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Boating access

Facing a threat from mussel invasion, managers right to restrict watercraft

Monday brought a pair of welcome events for folks in Southwest Colorado eager to get back on the water.

One was the vernal equinox marking the return of spring, evident from temperatures in the 70s under brilliant skies.

The other was an announcement by the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company (MVIC) that it was easing its boating ban on Narraguinnep Reservoir, a ban that had shocked many fans of the easy-to-access lake close to both Cortez and Dolores.

Narraguinnep is a popular fishing hole, and is a great place to float, paddle or catch a cool breeze in the summertime. But the specter of invasive mussels finding a foothold in the reservoir led to what many perceived as a drastic decision to bar the boat ramp and ban all boats for the season.

That depends, however, on your point of view.

The decision was a wise one in the eyes of those who depend on the reservoir for irrigation. As company manager Brandon Johnson reminded the Cortez Journal, “...we’re in the irrigation business, not the recreation business.”

Zebra mussels reproduce exponentially in waters that harbor no natural predators, and can wreck an irrigation network’s system of pipes, gates and valves in an astonishingly short amount of time.

Once established, they are nearly impossible to eradicate. While not acknowledged to have reached western Colorado, they have been detected in Lake Powell, just one boat-trailer ride away.

On Monday, MVIC announced that hand-launched craft — canoes, kayaks, rafts, windsurfing boards, sailboards, paddleboards, float tubes and inner tubes — are welcome. Motorized craft, especially those that can harbor live mussel larvae in their engines, bilges and ballast tanks, will have to go elsewhere, likely to nearby McPhee Reservoir, where there are inspection and decontamination stations.

That’s not good news for powerboaters and fans of jet skis. But it remains a brave, welcome compromise by MVIC and they should be commended for it.

More, it provides a model of management likely to be applied at other small reservoir recreation spots, like Totten Reservoir just east of Cortez.

Don’t be surprised to see it soon at an impoundment near you.