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Vallecito Marina open in time for holiday

Nonprofit leads way in Vallecito
The Vallecito Conservation and Sporting Association raised $250,000 to open the Vallecito Marina. Saturday is opening day for the public.

Just in time for one of the year’s biggest boating days, the new Vallecito Marina will open to the public for the first time this summer.

There was a flurry of activity at the marina in the days leading up to July Fourth, with residents helping to build the dock and setting up buoys.

“Vallecito needs a marina, plain and simple,” said Jim Schank, president of the Vallecito Conservation and Sporting Association.

After Doc’s Marina left the lake last year and two potential operators decided not to move to the lake this spring, the association decided to open a marina, he said.

Without a dock, the boat ramp and parking lots have been crowded and visitors have faced long lines to get to the water.

“On Father’s Day, it was a 45-minute wait,” said Lisa Bourque, a board member with the association.

The association also stepped in to help support local businesses, which have lost customers without a marina.

“From a business standpoint, it’s valuable ... the lodgers have already felt the pinch,” Schank said.

The association raised $250,000 through donations and loans from the community to open the marina, Bourque said.

The nonprofit had to buy buoys, docks, fishing boats and all the other necessary equipment. The group also needed seed money to hire a manager and employees.

After signing contracts with the Pine River Irrigation District and the Bureau of Reclamation in early May, the group has been working fast to get the marina set up, Schank said.

“We did pretty good in 45 days,” he said.

Starting Saturday, the new marina will be ready to sell bait and tackle, rent fishing boats and rent spaces at the dock or buoys for mooring, Bourque said.

Later this summer, the marina plans to offer canoes, kayaks, pontoon boats and gas for motorized boaters.

The marina does not plan to offer full concessions, but The Hideaway Grill plans to deliver and other restaurants may also start delivery, she said.

For Bourque, the new marina is evidence of vitality in the area, driven by more year-round residents and businesses.

“There’s a lot more people coming in and renovating Vallecito, and this is just another piece of that,” she said.

After all the investment from the community, the group plans to operate the marina in the long term and hopes to make more large investments, such as a playground and trails, Schank said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



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