We call this over here sometimes island because right now were standing on a peninsula, said Gibney. For Loken, this is a lot of water to lose during one of the busiest periods at the lake. This truly remarkable turnaround is captured in pictures taken from the bridge in 2021 and on June 6, 2023. Pictures document Big Blue in 2021 and again in 2023, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), bolster water levels at lakes Powell and Mead, described as the worst drought in 1,200 years in the American West, water levels at the reservoir to their lowest point, everyone for the great snowfall this past winter, few feet of the reservoirs maximum capacity, Watch: The Colorado Sun discusses water conservation, tips, Irrefutable truths: Colorados guiding principles going into Colorado River negotiations, according to its top negotiator, What can Coloradans do to save water at home? Erik Knight, a hydrologist with the Bureau of Reclamation, says the reservoir has seen better days. Marina operators were scrambling to move docks and gasoline tanks as reservoir levels plummeted. While the ramp at Elk Creek will remain open, closing the docks means hundreds of people wont be able to keep larger boats in the water for summer. In 2021, at the request of water managers, the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan was initiated and Blue Mesa Reservoir near Gunnison released 36,000 acre-feet of water, or enough to serve 72,000 households for a year, down the Gunnison River and on to the Colorado River in an effort to bolster water levels at lakes Powell and Mead, during what has been described as the worst drought in 1,200 years in the American West. I think we are struggling with how to do that because everything is just unknown right now, and thats a new territory for all of us, said Gibney. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The Blue Mesa Power Plant started generating electricity in 1967. However, neither he nor anyone else from any of the offices responded to our requests for comment. He believes although there are no easy solutions, conservation is key. Your shelter has to be removed from the ice at night if youre not fishing. "The atmosphere actually wants to hold more moisture so it's a sponge, if you will, and wants to suck up more from the ground.". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Why Should Boaters Slow Down While Passing Recreational Fishing Boats? When the ice is 1 meter (42 inches) thick, it can support a truck fully loaded with over 40 metric tons (44 tons) of fuel. Blue Mesa typically ices off sometime in April, dependent on how cool or warm the spring is. He wonders whether, "This is actually just a test release and next year if we have another bad year, then there will be a push to release not what we're doing this year but lots and lots or more water.". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Loken said since projections show the drought will remain and likely worsen with human-caused climate change, people need to change how the Colorado River and its reservoirs are used. The Sapinero bridge, photographed from a location off U.S. Hwy 50, on Sept. 6, 2021, and June 6, 2023. He recently wrote a letter to seasonal boaters to share the unimaginable news that the docks, floating stores and Pappys restaurant will stay shuttered for 2022. (William Woody, Special to The Colorado Sun). Boaters can explore several arms of the reservoir which reach into secluded canyons. hit its lowest level ever recorded earlier this summer. What To Eat With Fish Sticks? Blue Mesa Reservoir, photographed from Colorado Hwy 149, on Sept. 6, 2021, and June 6, 2023. The question is, are they just going to release whatever we get? The emergency releases last fall from Blue Mesa dramatically reduced its levels, but kept Lake Powells hydroelectric power plant generating. Especially before the salmon have run," said Robby Richardson, owner and fishing guide with Sportfish Colorado that runs guides on the Blue Mesa. Blue Mesa is Colorados largest reservoir, and it hit its second-lowest level on record for the end of August. Blue Mesa Dam, pictured here in May 2019, stands 341 feet high. The reason for this massive water release is hundreds of miles down the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers, at Lake Powell in southern Utah and Lake Mead in Nevada. GUNNISON, Colo. (CBS4) Next month, the Bureau of Reclamation will begin a drawdown of Blue Mesa Reservoir near Gunnison. Words by Patrick Blackdale Photos by Cam Chioffi. "The water arrangements from many years ago are definitely are complicated and sometimes hard to understand for the people who live where the source comes from," said Richardson. The 2021 drawdown would take water levels at the reservoir to their lowest point since it was first filled in the mid-1960s. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here. With the fate of water now top of mind for millions in the American West, locals here will definitely be keeping an eye on Big Blue moving forward. Throughout the country the agency brings water to more than 31 million people and provides one out of five Western farmers (140,000) with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland that produce 60% of the nation's vegetables and 25% of its fruits and nuts. He had employees lined up and ready for the boating season to begin, including one Loken helped put through marine technician school to work as a boat mechanic for the 2022 season. Anglers have had success using jigs tipped with worms. The Trout Haven Fishing Pond stays open year round, and ice fishing is allowed in all the open-fishing lakes and ponds within Rocky Mountain National Parkyoull just have to use a hand auger. Experts say it will take a lot more than one snowy winter to refill the reservoir. