Help Us Save Crystal Lake
Help us save Crystal Lake! CO-SIGN OUR PETITION AND SHARE IT with friends and family. Your support helps us get a conveyance bill introduced into Congress. After it is conveyed to the City, it can quickly be repaired and refilled, restoring essential water for municipal use, firefighting, wildlife, and recreation.
TOGETHER WE CAN SAVE CRYSTAL LAKE
1. SIGN THE PETITION
2. CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
2. CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
Join us! View the growing list of local governments and stakeholders, along with their letters of strong support, here.
Strong grassroots support is needed to encourage bipartisan bicameral co-sponsorship of the Crystal Reservoir Conveyance Act. The Act could be introduced into Congress before mid-September 2025.
Anyone can sign the petition - you don't need to be local.
2. CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
2. CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
2. CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
Urgent: PLEASE CALL CONGRESSMAN HURD and ask him to support and co-sponsor this Act now: 202-225-4676 (D.C. Office)
Please THANK Senator Bennet and Senator Hickenlooper for supporting and co-sponsoring the Crystal Reservoir Conveyance Act.
- Crystal Reservoir Conveyance Act talking points are here.
(Use the button to find your legislators if
Urgent: PLEASE CALL CONGRESSMAN HURD and ask him to support and co-sponsor this Act now: 202-225-4676 (D.C. Office)
Please THANK Senator Bennet and Senator Hickenlooper for supporting and co-sponsoring the Crystal Reservoir Conveyance Act.
- Crystal Reservoir Conveyance Act talking points are here.
(Use the button to find your legislators if you are from another area.)
- Tips for advocacy phone calls to your elected officials are here.
3. TELL US WHY YOU CARE
2. CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
3. TELL US WHY YOU CARE
Why is restoring Crystal Lake and permanently preserving free and full public access for recreation important to you? Tell us about your favorite visit to Crystal Lake. Send us your Crystal Lake photos.
For example, Photographer Jacob Candelaria posted this dark sky photo of Crystal Lake on 1/19/24 on the American Southwest Facebook page:
Why is restoring Crystal Lake and permanently preserving free and full public access for recreation important to you? Tell us about your favorite visit to Crystal Lake. Send us your Crystal Lake photos.
For example, Photographer Jacob Candelaria posted this dark sky photo of Crystal Lake on 1/19/24 on the American Southwest Facebook page: "... This was a fun trip and I love any excuse to sneak away to the San Juan mountains...there were some other photographers getting some time-lapse and drone footage. I rarely cross paths with other photographers, so it was nice to have some people to share experiences with."
THE ISSUE: The USFS suddenly drained Crystal Lake in early 2024 due to safety concerns regarding the Full Moon Dam.
Facebook post by Andy Crawford, showing Crystal Lake on a fall day, before it was drained.
OUR SOLUTION: PASS THE CRYSTAL RESERVOIR CONVEYANCE ACT NOW
What the Act Will Do:
THE CRYSTAL RESERVOIR CONVEYANCE ACT WILL:
- REPAIR AND REFILL CRYSTAL LAKE: Allow the City of Ouray, at its own cost, to repair Full Moon Dam and refill Crystal Reservoir within the original footprint of the lake. A Congressionally Directed Conveyance is the most efficient and effective path to restore the beauty and function of Crystal Lake swiftly. The City will work with the State's Dam Safety team.
- IMPROVE DROUGHT RESISTANCE AND WATER SECURITY: The Colorado Water Plan emphasizes multipurpose water storage, watershed health, and proactive local water management. Ownership of Crystal Reservoir will enable the City of Ouray to enhance water security for its residents, improve drought resilience, and implement conservation strategies consistent with the Plan's objectives.
- PRESERVE FREE AND FULL PUBLIC ACCESS FOREVER: The Conveyance Act (as drafted) guarantees permanent public access easements for all trails and routes and full public access for all recreational activities within or around the 45-acre conveyance parcel. It guarantees that the conveyed land can only be used as undeveloped public open space, free of charge for all recreational activities in perpetuity.
- PROVIDE A CRITICAL PUBLIC SAFETY AND WILDFIRE RESPONSE ASSET: With increasing threats of wildfire in the San Juan Mountains, the reservoir serves a critical role in regional wildfire mitigation. Local control will allow the City to integrate the reservoir into comprehensive wildfire response and forest health strategies, improving emergency preparedness and watershed resilience.
- PROTECT FRAGILE FEN AND WETLAND ECOSYSTEMS: Upstream wetlands will be protected from impairment or harm from the operation of the reservoir.
- SAFEGUARD ALL VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.
- BAN COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT.
The Crystal Reservoir Conveyance Act has broad support from local governments in Ouray and San Juan Counties and from key stakeholders who helped the USFS acquire Crystal Lake and Full Moon Dam in 2003. Please join us by showing your support and signing our petition.
Your support helps us get a conveyance bill introduced into Congress. After it is conveyed to the City, it can quickly be repaired and refilled, restoring essential water for municipal use, firefighting, wildlife, and recreation. The Conveyance guarantees that Crystal Lake will remain undeveloped with free and full public access to the lake and trails in perpetuity.
STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE CRYSTAL LAKE CONVEYANCE ACT:
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet,
"The City's water supply and hot springs depend on Crystal Reservoir. This common-sense legislation will refill and reopen the Reservoir, protecting its recreational and environmental benefits for future generations."
Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper,
"A refilled Crystal Reservoir will boost outdoor recreation and provide much-needed water storage to fight extreme drought and better manage wildfires. Through this transfer, Ouray can unlock that potential to make repairs and maintain the reservoir."
Colorado Governor Jared Polis,
"Colorado water is one of our most precious resources and this new bill from Senator Bennet will restore local water, land access, and management to the community that knows the watershed best."
City of Ouray: Ethan Funk, Mayor
"For over 90 years, Crystal Reservoir has been a part of a colorful history, and a favorite recreation location in the San Juan mountains of Colorado...Crystal reservoir is deeply missed by all who knew her, and we want her back. The City, along with our many partners, seeks to repair and restore this beautiful body of water so she can continue on for many more generations. I fully support the conveyance...We will return the love..."
Colorado Department of Natural Resources: Dan Gibbs, Executive Director
"Longterm stewardship of natural resources, especially water supply, is critical for the local communities that are experiencing increasing drought conditions and reduced precipitation which are particularly profound in Southwestern Colorado. This...locally supported legislation is a good step...while also protecting public access, current recreational uses and wildlife habitats."
City of Ouray: Ethan Funk, Mayor
"I write to express my unwavering support for your efforts to convey Full Moon Dam and Crystal Reservoir...to the City of Ouray. This historic infrastructure is critical to the people of the City of Ouray as water storage for the city’s water augmentation plan, and as a popular destination for both locals and visitors for recreation."