, mining, and other activities incompatible with the river’s extraordinary scenic and recreational values.
River otters were reintroduced to the Dolores River by the Colorado Division of Wildlife and now thrive. Other wildlife in the corridor includes mule deer, black bear, mountain lions, and numerous raptors as well as species that depend upon mature ponderosa pine forests such as Abert’s squirrels and flammulated owls. The river also supports a healthy trout population that attracts anglers year-round.
The central feature of the wilderness is the Dolores River Canyon. The Forest Service component of the wilderness protects the eastern canyon rim and preserves the forested setting of the canyon. The proposed wilderness boundaries exclude existing and past timber harvest. Several closed vehicle ways and some livestock fences intrude into the area, but overall these imprints are substantially unnoticeable.
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