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. For example, in 2021 the water level could barely be seen from the Colorado 149 bridge, here locals call it the Lake City Bridge. After taking a measurement I was able to determine the water level at that time was in fact over a mile away from the bridge. People wait in line at Elk Creek Marina to back. The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet based in Denver that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state our community can better understand itself. But each time the levels in the lake drop by a foot, he loses 10 feet of usable boat ramp. The states that share Colorado River water agreed to this plan in 2019. West of Blue Mesa and immediately downriver from Crystal Dam is Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, a National Park Service unit that offers camping, hiking, and views of the river and the surrounding 1900-ft. deep canyon. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The National Park Service told everyone who stores their boats at the marina they had 10 days to get out of the water because of the drought. 2021 is among the worst years since the drought began, and now the generators inside the dam at Lake Powell are in serious danger. A member of Boeberts communication staff said Boebert takes water issues very seriously. Distributor of Ideas Staff Photos: Mesa Lakes Lodge Spring has sprung, and with it, winter's take is revealed. Coordinates: 38.4703N 107.2204W Blue Mesa Reservoir is an artificial reservoir located on the upper reaches of the Gunnison River in Gunnison County, Colorado. But a 22-year drought, coupled with obligations to release water to downstream users, has left the reservoir 69 feet below the normal high watermark. If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here. Federal and state officials said the plan is to leave Blue Mesa alone this year so it can start to recover. Blue Mesa Reservoir once resembled a deep and healthy lake. [4] The first of these dams was Blue Mesa Dam, which was begun in 1962 approximately 30 miles (48km) west of Gunnison, and 1.5 miles (2.4km) west of Sapinero. He has since expanded the blog to include gear reviews, fishing reports, and even recipes for cooking up your catch. Navajo Reservoir, on the Colorado-New Mexico border, will drop about two feet. (William Woody, Special to The Colorado Sun). The southern shore of the Iola Basin can be reached via Colorado Highway 149, which begins at an intersection with U.S. 50 at the Lake City Bridge, approximately 7 miles west of the city of Gunnison. Plan ahead, for luck favors the prepared! Morning Forecast When the compact was signed there was no significant scientific consensus that there was climate change occurring. In mid-May, the park announced that the marina would not open for the first time ever. Three similar reservoirs in Wyoming, Utah and Arizona create the entire Colorado River Storage Project. No swimming is permitted in any of the RFSI lakes. A 20-year, climate change-fueled megadrought has dealt a double blow to Blue Mesa this summer. Many around the state, as well as locals, said that since the drought had been dragging on for so many years, the chances of the reservoir refilling were low. Call it "climate change" or call it a "mega drought", but the same persistent pattern of weather over the last 20 years that has contributed to catastrophic wildfires has also left both bodies of water at record lows. Instead, the federal government has decided that the water in Blue Mesa Reservoir in Gunnison County is needed downstream more than it's needed here. You can ice fish it at night. Water is a scarce, critical, and dwindling resource in the West. This section should be good for snowmobiles and fourwheelers. The National Park Service intends to maintain recreation opportunities as long as possible, said the bureau in a statement. Work on the road starts soon after Christmas. This Newsmaker has been deemed by this Newsroom as having a specialized knowledge of the subject covered in this article. "The real story here though is its going to prop up Lake Powell all of three feet," said Udall, noting it was the second worst runoff year for the lake since it was first filled in 1964. The lake is still about 95% open water and water temperatures are still in the 40-44 degree range, which means that it is going to be a while before we see ice! What is this? And hopefully we get some big snowpacks in the near future.". Loken doesnt know if the emergency water releases are the primary reason the marinas season was cut short. The Colorado River basin states of Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah agreed to possible federal intervention, under emergency circumstances, to boost Lake Powells levels in the 2019 Drought Contingency Plan. John McClow, a lawyer for the Upper Gunnison River Conservancy District, said this scenario is what Blue Mesa and the other reservoirs were built for in the 1960s drought emergencies, not recreation. Releases from Flaming Gorge Dam will increase by 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) every day until July 23. Emergency releases could last until at least December, and could extend into 2022. Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. The Aspinall Unit is comprised of three dams and reservoirs, said Knight. The Gunnison River inlet has 6-10 of fishable ice and the trout bite has been very good! ", First published on July 27, 2021 / 10:44 AM. The marinas at Colorados largest reservoir will stay closed this boating season because of the looming possibility that Lake Powell on the Utah-Arizona border might need more water. Humidity The Blue Mesa is already low because of the poor winter snowpack on the Western Slope. Boaters may also camp on the southern shore of the Cebolla and Iola Basins, as long as campsites are not within a half-mile of any developed area, bridge, maintained public road or other boat-in/backcountry campsite. