I would like to have someone explain why the opening of Lake Nighthorse to recreation has become such an impossible task?
This lake project, though a long contended issue, has been completed and filled for more than four years. In fact, this will be the fifth summer that the filled lake sits vacant.
Every time the subject comes up, I hear different stories about this or that agency or government entity not having the money to do the planning and execution of recreation at the lake. No money for a campground and trails and inspection stations, etc.
This is not rocket science. Why can’t we start small and build as we go? Bring in a portable office and a pressure washer to clean watercraft and viola, you have boating for which you can charge entrance fees. It only takes one employee to run. The collected fees could then be put toward the building of a trail network for which you can charge. Those collected fees could then be used to build a small tent campground for which you can charge and then build a bigger campground to include RVs, and so on and on.
It is ridiculous that with all the agencies and entities involved, no one seems to have the common sense to approach this problem more intelligently. To have this lovely lake sitting in our backyard and to have it surrounded by chain link fencing and “No Trespassing” signs is a travesty and has turned the whole thing into a bad joke and a stain on the community.
Laura Catton
Durango
