End of summer staffing shortages prompts Aquatic Nuisance Species boat inspection changes at Vega State Park
Rachael GonzalesNorthwest Region Public Information Officer
970-773-8587 / [email protected] End of summer staffing shortages prompts Aquatic Nuisance Species boat inspection changes at Vega State Park
At an elevation of 8,000 ft., Vega State Park’s high-mountain lake sits in a beautiful montane meadow on the northeast edge of Grand Mesa National Forest in Western Colorado. Stock image of Vega State Park 2019.
Collbran, Colo. - As summer vacation comes to an end and students return to school, staffing shortages have prompted Vega State Park Managers to reduce hours of operation for Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) inspections.
On Monday, August 15, boat inspections at Vega State park will end at 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Boat inspections will continue to occur during regular summer hours Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Updated ANS check station hours are as follows
7:00am to 4:00pm, Monday to Thursday
7:00am to 8:30pm, Friday to Sunday
As a reminder, Colorado is a mandatory boat inspection state. This means, all trailered and motorized watercraft are required to be inspected by certified staff and only allowed to launch when the ANS inspection station is open. Spike strips installed at the Island boat ramp allow boats to exit the lake after hours at the Island boat ramp but will prevent anyone from entering the lake during non-inspection hours.
In addition to new inspection hours, the Early Settlers boat ramp closed on August 11 due to low water levels, which is typical for this time of year. The island boat ramp is now the only open boat ramp for the rest of the boating season.
“After two consecutive years of low water levels it’s great we’re back to normal levels for this time of year,” said James Masek, Vega State Park Manager. “Vega Reservoir is primarily utilized for irrigation, and it’s not uncommon for the boat ramp at Early Settlers to come out of the water this time of year. Thanks to normal water levels, our plan is for the lake to remain open to boating through October.”
Learn more about Vega State Park on our website.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.