Impacts from Colorado’s extreme drought conditions are hitting several state parks in the state’s northwest corner. 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced emergency water conservation measures and boating restrictions at both Sylvan Lake State Park in Eagle County and Rifle Gap State Park in Garfield County, according to a Monday, June 22 news release. 

Both parks are located within some of the more extreme drought conditions in Colorado. According to the June 18 U.S. Drought Monitor, Eagle County and western Garfield County are experiencing exceptional drought conditions — the worst measured by the monitor.  

Sylvan Lake State Park

At Sylvan Lake State Park outside of Eagle, the park’s main source and well, Zurcher Spring, has run completely dry and shows no signs of recovery due to the extreme drought conditions in the region. 

To maintain basic operations at the park, Parks and Wildlife has transitioned to using a secondary water source, Cowboy Spring. This spring is producing 2,000 gallons of water per day, and with park usage ranging between 2,500 and 3,000 gallons daily, park staff shut off all 17 public water spigots in the state park. 

“We are using more water than we can currently produce, and are on track to run out,” said Sylvan Lake State Park Manager Matt Westerberg in the news release. “We know turning off the water spigots isn’t ideal, but our hope is this will save enough water to keep the main campground shower building operational for visitors.”

Despite having a workaround, Parks and Wildlife is asking visitors to help out by bringing their own water. Visitors can fill their tanks at the visitor center, which operates on a separate, functioning well system. 

Rifle Gap State Park

A little further west in Garfield County, Rifle Gap State Park is experiencing impacts brought on by the winter’s historically low snowpack and early snowmelt. While the park typically experiences water declines in the late summer, they are hitting the state park months ahead of schedule, Parks and Wildlife reported. 

To combat this, Parks and Wildlife is reducing motorized boat launching to a single lane and has pulled all courtesy docks from the water. Access for hand-launched vessels like kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards will remain unaffected by the closure.

“With our boat ramp down to a single lane, launching and loading will take significantly longer than usual,” said Rifle Gap State Park Manager Brian Palcer in the release. “We are asking all boaters to practice patience, pack an extra dose of courtesy for their fellow recreators at the ramp, and expect delays. We want everyone to have a safe, enjoyable day on the water despite these challenging conditions.”

Parks and Wildlife encourages boaters to exercise caution as low water levels have also exposed shallow, unmarked hazards across the reservoir, including uneven bottom topography, fish habitat structures, rocks and tree stumps. With these conditions, the agency also issued a reminder that life jackets are required on all vessels.  

If the reservoir continues to recede at its current rate, Parks and Wildlife said the water levels will drop entirely below the concrete boat ramp, forcing a complete closure of the ramp to motorized watercraft for the remainder of the season in early July.

At both parks, the most current information can be found on their individual Facebook pages and websites on CPW.State.CO.US/state-parks. 

From the Times-Call photo archive via Longmont Museum: “The modern front of Colorado Creamery at 526 Main St. makes a background, above with two of the firm’s trucks parked at the right of the picture and two of the sales representatives standing at center of photo.” Originally published June 22, 1960.

For more historic photos, visit timescall.com/tag/historic-photos. We are adding new photos every week.

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A sculpture that currently sits inside a now-closed Aurora recreation center may get a new lease on life if the Aurora City Council approves a move.

The Beck Recreation Center closed last summer, and part of the building is scheduled for demolition. The remaining portion will serve as a golf shop for the nearby SpringHill Golf Course. That means a huge glass and metal sculpture installed in 2014 needs to be moved.

On Monday, Aurora’s city council will vote on a proposal to move it to Tallyn’s Reach Library. The artist, Reven Marie Swanson, has art installations across the country, and even some overseas.

“Without sounding like I’m bragging, my artwork is in 26 states, 38 municipalities in Colorado and in three countries, ” said Swanson.

She’s a sculptor who combines metalwork and glasswork to create unique pieces, like the one that currently sits inside the shuttered Beck Recreation Center.

“It’s called ‘Under the Swimming Pool,’ and it’s the idea about when you walk into the vestibule. It felt like I could create something that you could actually be under the water and looking up through the surface of the water as if you’re walking on the bottom of the pool,” said Swanson.

In the summer of 2025, structural issues shut the doors at Beck for good, and since then, Swanson’s sculpture has been stuck there.

“I was a little nervous because city governments are very quick to do what they call ‘de-access’ artwork. And I was really hoping that this piece wouldn’t get de-accessed,” said Swanson.

Luckily, the City of Aurora has other plans. They want to move the piece from Beck to Tallyn’s Reach Library.

Swanson says it should be a simple move, but the sculpture, which hangs from the ceiling, will have to be attached to the library’s ceiling in a new way, using new materials. But Swanson says she likes the new location.

“It’s a really beautiful building. It’s got wonderful light, which is going to interact really nicely with the glass,” said Swanson.

And she is glad it will live on, continuing to inspire and enchant Aurorans.

“When I walked into the library, the librarian, she was like, ‘I am so excited to get this art!’ And it makes an artist feel good. Like you accomplished something,” said Swanson.

The proposal, which will be heard at Monday’s city council meeting, is estimated by the city to cost between $15,000 and $25,000, primarily because of the cost of materials needed to suspend it at the new location. The initial cost to install it at Beck Recreation Center in 2014 was nearly $35,000 dollars.