One of the best view of Sweetwater Lake is from the tall rock outcrop on its north aspect. From there, you’ll be able to see the twinkling water beneath, the raptors’ nesting cliffs, the horseback stables of AJ Brink Outfitters, and the adjoining historic buildings that after housed true Western outlaws. You may even make out the path throughout the lake that leads again to a cave that Native People used centuries in the past.
The surroundings is spectacular, which is undoubtedly why, on October 20, 2021, Colorado Governor Jared Polis selected that spot to make an announcement that sparked each shock and outcry.
“Good afternoon,” the governor mentioned earlier than a podium, his senior employees, members of the Forest Service, DNR, and others behind him. “And welcome to Sweetwater Lake, one of the crucial lovely locations in Colorado, and one which I’m thrilled to announce would be the house of Colorado’s latest state park.”
In the video, everybody cheers and claps. However the announcement caught many who had been watching off guard.
“That acquired us in sizzling water, to start with,” mentioned Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officer Mark Lehman as we walked beneath the rocky bluff the place Polis as soon as stood. Lehman mentioned that Polis made that announcement with out participating a lot with native county commissioners or in any respect with the Sweetwater group.
The CPW and United States Forest Service (USFS) had been unprepared for the backlash that ensued. The Sweetwater group and the close by cities of Gypsum and Glenwood Springs known as for inclusion within the planning course of. Locals who had been against state administration and improvement rallied towards the undertaking. City corridor conferences crammed up with attendees starting from curious to outright mad.
“[We’ve been] making an attempt to play catch-up since then,” Lehman mentioned.
The dialog round Sweetwater Lake and its destiny beneath state administration is sophisticated. It’s a heated subject on this small group. And, as an area, I’ve discovered myself on each side of the talk at instances. Jared Polis was proper when he known as this one of the crucial lovely locations in Colorado.
However the query many individuals are wrestling with is: Will or not it’s the identical if it’s formally designated and developed as a state park?
No State Park: ‘Save Sweetwater Lake’
On the dust highway turnoff to Sweetwater Lake, there’s a big board itemizing the names of the group’s residents. That board has been there for so long as I can bear in mind. However there’s now a brand new function greeting guests: an enormous yellow signal with a brilliant crimson prohibition circle over the phrases “State Park.”
Practically each different driveway on the best way as much as the lake has an identical however smaller yellow yard indicators. The native sentiment is evident: No State Park.
“As a group we’re against the dramatic measurement improve, over 3 instances the developed acreage, and the rise in customer numbers which is over 4 instances the historic numbers,” wrote the Sweetwater Group Membership in a public remark submitted to the USFS webpage for the Sweetwater undertaking.
“We’re additionally extraordinarily involved with the shortage of planning for the affect this may have on the ecosystem, the group, native tradition, the roads as properly different, close by private and non-private lands.”
Individuals are afraid that park-sized crowds will make the slender dust highway resulting in Sweetwater congested, extra harmful, and tougher to keep up. There are additionally issues of safety, as emergency companies are 45 minutes to an hour away.
Then there are considerations for the wildlife and livestock within the area. Some worry that improvement and development might have an effect on migration patterns and calving areas. And different opponents level out that riparian and raptor nesting areas would even be put in danger.
Quite a few buildings on Sweetwater Ranch are over 100 years outdated and could possibly be torn down beneath state administration, as properly. Different holdouts cite points with the positioning measurement and design, the amount of visitation, native entry, water impacts, customer overflow, and restoring the beloved historic Sweetwater Restaurant.
“It’s unhappy and miserable to know the federal officers who shall be making the longer term determination on Sweetwater [Lake] don’t have any actual or acquainted information of the Sweetwater Lake previous to the Forest Service buying it,” wrote Invoice Heicher in a public remark.
“Creating a brand new state park or permitting administration by the state of Colorado can’t be carried out with out ruining all that’s good about Sweetwater,” wrote Christie McEwan in one other remark.
“Why does [this] County want one other state park?” John Powell wrote.