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. For snowmobiling, a minimum of 5 inches is recommended. If you plan to snowmobile or ride an ATV on the ice, it should be 5-7 inches thick with new, clear ice. But the biggest culprit is the two-decade-long drought. Boats and float tubes are allowed on Crystal Lake and Lower Lone Pine Lake only. That would become a very big problem for everyone around here, he said. Blue Mesa Reservoir, located just a few miles west of Gunnison on Highway 50, is a scenic Colorado lake with an abundance of recreational opportunities. The name was stimulated by Princess Tsianina Redfeather, a Native American girl who was touring in concert with the composer Charles Wakefield Cadman. And climate change has had a big, big impact on the river, said Kuhn. Blue Mesa boasts thousands of prime fishing spots, several . "We probably won't see Blue Mesa full for a very long time, if ever again. You can also use an ice fishermans ice skimmer with inch markings on the handle in place of the tape measure. A Western Slope Marina Feels The Pain. Probably by the end of September, we may very well have no boat ramps available for launching boats, added Snell-Dobert. Erik Knight, a Bureau of Reclamation hydrologist, said that while the timing of the water releases might have hurt the lake, it improved rafting and fishing downstream of Blue Mesa, including parts of the Gunnison River that were so low that commercial rafting was likely to have been canceled. . NPR News and Music Discovery for the Four Corners, Rocky Mountain Community Radio | This story from KBUT in Crested Butte is part of the station's Headwaters series. Spanning an area of 9,068 acres, the reservoir is managed by Elk Creek Marina, which offers a wide range of services to cater to the diverse water interests of visitors. Experts say it will take a lot more than one snowy winter to refill the reservoir. The releases will result in an additional drop of 4 feet in Flaming Gorge, 2 feet in Navajo and 8 feet in Blue Mesa. But a 22-year drought, coupled with obligations to release water to downstream users, has left the reservoir 69-feet below the normal high watermark. Best time of year: May-September; ice diving: January-February Visibility: At Dillon Pinnacles (in Blue Mesa Reservoir), visibility ranges from 10 to 25 feet; best visibility is in winter. Chambers Lake. We call this over here Sometimes Island because right now were standing on a peninsula, said Gibney. The water released from the upstream reservoirs is projected to raise Lake Powell by an additional 2.6 feet, according to Reclamation hydrologists. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Home Ice Fishing Is Blue Mesa Reservoir frozen? If you have consistent and good ice, 12 inches will easily hold a 1/2 ton truck. The water flows through Morrow Point and Crystal before joining the Colorado River near Grand Junction. This ice is thawing and slushy. "We intend to stay fully open until we get to that point.". Re: Is lake ice thicker in the middle or close to shore? We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Lake Powell is projected to hit its lowest point on record in the next week, when it will drop below 3,555 feet above sea level. Many of the jobs are in Gunnison and Montrose, where restaurants and sporting good stores rely on summertime tourism. I think we are struggling with how to do that because everything is just unknown right now and thats a new territory for all of us, said Gibney. For map of Blue Mesa Reservoir and Curecanti: CNRA Map Recreational Management: National Park Service Fishery Management: Coldwater angling for kokanee and rainbow, brown, and lake trout. How much ice do I need for a 3/4 ton truck? It's a big hit for us for sure, Loken said. Listen now. Then, water spins through turbines, creating a magnetic field that puts power onto the grid. Purchase a Fishing License: https://cpw.state.co.us/buyapply/pages/fishing.aspx Knight says the reservoir is one piece of The Aspinall Uni t. The series of dams are named after Wayne Aspinall, a Colorado congressional representative who worked on Western land and water issues. We intend to stay fully open until we get to that point, she says. This story is part of Headwaters, a 5-piece series from KBUT/Crested Butte. There's no question the economic impact of this massive drawdown will be felt in 2021, but what many are asking right now is whether this will have to be an annual thing, and whether Blue Mesa Reservoir will ever be what it was. I edit and produce feature stories for KUNC and a network of public media stations in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Nevada. He is also the author of Science Be Dammed. Blue Mesa Reservoir, photographed from Colorado Hwy 149, on Sept. 6, 2021, and June 6, 2023. As an imbalance between water supplies and demands grows in the region, KUNC is committed to covering the stories that emerge. Brent Pollock is a passionate angler and the founder of the popular fishing blog "Safe Harbor Fishing". Releases from Blue Mesa Reservoir in Colorado are scheduled to run from August to October. But nothing prepared everyone for the great snowfall this past winter that has contributed to the reservoirs subsequent rebirth. #bluemesareservoir #bluemesalake #lakemead #lakepowell #climatechange #drylake #colorado". We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. And the worry lingered. Kuhn says the compact cant just be rewritten or revised. (William Woody, Special to The Colorado Sun). Kuhn says the compact cant just be re-written or revised. In 2022 the reservoir bounced back due to snowpack runoff, but it wasnt much. But it may be re-interpreted to reflect modern water supply challenges, like drought and climate change, which are felt at every step along the nearly 1,500-mile river. Historically, Blue Mesa has been one of the most productive kokanee salmon operations in the Western United States, but from 2007-2010 there was a somewhat mysterious decline in kokanee egg take numbers at . Stay off of any ice that is 3 inches or less thick. This includes directly interviewing sources and research / analysis of primary source documents.
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