California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act Glossary: Key Terms & Definitions for Developers and Consultants

California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act Key Terms & Definitions

Designated River: A river or river segment that has been added to the California Wild and Scenic Rivers System through the designation process outlined in the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act (Section 5093.54).

Extraordinary Values: The scenic, recreational, fishery, or wildlife values that are considered outstandingly remarkable and make a river eligible for designation under the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act (Section 5093.52).

Free-Flowing: Defined in the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act as "existing or flowing in natural condition without impoundment, diversion, straightening, rip-rapping, or other modification of the waterway" (Section 5093.52).

Immediate Environments: The land immediately adjacent to designated Wild and Scenic Rivers, which is protected under the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act to preserve the river's extraordinary values (Section 5093.50).

Management Directives: The requirements established by the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act for state agencies to protect the free-flowing character and extraordinary values of designated rivers through the development of management plans and coordination among relevant agencies (Section 5093.56).

Management Plans: Plans developed by state agencies to protect and enhance the extraordinary values of designated Wild and Scenic Rivers, as required by the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act (Section 5093.56).

Natural Resources Agency: The California state agency responsible for administering and enforcing the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act (Section 5093.50 et seq.).

Recreational River: One of the three classifications of Wild and Scenic Rivers under the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, generally defined as rivers or sections of rivers that are readily accessible by road or railroad, that may have some development along their shorelines, and that may have undergone some impoundment or diversion in the past (Section 5093.52).

River Segment: A portion of a river that is designated as wild, scenic, or recreational under the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, rather than the entire river (Section 5093.52).

Scenic River: One of the three classifications of Wild and Scenic Rivers under the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, generally defined as rivers or sections of rivers that are free of impoundments, with shorelines or watersheds still largely primitive and shorelines largely undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads (Section 5093.52).

Water Impoundment Facilities: Structures such as dams, diversions, or reservoirs that impede the free-flowing nature of rivers and are prohibited on rivers designated as wild and scenic under the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act (Section 5093.58).

Wild and Scenic Rivers System: The collection of rivers or river segments designated as wild, scenic, or recreational under the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act (Section 5093.50 et seq.).

Wild River: One of the three classifications of Wild and Scenic Rivers under the California Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, generally defined as rivers or sections of rivers that are free of impoundments and generally inaccessible except by trail, with watersheds or shorelines essentially primitive and waters unpolluted (Section 5093.52).