Sponsors (2)
The bill hands local authorities title, control, and public recreational protections for the reservoir—benefiting local water management and recreation—while shifting ongoing costs, legal obligations, and development restrictions onto the City and its residents.
City of Ouray and local water users receive title to the reservoir and associated water rights, enabling local storage and beneficial water uses to support municipal water supply management.
Residents and visitors retain free, perpetual public recreational access to about 45 acres (Crystal Reservoir), preserving local recreation and tourism opportunities.
Operation and maintenance responsibility for the dam and related infrastructure is transferred to the City, placing control of day-to-day decisions and management with local officials.
City of Ouray (and its taxpayers) must pay survey costs now and bear all future repair and maintenance costs for the dam and infrastructure, creating an ongoing local fiscal burden.
If the City violates conveyance terms the land may revert to the United States, creating legal and investment uncertainty for the City and complicating long-term planning.
Restrictions on development and commercial operations on the conveyed land limit the City's ability to generate revenue (e.g., leases, fees) to offset maintenance and operating costs.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Conveys ~45 acres including Crystal Reservoir and its water rights from the Forest Service to the City of Ouray, with conditions requiring open-space use, public access, easements, and local maintenance responsibility.
Transfers federal title and associated water rights in about 45 acres around Crystal Reservoir in Ouray County, Colorado, from the U.S. Forest Service to the City of Ouray. The conveyance must be done as soon as practicable after enactment and is subject to existing water rights, potential reversionary interest determined by the Secretary, and certain conditions on use and development. Requires the City to assume long-term operation, maintenance, and repair of Full Moon Dam and related infrastructure, keep the land as open space with free public recreational access in perpetuity, grant easements for existing trails and roads, and follow Colorado water law for uses; the Secretary pays conveyance costs except surveys and must finalize and file a map and legal description dated June 23, 2025.
Official title: Direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the City of Ouray, Colorado, certain land managed by the Forest Service, together with a reservoir.
Introduced September 10, 2025 by Michael F. Bennet · Last progress October 5, 2026