In an effort to boost the local outdoor recreation economy, Montezuma County commissioners want to obtain ownership of the roughly 800-acre Sage Hen area on McPhee Reservoir from the San Juan National Forest.
The county wants to take over management and bring back camping, which was banned by the Forest Service in 2007 because of vandalism and a lack of resources.
But a transfer would require an act of the U.S. Congress and presidential approval. The idea is not that far-fetched, and has happened twice in nearby Dolores.
In 1998, then U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard sponsored legislation to transfer the 80-acre Joe Rowell Park from the San Juan National Forest to the town of Dolores.
“It took a lot of work and patience, but we got it done thanks to persistence and a cooperative effort with local forest officials, Congress and finally President (Bill) Clinton, who signed the bill,” said Marianne Mate, who worked on the land transfer project as a member of the Dolores Parks Committee.
When McPhee Reservoir was built, the project footprint included the area of the park, but the land was not needed for reservoir operations.
Management was given to the Forest Service, and Dolores received permission to install lighted baseball fields and a clubhouse. But federal bureaucracy hampered park improvements or changes, prompting the often repeated joke that “an environmental impact statement was needed to change a light bulb.”
Transferring the park to the town for no cost was seen as the most practical solution, Mate said, and Allard agreed to take it on.
Mate said the legislative process took two years and involved “a lot of hoops that we had to jump through,” including land surveys and appraisals, legislation, congressional testimony and approval in Senate and House committees.
“There was a lot of upfront work, and we had to find the right alliances,” she said. “Locally the Forest Service was on board, but as it went up the ladder, there was more resistance.”
Top lawyers for the Forest Service felt giving the land away would set a bad precedent, Mate said. But in the end, the bill was attached to a larger legislative package and was passed and transferred in 2000.
Dolores Schools get dealThen in 2011, under the federal Realignment and Enhancement Act and Educational Land Grant Act, the old Forest Service headquarters in Dolores was sold to the Dolores School District for $114,500, substantially less than its true market value.
Patrick McCoy, lands and minerals specialist with the San Juan National Forest, said the transfer was part of a policy that allowed it to dispense of lands and buildings they no longer needed.
That provision would not apply to the Sage Hen transfer because of its acreage, officials said.
James Dietrich, federal lands coordinator for Montezuma County, said the county wants a legislative land transfer like the one done with Joe Rowell but on a larger scale.
“It is not a wholesale takeover of federal lands; we’re seeking ownership of this one area because it is the best, most accessible shoreline on the lake for recreation and camping,” Dietrich said.
The offices of U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner and Rep. Scott Tipton have suggested the county seek a memorandum of agreement with San Juan Forest officials to co-manage Sage Hen because it is a simpler process.
But the commission has been steadfast on obtaining outright ownership of Sage Hen because the agreement would be under the authority of the Forest Service regulations they see as cumbersome.
For example, a memorandum of agreement requires costly and time-consuming archaeological studies that the county does not feel are necessary because they were done when the reservoir was built in the 1980s, Dietrich said.
Long-term managementHow to pay for long-term management of recreation areas like Sage Hen and the proposed Paths to Mesa Verde trail between Cortez and Mancos is something that needs to be considered as well, officials said.
The Dolores District Ranger outlined some management costs for Sage Hen when it was open to camping. Portable restrooms would run $1,500 for the season, trash service $300 per month, and campground cleaning and minor maintenance $3,000 to $4,000 per season, Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Long-term costs also include law enforcement, road maintenance, weed control and fire mitigation, but cost figures were not available.
“The biggest unknown is going to be law enforcement patrol,” Padilla said. “The whole reason the area was closed had to do with the lack of resources to control all the negative things that were going on out there, like vandalism of the amenities, lots of trash after big parties and unrestricted use of vehicles all over the place.”
Because Sage Hen does not have a boat inspection station to prevent contamination by invasive mussels, trailered boats are not allowed to launch from there. Canoes and kayaks may launch if they have been cleaned, drained and dried by users.
“Opening that area to overnight occupancy is going to increase the possibility that vessels can get on the lake without being inspected,” Padilla said.
The Sage Hen area is also part of the Anasazi Archaeological district, and its cultural resources would require protection.
The creation of a recreation tax district, use of private donations, volunteer labor organizations, Friends Groups, and charging fees are all possible solutions for long-term management of new recreation areas in the county, officials said.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
