John Martin Reservoir State Park Closes West Boat Ramp

HASTY, Colo. – John Martin Reservoir State Park has closed the West Boat Ramp to boat launching and retrieving to prevent damage of personal property to those visitors who prefer to utilize that boat ramp.

When water levels drop, visitors run the risk of incurring trailer damage because of a drop off at the end of the ramp. In order to diminish that risk Colorado Parks and Wildlife has selected to close the ramp to boating traffic.

The reservoir will remain open for boating and still boasts a large amount of water for users in the southeast corner of the state. The East Boat Ramp at John Martin Reservoir serves as a viable option for boat launching and will remain open for the remainder of the season.

The East Boat Ramp is a low water boat ramp and does require a deeper launch of the vessel, as well as the vehicle launching to back in further.

Higher water levels were obtained during the winter storage time-frame this year, approximately 10,000 storage acre feet and about seven vertical feet of water, allowing the opening of the West Boat Ramp which was closed all of the 2013 season.

“We were extremely excited to see the water levels at the beginning of the season, and comparatively we are still holding more water than we had at this time last year,” said Dan Kirmer, Park Manager. “The drawing of water for irrigation of crop lands downstream is a normal occurrence, but unfortunately the rapid depletion of water this year comes before the runoff season.”

Plans to extend the West Boat Ramp are currently underway. Last year’s attempt was hampered by rising water levels during the first week of August to the point that the available funding could not cover the work that needed to be done.

“It will be an expensive project,” said Kirmer. “But well worth it to provide access to the lake for all boaters through the entire season,” said Kirmer.

Visitors can still fish the area around the West Boat Ramp which tends to be a great place for white bass and wiper.

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For more information about John Martin Reservoir, visit http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/Parks/JohnMartinReservoir

Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages 42 state parks, more than 300 state wildlife areas, all of Colorado’s wildlife, and a variety of outdoor recreation. For more information go to cpw.state.co.us

For more news about Colorado Parks and Wildlife go to: http://cpw.state.co.us
For more information about Colorado Parks and Wildlife go to: http://cpw.state.co.us.

Contact Name: Abbie Walls

Contact Phone: 719-227-5211