A river used to run through it, could be the title of a book describing the Dolores River country downstream of McPhee Reservoir. A dramatic, rugged landscape of sandstone canyons, the area rivals the more famous sculpted topography of Canyonlands National Park, but with scenic differences provided by higher altitude and a more temperate climate. Think Moab with ponderosa pines and Douglas firs, but with no one else around, one river guide described it many years ago.
Local river-runners got the chance to see the heart of the Dolores River canyon this spring when enough water was released from the dam to allow rafting for the first time since 2011. By the standards of almost any river in the West, the release was not impressive – flows ranged from 600 to 1,200 cubic feet per second over the course of two weeks – but by modern Dolores River standards, it was a deluge.
And while the boating crowd welcomed the spill of water from a full McPhee Reservoir, it must have been even more welcome, it can be imagined, by the fish and wildlife living in the river corridor itself. Because as state wildlife managers, local conservationists, recreational boaters and anglers are attesting with increasing alarm, the lower Dolores River is dying, and that is a shame.
Typical flows in the lower river, which winds for 175 miles from McPhee Reservoir to its confluence with the Colorado River, are controlled by releases at McPhee Dam. And they are downright puny; flows in the 20 to 25 cfs range are common. During especially dry periods, like in 2013, flows drop even lower. Because Dolores River water is allocated for irrigation demands and community needs by the Dolores Water Conservancy District, releases from the dam are dictated by the needs of farmers and citizens along the delivery system built as part of the McPhee project.
That is understandable. The project was built with those goals in mind, and those water users are paying for the water. It should also be remembered that before the dam, agricultural demands often depleted the river, leaving the lower reaches of the Dolores bone dry.
But a growing number of people in this corner of the state are wondering why current water needs cannot still be met in a way that leaves enough water running below the dam to support a thriving river environment. And their questions are valid: Is farming water-intensive crops like alfalfa for cattle feed the best use of McPhee water, or can it be used on other, less water-intensive crops, leaving more water in the river? Or can the current crops be raised with more efficient irrigation methods? And what economic opportunities, particularly in tourism and recreation, that could benefit the communities along the river corridor, are being ignored at present? Wouldn’t communities like Dove Creek see immediate benefits as a result of higher flows in the Dolores River? And what about the native fish and wildlife historically found in and alongside the river?
While the needs of the many water users served by McPhee Reservoir may seem as solidly set in concrete as the dam itself, these questions should be explored. The Spanish explorers of this area named the river after our lady of sorrows long ago. That does not mean it has to remain under that cloud for generations to come.
