The very best view of Sweetwater Lake is from the tall rock outcrop on its north aspect. From there, you may see the twinkling water under, the raptors’ nesting cliffs, the horseback stables of AJ Brink Outfitters, and the adjoining historic buildings that when housed true Western outlaws. You’ll be able to even make out the path throughout the lake that leads again to a cave that Native Individuals 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 stunning locations in Colorado, and one which I’m thrilled to announce would be the dwelling 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 partaking 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 growth rallied towards the undertaking. City corridor conferences crammed up with attendees starting from curious to outright mad.
“[We’ve been] attempting 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 a neighborhood, I’ve discovered myself on either side of the controversy at occasions. Jared Polis was proper when he known as this one of the stunning 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 grime 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 keep in mind. However there’s now a brand new characteristic greeting guests: an enormous yellow signal with a vivid purple prohibition circle over the phrases “State Park.”
Almost 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 enhance, over 3 occasions the developed acreage, and the rise in customer numbers which is over 4 occasions 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 dearth of planning for the affect this can have on the ecosystem, the group, native tradition, the roads as nicely different, close by private and non-private lands.”
Individuals are afraid that park-sized crowds will make the slim grime highway resulting in Sweetwater congested, extra harmful, and tougher to take care of. There are additionally issues of safety, as emergency providers are 45 minutes to an hour away.
Then there are considerations for the wildlife and livestock within the area. Some worry that growth and development may 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 constructions on Sweetwater Ranch are over 100 years previous and could possibly be torn down beneath state administration, as nicely. Different holdouts cite points with the location measurement and design, the quantity 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 will likely be making the longer term choice on Sweetwater [Lake] haven’t 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 accomplished 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 mother and father. Day use was restricted to boating, mountaineering, fishing, and equestrians. Our household used to drive from Gypsum for weekend day journeys to recreate and eat on the restaurant (which served the very best rattling pie on the Western Slope). I spent many nights on the small nine-site campground. Sweetwater was our group’s personal hidden gem.
Folks 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 previous 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 sources to handle Sweetwater by itself, so CPW is providing its personal sources. The undertaking will likely 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 keep in mind what the alternate options may have been if the state hadn’t acquired Sweetwater.
“There was discuss of this being thought of for a water bottling plant,” he mentioned. “Or it may have been a luxurious dwelling subdivision … or a golf course.”
After the earlier proprietor put the 832-acre Sweetwater Ranch website 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 in need of 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 most recent state park in Colorado, he began the dialog round state administration on a clumsy footing.
Brink mentioned she and different group members felt ambushed by the announcement.
“It was an entire 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 attempting to be overly clear since then. The companies have been internet hosting open boards, attending city corridor conferences, and dealing with town of Glenwood Springs, the city of Gypsum, and the Sweetwater group to develop a plan collectively. Officers have assured people that the extra opinions they hear, the higher suited the plan will likely be to fulfill each stakeholder.
The primary public remark interval is open till Monday, August 5. All the feedback submitted to the web site will likely be thought of. Then, the state has to finish an environmental evaluation that will likely be printed in an Environmental Impression Assertion (EIS).
Following that, there will likely be one other public remark interval earlier than the plan is finalized in March 2025. Implementation is tentatively slated for April 2025.
Nevertheless, 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 highly regarded 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 an alternative. Nonetheless, he admits that merely altering the title could be a superficial answer.
It’s necessary to notice that not all locals oppose the state park designation and growth of Sweetwater. Some are adamantly in favor of it, as evidenced by the general public remark web page on the USFS website. The vast majority of feedback, although, categorical sentiments of hesitance, resistance, and outright opposition.
Amongst these, the basis concern 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 under 250 individuals. Each CPW and USFS mentioned that quantity is predicated on historic use charges. If essential, a timed entry system requiring reservations could possibly be carried out on weekends or different busy occasions to make sure that it isn’t exceeded.
Lehman clarified that 250 a day is the ceiling use charge. Most days, the lake is predicted to have far fewer guests.
The previous nine-site campground could be become a day-use space. It could have a 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 inbuilt one other pasture above that.
Traditionally, horses have been one of many greatest recreation points of interest at Sweetwater. Hunters experience 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 clothes shop and information allow at Sweetwater Ranch for 39 years.
Lehman mentioned that the state has an obligation to place the clothes shop place up for bid so CPW can select essentially 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 wish to hold 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 method, there could be some dangerous 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 could 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). Based on USFS paperwork, it could be restored to be used as an academic interpretive website “if possible.”
Any new buildings constructed at Sweetwater could be designed and aesthetically just like these of the historic buildings already within the space.
Ecosystem Safety & Restricted Recreation
Based on the Sweetwater Group Membership, the Roaring Fork Audubon Society carried out 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 mountaineering, 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 previous Sweetwater — the restaurant with its easy home-cooked menu, scrumptious pies, and tons of of hummingbirds zipping across the deck. I’ll miss the quiet campground, the primitive lake entry factors, and the sparse growth. It felt hidden, like a neighborhood secret.
However the previous 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 nicely 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 following Yellowstone Membership. As a substitute, it is going to be a state park, “conservancy space,” or regardless of the state finally ends up calling it. We’ll all nonetheless be capable of entry that spectacular space to camp, hike, fish, or experience horses. The story of Sweetwater can proceed.
Nevertheless, not less than for me, it’s additionally straightforward to sympathize with the group’s frustration. In case you’ve ever visited, you know the way 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 personal, peaceable retreat. They don’t wish to be en path to the following huge state attraction.
Greater than something, they wish to protect their group and the pure sources that make it so particular.
One public remark from Mark Henrichs summed up the native angle towards Sweetwater’s future succinctly: “We do need enhancements to the world, however we don’t need overuse.”
At this level, one of the simplest ways to realize that’s collaboration between the state and any locals who care. Submit your touch upon the USFS Sweetwater Lake Recreation Administration and Improvement Undertaking webpage. The extra CPW, USFS, and the individuals can work collectively to plan Sweetwater’s destiny, the extra future generations will profit from our preserving and defending that place.