Update: Coloradan recreators to keep access to Loveland reservoir

The lease transfer of a Loveland reservoir won't result in loss of public access to the space, the new lessee announced Tuesday.

The Berthoud Heritage Metropolitan District will take over the lease of the 500-acre Lonetree Reservoir southwest of Loveland on July 1, 2018. Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which had leased the popular fishing and hunting spot since the 1970s, announced last week it was outbid for the property and that the lease change meant the reservoir would close to the public.

But the metropolitan district is required to keep the reservoir open to the public, according to a news release issued by Hillside Commercial Group on behalf of the organization.

The reasoning for the discrepancy in public statements was unclear Tuesday afternoon. Emily Kupec of Hillside Commercial Group told the Coloradoan the district had always planned to keep the reservoir open to the public.

"This was news to us," CPW spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said Tuesday. "We were not informed there would be public access."

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Churchill added CPW "would love to work with the new lessee to provide free public access to the reservoir."

Metropolitan district President Jon Turner said in the Hillside news release that the district has "the resources to improve, manage and maintain this reservoir to an elevated level in which we have not seen with the current lessee.”

Neighbors of the reservoir "experience hundreds of instances of trespassers, vandalism and theft on an annual basis due to a lack of oversight," Turner said in the release. 

Churchill acknowledged that CPW has struggled with those issues in some of its public spaces, particularly those close to urban areas like Lonetree.

"We don't have the largest staff," she said.

In Colorado, metropolitan districts are established to finance public infrastructure required by development and provide governmental structure for the operation and maintenance of improvements and facilities.

The district is working with the reservoir landowner, Consolidated Home Supply Ditch and Reservoir Company, on a management plan for the use of the reservoir and will release more information in the coming months.

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CPW could lose out on other leases in the future as the agency deals with budget constraints, officials warned.

CPW tried to address funding shortfalls with a financial sustainability bill in the Colorado Legislature this year, but the bill died in the Senate Finance Committee.The bill would have allowed CPW to increase user fees, which make up a significant portion of the department's budget. 

Last week, CPW representatives said the agency had planned to remove sportfish that could be salvaged from the reservoir and transfer them to a different body of water. Those plans might change now that CPW officials know the reservoir will remain open to the public, Churchill said.