Sweetwater Lake topic of three open house meetings

Public input sought on area’s management

Staff report

Sweetwater Lake, located in remote northeastern Garfield County in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area, is set to become Colorado’s first state park on federal land after it was acquired by the U.S. Forest Service in August 2021.
*Tom Lotshaw/Office of the Governor*

The U.S. Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Eagle Valley Land Trust are hosting three in-person open house sessions in the coming weeks to collect initial public input on the future management of Sweetwater Lake and surrounding area.

The land trust is partnering with the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife to manage the area, which was acquired in 2021 by the Forest Service through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

According to a news release, the initial public input opportunities will help the Sweetwater planning team in the development of a long-term management plan for the area. There will be other public input sessions once the formal planning effort begins.

Feedback at these initial meetings will be collected via comment cards and a community survey. For more information about the community open houses, email Bergen Tjossem at bergen@evlt.org.

The meeting schedule is:

Jan. 25 from 4-7 p.m. at the Sweetwater Community Club, 0600 Sweetwater Road.
Feb. 2 from 4-7 p.m. at the Gypsum Recreation Center Community Room 52, Lundgren Boulevard, Gypsum
Feb. 9 from 4 -7 p.m. at the Glenwood Springs Branch Library Community Room, 815 Cooper Ave., Glenwood Springs.

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