I grew up visiting this lake with my dad and mom. Day use was restricted to boating, mountain climbing, fishing, and equestrians. Our household used to drive from Gypsum for weekend day journeys to recreate and eat on the restaurant (which served the perfect rattling pie on the Western Slope). I spent many nights on the small nine-site campground. Sweetwater was our group’s non-public hidden gem.
Individuals don’t need the state to vary that. I perceive the considerations.
‘Saved’ by the State
Officer Lehman is the CPW supervisor of the Sweetwater property. He met me exterior the outdated restaurant, and we sat within the shade, a big map of the proposed leisure infrastructure on the desk earlier than us. He defined that USFS doesn’t have the assets to handle Sweetwater by itself, so CPW is providing its personal assets. The undertaking shall be collectively operated by the 2 companies.
Lehman appeared sympathetic to the group’s fears. He mentioned he understands that a few of them are justified however that individuals ought to bear in mind what the alternate options might have been if the state hadn’t acquired Sweetwater.
“There was speak of this being thought of for a water bottling plant,” he mentioned. “Or it might have been a luxurious house subdivision … or a golf course.”
After the earlier proprietor put the 832-acre Sweetwater Ranch web site up on the market, the local people tried to lift cash to purchase it themselves with a marketing campaign known as “Save The Lake.” It raised over one million {dollars} however fell wanting the $3.5 million objective.
That’s when the state acquired Sweetwater by a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) buy in August 2021. Adrienne Brink, the longtime operator of AJ Brink Outfitters, mentioned there was a way of reduction on the time that the state had “Saved the Lake.” However when Governor Polis declared Sweetwater the latest state park in Colorado, he began the dialog round state administration on an ungainly footing.
Brink mentioned she and different group members felt ambushed by the announcement.
“It was a whole backdoor deal,” Brink mentioned. “Everyone knows this, however none of us have had a lot luck in doing something about it.”
Lehman mentioned CPW and USFS have been making an attempt to be overly clear since then. The companies have been internet hosting open boards, attending city corridor conferences, and dealing with the town of Glenwood Springs, the city of Gypsum, and the Sweetwater group to develop a plan collectively. Officers have assured of us that the extra opinions they hear, the higher suited the plan shall be to fulfill each stakeholder.
The primary public remark interval is open till Monday, August 5. All the feedback submitted to the web site shall be thought of. Then, the state has to finish an environmental evaluation that shall be printed in an Environmental Impression Assertion (EIS).
Following that, there shall be one other public remark interval earlier than the plan is finalized in March 2025. Implementation is tentatively slated for April 2025.
Nonetheless, even with lower than a yr on the clock, Lehman was adamant: “Nothing is ready in stone.” Even the designation of “state park” hasn’t even been absolutely selected, he mentioned.
“The time period ‘state park’ has been a very popular subject — clearly, you noticed the indicators on the best way up,” he mentioned. So, USFS and CPW have thought of designating it as a “conservancy space” as a substitute. Nonetheless, he admits that merely altering the identify is likely to be a superficial answer.
It’s vital to notice that not all locals oppose the state park designation and improvement of Sweetwater. Some are adamantly in favor of it, as evidenced by the general public remark web page on the USFS web site. The vast majority of feedback, although, specific sentiments of hesitance, resistance, and outright opposition.
Amongst these, the foundation subject that was central to each remark was overuse.
Sweetwater State Park: The State’s Plan
CPW’s goal is to maintain Sweetwater’s day by day visitation at or beneath 250 folks. Each CPW and USFS mentioned that quantity is predicated on historic use charges. If obligatory, a timed entry system requiring reservations could possibly be carried out on weekends or different busy instances to make sure that it isn’t exceeded.
Lehman clarified that 250 a day is the ceiling use charge. Most days, the lake is anticipated to have far fewer guests.
The outdated nine-site campground could be become a day-use space. It will have a car parking zone with 30-40 areas, bogs, and a picnic space. The brand new campground would have 15-20 websites, and could be put in in a pasture on the lake’s north aspect. An equestrian campground with 4 to seven new websites could be in-built one other pasture above that.
