The window for public comments on a draft environmental assessment regarding recreational use at Lake Nighthorse will close next week.
Wednesday is the last day the public can submit comments, after which the Bureau of Reclamation will weigh submissions and revise the draft.
On Monday, La Plata County commissioners will take a vote on submitting a letter to the federal agency with technical and policy-related requests on the recreation proposal.
The commission likely will ask that the document consider impacts to property owners on the lake’s western side, including residents of Trapper’s Crossing, as well as traffic impacts on county roads 210 and 211, and the intersection of U.S. highways 550, 160 and Frontage Road.
County officials also are expected to ask that multiple types of watercraft be accommodated besides motorized boats, which has been a sensitive issue in the public realm.
The proposed action suggests day-use only with motorized boating banned from mid-November to mid-May.
The Bureau of Reclamation extended the comment period twice this spring in response to requests from the public for more time.
Comments can be submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Justyn Liff at Jliff@usbr.gov or mailed to Ed Warner, Bureau of Reclamation, 445 West Gunnison Ave., Suite 221, Grand Junction, CO, 81501.
The draft can be found at http://on.doi.gov/1sI8lva.