Projects to improve boating at Lake Nighthorse, Ruedi Reservoir and Standley Lake have been chosen to receive funding through Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s 2012 Motorboat Colorado! grant program.

The largest grant of the 2012 funding cycle will go to construct boating facilities at Lake Nighthorse near Durango. The $285,000 grant provides a share of the funding for an aquatic nuisance species inspection station, a dock and buoys, access road design and construction and development of a recreation master plan for the facility. Lake Nighthorse is part of the Animas-La Plata Project, which provides water to Native American tribes and partners in New Mexico and Colorado.

Two smaller Motorboat Colorado! grants were awarded to the Ruedi Water and Power Authority and the City of Westminster. A $10,000 grant will allow the Ruedi Water and Power Authority to continue aquatic nuisance species inspections at Ruedi Reservoir at the border of Eagle and Pitkin County in western Colorado. A $5,000 grant will provide matching funds for the construction of motorboat access improvements at Standley Lake in Westminster.

The Motorboat Colorado! grant program funds projects that open new waters to boats or improve facilities at lakes or reservoirs that already allow motorboat access. Funding for the Motorboat Colorado! program comes primarily through the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service Sport Fish Restoration Program’s tax on the sale of motorboat fuel. Projects selected to receive funding are subject to federal reporting, compliance and accounting requirements. For more information on Motorboat Colorado! visit http://wildlife.state.co.us/Fishing/ResourcesTips/MotorboatColorado/.

Logo courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife