Press Releases

Today, after continuous pressure from members of the Western Caucus, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has dissolved the National Blueways System created by the controversial Secretarial Order 3321.  The Secretary’s action also dissolves the National Blueways Committee, which was composed entirely of federal officials and which claimed the authority to unilaterally designate entire river watersheds as “National Blueways.”  These designations held the potential to expand the reach of the federal government over non-navigable waters currently under state jurisdiction.

“I welcome the Secretary’s termination of the National Blueways System, which is long overdue,” said U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis. “This program has been a disaster from the outset, with the Department of the Interior seeking to slap federal designations on millions of acres of watershed without any formal public process and over local objections.  For over a year, members of the Western Caucus have systematically exposed the lack of legal authority for the Blueways program and its potential to disrupt state-endowed water rights and local conservation efforts.  River and watershed management is of critical importance to the west and there are countless examples of effective conservation efforts at the state and local level, where they belong.  While I am encouraged by the Secretary’s action today, given this Administration’s penchant for circumventing Congress I remain on guard lest the Blueways program be reinstated in another form in the future.”