While Colorado is home to the headwaters of many rivers that have important recreational and scenic values, only the Cache la Poudre River carries with it the official Wild and Scenic River designation in Colorado.

What most people don’t know is the political effort and compromise to reach that status. In 1996, U.S. Sen. Hank Brown led the effort to balance the needs of regional water providers with the benefits that a Wild and Scenic River designation would offer the Poudre. In the final compromise, water providers agreed to release claims on several potential water storage sites above the canyon mouth, recognizing that the off-channel Glade Reservoir site would still be available to meet the region’s water needs. By doing so, the Wild and Scenic designation could be achieved.

See this video interview with former Sen. Brown for more about that effort.