Traditionally, horses have been one of many largest recreation sights at Sweetwater. Hunters trip them within the fall to entry the Flat Tops Wilderness space, and households take day excursions across the lake’s community of trails. Brink, of AJ Brink Outfitters, has operated with a precedence use clothing store and information allow at Sweetwater Ranch for 39 years.
Lehman mentioned that the state has an obligation to place the clothing store place up for bid so CPW can select probably the most certified enterprise. The state can’t play favorites, he mentioned; there must be competitors, and all potential candidates deserve consideration.
“[AJ Brink] has been out right here for 40 years, and we completely need to preserve her up right here,” Lehman mentioned. “However nothing’s assured.”
Brink is preventing to guard her livelihood. Her operation has been a mainstay of the Sweetwater group and she or he is aware of the lake’s surrounding space higher than anybody. She mentioned she is aware of different native outfitters would leap on the probability to place her out of enterprise. It wouldn’t serve the state to let that occur, although.
“If it went that means, there could be some unhealthy karma coming from someplace,” she mentioned.
Lots of the historic cabins on the property are historic, and AJ Brink used to lease them as homestays. These will probably all be torn down. The one exception Lehman mentioned is likely to be the cabin that allegedly as soon as belonged to the well-known Chicago gangster, hit man, and outlaw Louis “Diamond Jack” Alterie (born Leland A. Varain). In accordance with USFS paperwork, it could be restored to be used as an academic interpretive web site “if possible.”
Any new buildings constructed at Sweetwater could be designed and aesthetically much like these of the historic buildings already within the space.
Ecosystem Safety & Restricted Recreation
In accordance with the Sweetwater Group Membership, the Roaring Fork Audubon Society performed a survey over 2 years and located 84 chicken species current at Sweetwater; 11 of these are thought of to be “species of conservation concern.” There are additionally delicate riparian ecosystems on the far west shore of the lake.
To guard wildlife and habitats, most of Sweetwater Lake’s west aspect could be closed and off-limits to recreation. That features the riparian areas and the cliffs occupied by nesting raptors. Recreation alternatives at Sweetwater would even be restricted to mountain climbing, boating, tenting, and equestrian use. There could be no climbing, mountain biking, or ATV entry in any respect.
Sweetwater State Park: A Delicate Topic, Thrilling Prospects
I miss the outdated Sweetwater — the restaurant with its easy home-cooked menu, scrumptious pies, and a whole lot of hummingbirds zipping across the deck. I’ll miss the quiet campground, the primitive lake entry factors, and the sparse improvement. It felt hidden, like an area secret.
However the outdated Sweetwater is gone and has been for a number of years. The earlier proprietor shut the restaurant down earlier than they bought it. The docks haven’t been properly maintained, the campgrounds haven’t been up to date, and the historic buildings that individuals used to lease are dilapidated and falling aside.
Sweetwater Ranch and the lake had been certain to vary ultimately, for higher or for worse. Personally, I’m glad it isn’t going to be a water bottling plant or the subsequent Yellowstone Membership. As an alternative, will probably be a state park, “conservancy space,” or regardless of the state finally ends up calling it. We’ll all nonetheless be capable to entry that spectacular space to camp, hike, fish, or trip horses. The story of Sweetwater can proceed.
Nonetheless, a minimum of for me, it’s additionally simple to sympathize with the group’s frustration. In case you’ve ever visited, you understand how rural and off-the-map Sweetwater is. The individuals who dwell there for these causes are scared to see it change. They’re unhappy to lose this non-public, peaceable retreat. They don’t need to be en path to the subsequent massive state attraction.
Greater than something, they need to protect their group and the pure assets that make it so particular.
One public remark from Mark Henrichs summed up the native perspective towards Sweetwater’s future succinctly: “We do need enhancements to the world, however we don’t need overuse.”
At this level, one of the best ways to attain that’s collaboration between the state and any locals who care. Submit your touch upon the USFS Sweetwater Lake Recreation Administration and Improvement Mission webpage. The extra CPW, USFS, and the folks can work collectively to plan Sweetwater’s destiny, the extra future generations will profit from our preserving and defending that place.
