Stop the Unsafe Sweetwater Lake State Park Plan—Protect Public Safety and Wildlife
The Issue
We urge rejection of the Sweetwater Lake (SLDP 64047) Proposed Action and that Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) commit to enforcing its own Recommended Buffer Zones and Seasonal Restrictions for Colorado Raptors (2020).
Public Safety
The Draft EIS (DEIS) proposes increasing recreational use to more than 250 visitors per day, employing approximately 31 FTEs, accommodating vehicles up to 60 feet in length, and initiating construction activities over an estimated 10-year period, with potential future State Park expansion.
Sweetwater Lake is surrounded by areas designated as High Intensity Wildfire Risk, and statewide data show that 83% of Colorado wildfires are human‑caused. The extreme behavior of the #1 national priority 2025 Derby Fire underscored this danger. During that incident, firefighting resources were delayed when engines were forced to stop for opposing traffic on Sweetwater Road, and crews had to be evacuated from active suppression because forecasted rain increased mudslide risk and only a single egress route existed. The Draft EIS includes no wildfire risk analysis and no mitigation strategies.
Sweetwater Road is a winding, narrow, dead‑end, 11.7-mile route through a confined box canyon. The DEIS itself acknowledges that “new visitation to Sweetwater Lake has the potential to increase emergency and fire‑related incidents…especially during the summer season,” and that Garfield County “is characterized by recurring wildfire and flash‑flood hazards, particularly along canyon corridors and wildland‑urban interface (WUI) zones.”
Most critically, the DEIS fails to evaluate or plan for dual egress. Emergency response times to the proposed State Park will exceed an hour under normal conditions, and the 11.7-mile single access route represents a single point of failure. Approving this project without dual egress violates fundamental public‑safety obligations and exposes visitors, residents, and responders to unacceptable wildfire risk.
Wildlife Protection
CPW’s Recommended Buffer Zones and Seasonal Restrictions for Colorado Raptors (2020) were not applied. CPW states these guidelines “are the most up to date based on the best available science and professional judgement,” and already enforces them at Barr Lake, Staunton, and Fishers Peak. Failure to apply these standards at Sweetwater Lake undermines CPW’s own science‑based management framework and endangers the Peregrine Falcons and year-round Bald Eagles.
The Proposed Action would convert 741 acres of Forested Flora & Fauna Habitat and 105 acres of Deer & Elk Winter Range into Developed Recreation Areas, resulting in substantial negative effects on habitat quality, wildlife use, the rare Harrington’s Penstemon and big game hunting opportunities.
Sweetwater Lake State Park Draft EIS
Email us for more information on how you can help SweetwaterLakePetition@gmail.com
139
The Issue
We urge rejection of the Sweetwater Lake (SLDP 64047) Proposed Action and that Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) commit to enforcing its own Recommended Buffer Zones and Seasonal Restrictions for Colorado Raptors (2020).
Public Safety
The Draft EIS (DEIS) proposes increasing recreational use to more than 250 visitors per day, employing approximately 31 FTEs, accommodating vehicles up to 60 feet in length, and initiating construction activities over an estimated 10-year period, with potential future State Park expansion.
Sweetwater Lake is surrounded by areas designated as High Intensity Wildfire Risk, and statewide data show that 83% of Colorado wildfires are human‑caused. The extreme behavior of the #1 national priority 2025 Derby Fire underscored this danger. During that incident, firefighting resources were delayed when engines were forced to stop for opposing traffic on Sweetwater Road, and crews had to be evacuated from active suppression because forecasted rain increased mudslide risk and only a single egress route existed. The Draft EIS includes no wildfire risk analysis and no mitigation strategies.
Sweetwater Road is a winding, narrow, dead‑end, 11.7-mile route through a confined box canyon. The DEIS itself acknowledges that “new visitation to Sweetwater Lake has the potential to increase emergency and fire‑related incidents…especially during the summer season,” and that Garfield County “is characterized by recurring wildfire and flash‑flood hazards, particularly along canyon corridors and wildland‑urban interface (WUI) zones.”
Most critically, the DEIS fails to evaluate or plan for dual egress. Emergency response times to the proposed State Park will exceed an hour under normal conditions, and the 11.7-mile single access route represents a single point of failure. Approving this project without dual egress violates fundamental public‑safety obligations and exposes visitors, residents, and responders to unacceptable wildfire risk.
Wildlife Protection
CPW’s Recommended Buffer Zones and Seasonal Restrictions for Colorado Raptors (2020) were not applied. CPW states these guidelines “are the most up to date based on the best available science and professional judgement,” and already enforces them at Barr Lake, Staunton, and Fishers Peak. Failure to apply these standards at Sweetwater Lake undermines CPW’s own science‑based management framework and endangers the Peregrine Falcons and year-round Bald Eagles.
The Proposed Action would convert 741 acres of Forested Flora & Fauna Habitat and 105 acres of Deer & Elk Winter Range into Developed Recreation Areas, resulting in substantial negative effects on habitat quality, wildlife use, the rare Harrington’s Penstemon and big game hunting opportunities.
Sweetwater Lake State Park Draft EIS
Email us for more information on how you can help SweetwaterLakePetition@gmail.com
The Decision Makers
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on July 16, 2026