Designation is a multi-step process. First, a river must be found eligible. To be eligible, a river segment must be free-flowing and possess at least one "outstandingly remarkable" value related to recreation, scenery, historic value, cultural value, fisheries, wildlife, geology, etc. Public land managing agencies, such as the US Forest Service (USFS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and others, are required to identify eligible Wild & Scenic rivers within their jurisdictions. Both the Forest Service and BLM have determined that at least 39 miles of the South Yuba, between Spaulding Dam and Englebright Reservoir, are eligible for designation.

The second step involves a finding of suitability by the appropriate public land managing agencies. A suitability determination looks at whether it is in the public interest to designate an eligible river, or are there compelling reasons to leave that particular river unprotected. On May 8, 1996, the Tahoe National Forest released its suitability study and draft recommendations for the 22 eligible rivers on the west slope of the Tahoe National Forest. The draft report recommended the South Yuba as one of three west side rivers that are both eligible and suitable for Wild & Scenic protection. The final report is due out by Spring of 1999.

Because the national Wild & Scenic Rivers program is a federal protection program, rivers typically become designated through an act of Congress. A bill must be introduced and passed through both the House of Representatives and the Senate for signature by the President. The only exception to this rule is a provision of the Act under Section 2(a)(ii) which allows a state governor to recommend adding state-protected rivers to the national system with the approval of the Interior Secretary. Since the South Yuba is not a state-protected river, it would have to be designated through an Act of Congress.

An average ¼-mile Wild & Scenic corridor is established encompassing the public lands on each side of the river. This public lands in this corridor continue to be managed by the existing public agencies. In the case of the South Yuba, the managing agencies are the Forest Service, BLM, and the State Department of Parks & Recreation. Together these agencies manage more than 57% of the river corridor.

Activities which could harm the values that made the river eligible in the first place can be restricted, but only on public lands. Private landowners may be encouraged to manage their lands similarly to protect the river’s values. But they are not required to do so.

Following designation, the public land managing agencies have three years to develop a management plan for the public lands in the ¼-mile corridor on each side of the river. Private landowners, local government officials, recreationalists, the business community and others are strongly encouraged to participate in the development of this plan, since these public lands belong to all of us. The management plan is also used to address existing problems like littering and trespassing on adjacent private lands by providing better supervision of public use on the public lands and allowing for better enforcement of existing regulations. Better management of recreation on public lands means fewer problems for private landowners nearby.

Most realtors will tell you that property values are dependent on three main factors: location, location, and location. Seldom is it viewed as a benefit to have your property buried under a reservoir or left high and dry when water is backed up behind a dam. Property on or near the South Yuba is valuable precisely because of the river, which explains why many property owners in the canyon are so supportive of Wild & Scenic protection for the South Yuba.

No. According to a Board Member of the local water district, there are no plans by the water district to dam the portion of the South Yuba that is being considered for Wild & Scenic designation. Our local water comes from above Spaulding Reservoir. If a dam were to be built in the South Yuba canyon for local water use, it would require expensive pumping to get the water where it needed to go. In addition, there is very little water left to develop in the proposed Wild & Scenic section, since on average 60% of the river’s flow is already diverted out of the river at Spaulding Dam.

Again, the answer is no. Wild & Scenic designation would not affect current projects in the Yuba/Bear watershed. Existing water projects are specifically grandfathered in by the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. The intent of designation is to prevent new federally-licensed projects that would destroy the river’s special values.

No. With or without designation, the South Yuba’s waters will continue to flow downstream, as they have for millions of years. But with Wild & Scenic designation, we can "lock out" federal control of this valuable resource so that we, the citizens of Nevada County, not the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, can control the fate of our river.

YES! A Department of Parks & Recreation study estimated that the South Yuba River attracts the equivalent of 620,000 visitors each year. This number is high because the Yuba is accessible year-round for different activities, including hiking, boating, swimming, pinicking, fishing, wildlife viewing, and more. Each visit generates an average of $10 per day. This amount is typically multiplied by a factor of 3 to account for how many times each tourist dollar gets re-spent in the local community. Many agencies, like Chambers of Commerce, actually use a factor of 7 to calculate spending turnover. But using a multiplier of 3, the 620,000 visits at $10 per visit generate close to $20 million that is pumped through the local economy each year..

Without permanent protection, the South Yuba canyon’s extraordinary recreational qualities could be lost to canyon flooding, de-watering or the devastating scarring of dam construction. Along with the loss of irreplaceable recreational assets, the community would lose associated economic benefits such as tourism revenue and increased real estate values. In short, a free-flowing South Yuba is good for private landowners, good for local business, and good for local residents who enjoy this magnificent resource right in their own backyard.