Montezuma County pushed to take over recreation management of McPhee Reservoir during a meeting with top forest officials Friday in Durango.
Frustrated by the lack of services, county commissioners urged San Juan National Forest supervisor Kara Chadwick to convey land and management of three key facilities of the reservoir.
The McPhee boat ramp, House Creek, and Sage Hen areas should be in the county's control, the commissioners said.
"In the last 15 years, services have digressed at the lake to near nothing, so it behooves us to look at taking over management," said county commissioner Keenan Ertel.
Since the marina burned down in 2000, the forest service has struggled to replace the breakwater and find a new marina concessionaire.
Budget cuts forced the removal of bathrooms with running water and a fish-cleaning station at the McPhee boat ramp. Bathrooms at a Dolores access were also removed.
A point of contention for the county is at Sage Hen, where forest officials banned camping in 2007, citing persistent land abuse. The commissioners and community have been advocating the once popular area be re-opened to camping using local volunteers as camp hosts and the sheriff's office for security.
"Our point for taking over management is to benefit our constituents and to spur our economy," said commissioner Larry Don Suckla. "Your structure of getting things done is too time consuming."
Handing over federal land to the county is possible, Chadwick said, but it would be a long process and require a vote of Congress.
"If we go down that road, it would take three years, but we still need to address the short-term needs," she said.
Darlene Marcus, an aide to Rep. Scott Tipton, said he supports the move to take over McPhee recreation and would sponsor a bill on the matter.
Federal land transfers do happen. Joe Rowell Park was deeded to the town from the Forest Service after a bill passed in Congress. Also, the old Forest Service headquarters in Dolores was transferred over to the Dolores school district when the new public lands center was built.
Despite budget cuts and criticism, progress for the lake is happening, recreation planner Tom Rice said.
He said $100,000 was spent on waste-water infrastructure for lake camping areas. Maintenance of aging facilities is ongoing and takes time and funding. Also a new Overlook trail from Dolores to House Creek is in the process of being installed.
An anticipated prospectus and open bid for a concessionaire and marina operator at McPhee boat ramp is being prepared.
"We're hoping to have it on the street early next year, and have three or four entities who are interested," Rice said.
As part of the permit, bidders must show they can install a new breakwater currently lying on the shore at the boat dock. The county, Forest Service, and the state paid for the new breakwater system, but it stills needs to be attached to the lake bed.
Stan Folsom, a marina operator from Vallecito Lake, is interested in opening one on McPhee, but would prefer it be located at House Creek because the cove is protected from the wind.
The commissioners support a House Creek marina, but switching the marina bid to House Creek is not immediately possible, forest officials said.
Federal law would require environmental, archeological studies and a public comment period for the proposed new site.
"It is not as simple as dragging the breakwater to House Creek," said district ranger Derek Padilla. "It was engineered for the McPhee boat ramp based on the lake bed there."
Padilla said he understands the frustration of the commissioners regarding the red tape of the federal government. But federal laws and regulations are designed to be thorough in order to protect the environment and best serve the public. Complying with federal laws is time-consuming, he said, but is critical to avoid lawsuits.
"We have a limited staff," he said. "If we pull them to focus only on lake recreation, other areas such as working on grazing permits would suffer. If we don't comply with NEPA, we get sued."
The commissioners plan to pursue the process of conveying recreation sites to the county. A work plan with deadlines every six months could put the county in position in 2-3 years to present a bill to Congress.
"If we don't try, how will we ever know it if will work," Suckla said. "McPhee used to be a happening place, and I think the county can be more efficient at managing it. In our system, it takes just two commissioners to agree, then it is done."
