Center for Biological Diversity

BACKGROUND

The WSRA created a national system of free-flowing rivers to be permanently administered as wild, scenic, or recre- 216 CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY v. VENEMAN ational rivers by state agencies. See 16 U.S.C. §§ 1271-1287. A river is eligible for protection under the WSRA if it is free- flowing and possesses at least one of the outstanding remark- able values set forth in the statute. 16 U.S.C. §§ 1271, 1273(b). The WSRA requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to conduct “specific studies and investiga- tions” to discover rivers eligible for inclusion in the national wild and scenic rivers system (“WSRS”). 16 U.S.C. § 1276(d)(1). Rivers are designated for inclusion in the WSRS through an act of Congress or an application by a state gover- nor acting pursuant to an act of the state legislature. 16 U.S.C. § 1273(a).

In 1993, in response to a request by the Arizona congres- sional delegation, the Forest Service conducted three studies of Arizona’s free-flowing rivers, identifying those streams and river segments that satisfied the statutory requirements for inclusion in the WSRS. The Service published its findings in a 300-page report (the “1993…