Dry & Scenic, It’s a long, long way to Purgatory
- Anne Boswell Taylor
- 12 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Story by Norman Kincaide, Ph.D
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act requires Federal agencies to identify and evaluate additional potential rivers for inclusion in the System during Agency planning. The Forest Service Land Management Planning Handbook provides guidance for conducting a Wild and Scenic River eligibility study during land management plan revision.
The Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (CCNG) Wild and Scenic Rivers Eligibility Study Report, May 2025, covers roughly 552,000 acres of lands and waterways that are administered by the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands. The Comanche National Grassland covers about 444,000 acres comprising the Timpas and Carrizo Units. The Cimarron National Grassland is roughly 108,000 acres and is located within Morton and Stevens Counties in southwestern Kansas.
A previous study for the CCNGs in 1984, concluded the Cimarron River located in Morton and Stevens Counties within the Cimarron National Grassland was not eligible for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers National System “due to the lack of a sufficient volume of water to permit full enjoyment of river related outdoor recreation activities.”
The CCNGs completed a systematic and multi-stage review of all 43 named rivers on the unit. During the initial review, the goal was to identify rivers that may have outstandingly remarkable values (ORVs) as described by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. This review identified thirty rivers that may have ORVs, of which only one was found to be eligible that being the Purgatoire River of 20.8 miles. Details of the ORVs are summarized below.
Extensive dinosaur trackways are one of the most unique features along the Purgatoire River. Over 1,300 tracks representing perhaps as many as one hundred individual dinosaurs are preserved in limestone layers of the lower Morrison Formation (about 150 million years old). The trackways are a naturally occurring part of the active river channel having been exposed by erosion of the river over centuries. The trackways have long been considered the largest dinosaur track site in North America.
The river corridor contains numerous historic and pre-contact era sites demonstrating settlement and use that exist here because of the proximity to water. The majority of the cultural resources in the river corridor are pre-contact era sites such as rock art, lithic and artifact scatters, and villages. Many of these sites have been determined as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and a number of them are Priority Heritage Assets. Two historic sites in the river corridor are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Rourke Ranch, and the Rourke Ranch Historic District. The Rourke Ranch is an important historical site that has also been identified as a Priority Heritage Asset.
The composition of the Purgatoire River fish assemblage in Piñon Canyon has been estimated to be composed of 99.9 percent native species. The segment supports a stronghold of Suckermouth Minnow, provides ideal habitat for Flathead Chub and supports a recently re-introduced population of Plains Minnow.
The Purgatoire River Canyon plays a critical role in supporting Colorado’s largest Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep herd, which includes over 400 individuals that partially resides on the Comanche National Grassland. This herd originated from two major translocations: in 1982 seventeen sheep from Rocky Mountain National Park's Never Summer Range were introduced to the Purgatoire River Canyon, and 1986, when twenty sheep from the Collegiate North Herd were released into Chacuaco Canyon.
In addition to bighorn sheep, the Purgatoire River segment supports a diverse array of sensitive wildlife species. Multiple state and federally recognized species of conservation concern have been documented along the river, underscoring its ecological importance. These include single or multiple sightings of Monarch Butterfly, Couch’s Spadefoot, Plains Leopard Frog, Smooth Softshell Turtle, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Colorado Checkered Whiptail, and Long-nosed Snake. These occurrences highlight the Purgatoire River's role as a key ecological corridor.
At the Timpas Grazing Association Zoom Chat with the Forest Service on September 16, one rancher commented the Purgatory stops flowing completely at times which results in standing pools of water toxic to livestock because of naturally occurring minerals. I asked Barb Leininger if someone could show me where the Purgatory dries up. “It’s dry now. We can show you on Wednesday, the 15th.”
On October 15, 2025, Barb and Zane Leininger took me on a tour of the Purgatory in Higbee Valley and Jack’s Canyon to Dave Donell’s property where we hiked along a barbed wire fence to the Tamarisk that populates the banks of the river. After navigating this thicket, we finally reached the banks of the Purgatory. The river rocks were completely dry separated by standing pools of water. I could not conjure a visual of a fly fisherman as in A River Runs Through It. Nor any boating. The river is dangerous during flood stage, which allows for diversion for irrigated crops in Higbee Valley.
I drove to see more of the Purgatory on October 16th. It’s 44 miles from my home in Rocky Ford to the Dinosaur Tracks Trail Head. The long ribbon dirt road visible from County Road 25 overlook reminded me of the theme from Hud. I arrived an hour after sunrise and wanted to be out of Picket Wire Canyon by noon. I carried a small pack with six 16.5 oz. bottles of water, my Canon Rebel and a camera stand stick. The trail down was no better than fifteen years ago when I hiked to the Dinosaur Tracks, it looked more like an erosion issue than a trail.
Once on the canyon floor, I followed the well-worn vehicle tracks until I cut across terrain to the Purgatory where its channel can be identified by the thick presence of Tamarisk. Though not as thick as in Higbee Valley, Tamarisk made accessing the north bank of the river difficult. Piles of flood debris appear at intervals along the north bank. They give way when stepped upon and must be treated with caution. The river was dry with intervals of standing water, with no flowing current at all. Cast or fly-fishing would be impossible here, as would any boating. I didn’t see any wildlife nor any other hikers.
This report references “Colorado’s largest Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep herd, which includes over 400 individuals.” Instead of calling them animals or head of sheep, they are referred to as individuals, which is a term used to refer to humans. There is no reference to the intermittent flow of the Purgatory, which relies at times on releases from the Trinidad State Lake Reservoir. Nor is there any mention of invasive Tamarisk.
There is no consideration of the narrow window of opportunity for canyon floor activities, with extreme heat in summer and wide variation in temperature and weather in autumn, winter and spring making access to the trail head difficult. From what threat does the river need to be protected? There is no urbanization, except for activities on Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site adjacent to the Purgatory corridor.
Why wasn’t the Purgatoire subject to Wild and Scenic River eligibility in 1984 with the Cimarron? The section subject to the current study was part of Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site until 1991. A search on Gork on X did not reveal any earlier studies, but cited a 1993 article that flood control efforts to preserve dinosaur tracks might interfere with future Wild and Scenic designation. The only Wild and Scenic River in Colorado is the Cache le Poudre.
The purpose of Wild and Scenic River designation is to protect certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in their free-flowing condition. This is achieved by preserving the river's free-flowing nature, improving water quality, and safeguarding ORVs like biodiversity. Is the purpose here to breach the Trinidad State Lake Reservoir to create a free-flowing river, emulating California?
Considering the lack of free-flowing current on the Purgatory and the amount of invasive Tamarisk present, the notion of this river as a free-flowing channel is spurious at best. If the Cimarron River could not qualify as Wild and Scenic in 1984, the Purgatory could hardly qualify under the same standard 41 years later. It’s a long, long way to the Purgatory, and a far cry from a Wild and Scenic River.
Sources
Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands Wild and Scenic Rivers Eligibility Report, May 2025, pp. 1-4, 12-13.
Phil Carson, “The Picketwire Canyonlands offer cross section of history,” Pueblo Chieftain, May 25, 1993.
~Norman Kincaide
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