The Montezuma County commissioners on Monday withdrew their support for an effort to create a national conservation area along the Dolores River below McPhee Dam.
The county had been part of a group that has worked for six years on legislation intended to avoid a Wild and Scenic River designation on the river while protecting the environment and private rights. However, Commissioner Keenan Ertel said a local grassroots group called the Montezuma Water Protection Work Group told him the latest draft of the legislation did not include enough water protections. The commission then voted 3 to 0 to pull its support for the effort.