In case anyone is wondering, it is highly unlikely that Lake Nighthorse will be open for recreation in 2017.
Last spring, I wrote an opinion piece about the lake because I felt the subject merited a continued conversation in the community. A call for public comments on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Recreation Plan and Environmental Assessment had been made and it seemed like another opportunity to speak up.
At the 2010 hearings, there was a puzzling (almost visceral for me) disconnect between the overwhelming numbers of people in support of a quiet or, at most, limited motorized lake and the draft plan that allowed for high-speed power boats and water skiers. The written comments were overwhelmingly in favor of highly restricted or non-motorized watercraft.
The response to my May 2016 Op-Ed (Herald, May 1), that called for a quieter, no-wake lake, was very encouraging. A review of the final EA published this past December showed that of 285 comments received, 255 pertained to motorized versus non-motorized watercraft. Almost 66 percent of comments supported non-motorized boating only, and 28 percent supported highly restricted gas-powered or electric trolling boats without a wake. A small number supported alternating days or no recreation on the lake. Only 3 percent supported motorized use with few restrictions and/or water skiing!
Budgeting, operations and planning discussions are currently underway with the city’s Parks and Recreation and Natural Lands Preservation Advisory Boards, and eventually will be taken up by Durango City Council. Two (possibly three) new councilors will be sworn-in next month, so these are ripe times to ask the candidates their position and to share your views.
Advisory board members are also educating themselves about Lake Nighthorse and need community input. It is becoming evident that the Bureau’s Recreation Plan and EA states the maximum scope of allowable use, but does not require the maximum.
According to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff member who secured the grant that funded the construction of the now infamous ramp, that supposedly requires motorized boating, it will be up to the manager (i.e., the city as it now stands) to determine the lake’s watercraft details. These include noise abatement, speed and horsepower (5 miles per hour is acceptable), public safety and no wake designations. There is also evidence that electric boats would likely fulfill the motorboat access funding requirement as it has on other lakes – a factor unknown to hearing participants or facilitators in 2010.
If anyone tries to convince you that a general “consensus” for high-speed motorboats came out of the planning process six years ago, politely disagree with that interpretation as it pertains to the watercraft/lake recreation table. I have read too many lengthy letters and talked to too many people who were at that table to accept the word “consensus.” Our recreation director has admitted the motorized issue was contentious – and it still is. One participant said the recreation outcome was shoved down their throats, and others have used harsher words. A number of folks let rudeness and a sense of futility interfere with their attending many of the 2010 meetings. We now have more information and resolve.
Six years is a long time. Look what has changed locally and nationally since those meetings. Climate change is staring us in the face, and we are paying greater attention to fossil fuel use and ecological restoration. Many more studies have been conducted on noise pollution and stress and how it affects both humans and wildlife.
Since 2010, Durango has absorbed many new residents, and paddling enthusiasts have increased exponentially. Much flurry was made in the various recreation plans about the favorable economic forecasting of power boaters at the exclusion of non-motorized and quiet users who were highly underestimated and barely mentioned. Many Durangoans are convinced a quiet, no-wake lake would bring more boaters, anglers and recreationists to the lake than if speed boats and water skiers were allowed.
Smart towns are now promoting their quiet places and open spaces. Durango is already ahead of this curve, and our leaders would be wise to take notice. There are wilderness characteristics, emerging wetlands and a wildlife refuge in the middle of the 7,000-acre Ridges Basin; ideally, we can enhance these assets and not exploit them. The tribes and our unique haven deserve no less. Start with uses that pose few threats. Adding more later is far easier than stopping impactful motorized uses once established.
May Durango’s exceptional brand and our wild and scenic spaces hold strong. Contact your city councilors and relevant advisory board members at durangogov.org.
Kristine Johnson of Durango is a longtime conservationist who hold memberships with a number of local and national environmental groups. Reach her at johnson.k@bresnan.net.
