We need more wild and scenic rivers

The Rio Grande was one of the very first rivers added to the national Wild and Scenic Rivers system, created by Congress in the 1960s to preserve America’s most exceptional free-flowing rivers for the sake of future generations. Since then, countless anglers, rafters, hikers and other tourists have flocked to Northern New Mexico to experience those segments of the Rio Grande that are protected by its wild and scenic designation.

I have seen the benefits that wild and scenic rivers bring to nearby communities, first growing up fishing for Rio Grande cutthroat trout across Northern New Mexico and now as the owner of the Taos Fly Shop and The Reel Life in Santa Fe. I can attest that wild and scenic river provide small-business owners with economic opportunities and stability. When anglers seek some of the best fishing adventures in Northern New Mexico, they turn to my businesses for guided trips. These customers relish the chance to see a river as iconic as the Rio Grande in its wild and free-flowing state.

Businesses across New Mexico provide similar services and products to anglers and other outdoor

enthusiasts. The Outdoor Industry Association reports that outdoor businesses like mine directly employ more than 99,000 New Mexicans and generate over $620 million in state and local tax revenue. As New Mexico positions itself to grow its outdoor recreation economy, it’s only logical to enhance these efforts by passing legislation to protect our iconic rivers.

A current proposal to designate more than 400 miles of the Gila and San Francisco rivers as wild and scenic would do just that (“Group pushes for Gila River protections,” May 20). A new designation would preserve the natural beauty; outdoor recreation opportunities; and cold, clean water cherished by angler, farmers and communities alike.

It would also protect these waterways from new large-scale dams or other human developments that would disrupt the free flow of the rivers. Protecting the waters of Southwest New Mexico also will ensure that future generations of anglers have the opportunity to catch the rare Gila trout — currently a threatened species found nowhere else on Earth.

The Gila wild and scenic proposal is supported by hunters and anglers, small businesses, property owners, local governments and tribal leaders in the area. New Mexicans from other parts of the state, like me, are fully on board, too. We understand the value of protecting our rivers and streams, both those in our own backyards and those farther away.

Today there are only about 124 river miles in New Mexico protected by wild and scenic designations. That only accounts for one-tenth of 1 percent of all river miles in the state. That certainly isn’t enough.

I thank Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., for their continued commitment to protecting the places that sportsmen and sportswomen love. I urge them to secure one more victory for us all by introducing federal legislation to protect the Gila and San Francisco rivers as wild and scenic.

A wild and scenic Gila River will do for Southwestern New Mexico what the wild and scenic Rio Grande has done for Northern New Mexico.