Sponsor
Jeff Hurd
Representative · R-CO
Representative · R-CO
The bill transfers local control and permanent public access to Crystal Reservoir—bringing tailored water management and environmental protections—while shifting long-term expenses, legal risks, and planning uncertainty onto the City and local taxpayers, limiting certain commercial uses.
Residents and visitors gain permanent, fee-free public access to about 45 acres including Crystal Reservoir for recreation (e.g., fishing), increasing local recreational opportunities.
The City of Ouray assumes local control of water storage and reservoir management, allowing operations to be tailored more directly to community needs and priorities.
The federal government pays most conveyance costs so the City faces reduced upfront financial burden (City only pays for surveys).
The City of Ouray (and therefore local taxpayers) must assume ongoing costs and liability for dam operations, repairs, and maintenance, which could strain local budgets.
A reversionary interest allows the federal government to reclaim the land if conditions aren't met, creating long-term uncertainty for local planning and investment.
Conveyance by quitclaim deed and transfer subject to valid existing rights may leave the City exposed to unresolved title or liability risks from prior claims.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Transfers ~45 acres with Crystal Reservoir, associated dams/ditches, and water rights to the City of Ouray with conditions preserving public open space and assigning local maintenance and water-management duties.
Conveys roughly 45 acres of National Forest land under and around Crystal Reservoir, plus the reservoir's associated dams, ditches, spillway, outlet, lake and related infrastructure, and related water rights, to the City of Ouray, Colorado. The conveyance is by quitclaim deed, must be completed as soon as practicable after enactment, and carries conditions: the City pays any survey costs, assumes operation, repair, and maintenance of the dam and infrastructure, preserves the land as fee-free public open space in perpetuity, limits development, protects upstream wetlands from harmful expansion of the reservoir (while allowing limited deepening consistent with Colorado water rights), and grants easements for existing trails and roads.
Introduced November 4, 2025 by Jeff Hurd · Last progress June 3, 2026