The access to the Lower Blue below Green Mountain Dam is going to RE-OPEN on a LIMITED basis
beginning this FRIDAY JULY 5th, 2002.
Paddlers in the Steamboat Springs and Summit County areas have long enjoyed this late season
Class III stretch of river, as water is released from the Green Mountain Reservoir for irrigation
purposes. The stretch of river includes steep, dramatic canyon scenery with no roads or trails
adjacent to the river.
However, access to the river downstream of the dam has been restricted since the September 11th
events, while the reservoir itself has been re-opened to motorized boats and recreation. The
managing agencies (COE, BLM and Grand County Sheriff's Dept.) have been turning away river users
in the name of continued security after the terrorist events.
Happily, Kara Lamb, with U. S. Bureau of Reclamation's Public Information office in Eastern
Colorado, reported to American Whitewater volunteers that this access to the Lower Blue below the
Green Mountain Dam is being opened as part of a pilot program within Reclamation's security
program. That means, the access will be during daylight hours ONLY.
Hours of open access will be Friday-Sunday, 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. The conditional access will be
strictly enforced. All people, cars, equipment and etc. must be removed from the area prior to 7
p.m., closing, each day. Stuff that remains may be towed or removed at the owner's expense.
This success is the result of several months of wrangling between the local fishing and boating
communities and the Bu Rec. Volunteers including American Whitewater member Patrick Tooley and
AW's former Presidents Ric Alesch and Jay Kenney spent many hours trying to solve the closure and
address the BuRec's security concerns. Their efforts included writing to Congressman Mark Udall
(< a href="#udall">Letter attached below.
This agreement to reopen access to the river will be greatly appreciated by the Steamboat Springs
area boating community.
If you have the opportunity to run this river in the next few months, please thank any Bu Rec
staff that you happen to meet for re-opening this Colorado gem. Likewise, thank Pat, Ric, and Jay
for their continuing efforts to protect your access to Colorado's rivers and streams!
ACCESS POINTS
The access road to the the Blue River branches off Hwy 9, between the town of Kremmling and
Silverthorne, CO. After turning off Hwy 9, the county road goes across the top of the dam to a "T"
intersection. A left turn will take you to lake access points and related commercial services. A
right turn takes you 1/8 mile down a paved road, along a steep hillside, adjacent to the dam that
you just crossed. The road ends 500 feet off the river in a parking area related to an abandoned
company town and facilities related to hydro power generation.
From the parking area, one walks with their raft or kayak further downstream through a grassy
meadow, then hikes down a VERY steep dirt hillside to get to the river. The approach down the
hillside is very treacherous and loose. At this point, you are probably 1/4 downstream of the
actual dam face.
The take out is at the first county road/bridge and includes parking for probably 20-25 vehicles.
Parking at the put in can easily accomodate that amount of vehicles, as well.
RESOURCES
Reservoir and access map at:
www.coloradodreams.com/heenmap.htm
American Whitewater River Page: www.americanwhitewater.org/rivers/id/363/
BACKGROUND
In April 2002, Kara Lamb wrote boater Dave Gardner:
I understand your frustration about the extended closure at Green Mountain. The Bureau of
Reclamation, who built, owns and operates the facilities there, has many responsibilities, as you
said. They include providing continued security of the facilities and the many benefits
associated with them: water storage, delivery, power generation--not to mention the safety and
security of people living downstream or nearby our facilities--just to name a few. That explains
why security has been a top priority.
That said, I also recognize that the continued closure of access to the Lower Blue seems
unnecessary. Truthfully, I have not been provided any details of why that area is still closed.
All I am told is that our decision to keep it closed is based on information provided to
Reclamation and the Department of the Interior from other government agencies. The decision is
made in Washington D.C. by our Commissioner along with our Regional Director in Billings,
MT.
May 14, 2002
Honorable Mark Udall
1333 West 120th Ave.
Suite #210
Westminster, CO 80234
Dear Congresman Udall:
I write on behalf of the Colorado White Water Association (CWWA), Colorado Trout Unlimited (CTU)
and American Whitewater, all of whom have joined in an effort to re-open the Blue River below Green
Mountain Dam.
The Blue River between Green Mountain Dam and Spring Creek Road is one of Colorado's premier trout
fisheries. This four-mile stretch of the Blue River, which runs primarily through Forest Service
land, is hugely popular with kayakers, canoeists and the fishing community. The only way for
boaters to access this section of the Blue River is below the Green Mountain Dam. This is also the
only access for anglers, since private property near Spring Creek Road precludes accessing the Blue
River there. Anglers and boaters have accessed the Blue River below Green Mountain Dam for decades.
The access point is so popular, in fact, that CWWA has specifically earmarked monies to improve
this access point, given the heavy use this access point receives.
Last fall, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation closed the access point below Green Mountain Dam
following the tragic events of September 11, 2001. On March 26, 2002, Kara Lamb, the Public
Information Officer for the Eastern Colorado Area Office of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, posted
an e-mail on a river access website, stating that the access point below Green Mountain Dam will be
closed for the rest of the year.
On March 27th, I spoke with Ms. Lamb by telephone. Ms. Lamb was very cordial and professional, and
explained that the decision to close the access to the Blue River below the dam was the result of
general security concerns following the September terrorist attacks. Ms. Lamb explained that
certain Department of Interior and Department of Reclamation employees (unknown to me) evaluated
each government facility and determined whether access should be restricted. Ms. Lamb also told me
that citizens did not (and probably do not) have a voice in the decision making process, but told
me I could contact Brian Person and MaryAnn Bach, who are the area and regional directors of the
Department of the Interior, respectively. While all of us appreciate the government's legitimate
security concerns following last year's terrorist attacks, we are unconvinced that the closure of
the Green Mountain Access is based on legitimate security concerns and believe there must be a
solution to allow some public access to this stretch of river.
Here are the questions the Bureau's action raises.
1. By what process was the dam and access point evaluated and determined to present a security
issue? I note that Colorado is peppered with dams, all of which presumably were similarly
evaluated, yet both Chatfield Reservoir and Cherry Creek Reservoir, for example remain open to the
public. Each, on account of their very large downstream populations and development, surely
presents a greater security issue than the Blue Mountain Reservoir. Elsewhere in the United States,
on rivers run by commercial operators or concessionaires, there have been no similar closures. The
Ocoee (TN), the Colorado (AZ) and the Gauley (W VA), to name only three of the largest and most
visible, all remain open to both commercial and private boating.
2. On what schedule will the dam's security status be evaluated and re-evaluated?
3. Without significantly compromising the security of the installation, what accommodations can the
Bureau make to permit access to the river? We believe that simple and reasonable measures can be
put in place to allow continued access to the river. Without limitation, those measures could
include limited access on certain days and between certain hours with additional security personnel
in place for those limited periods of time. Alternatively, boaters and anglers could be required to
park away from the most sensitive areas, with strictly enforced time limits at or near the
put-in.
We ask you to intercede on our behalf and on behalf of the boating and fishing public. We are
certain that the interested parties can design an access point below Green Mountain Dam that will
address the governments legitimate security concerns, while at the same time preserving this
traditional access point for the Blue River With your assistance, I believe we can develop a
win-win result for everyone. We are happy to participate as a working group to develop and design
an improved access point, one that takes into account the government=s legitimate security
concerns, while at the same time allowing Colorado's citizens to enjoy this very special
river.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Very truly yours,
Patrick D. Tooley
PDT/tmd Cc:
Jay P.K. Kenney, President Colorado White Water Association
David Nickum, Executive Director, Colorado Trout Unlimited
