Two separate water purchases have helped boost water levels at
Nee Noshe in Kiowa County and John Martin Reservoir in Bent County.

    The Division of Wildlife purchased 3,800 acre feet of water from
Colorado Springs for delivery at John Martin, located in eastern Bent
County. The purchase cost was split between DOW and Colorado State Parks.

    Park Manager John Mensor said the water was added to the reservoir,
which contained 19,700 acre feet of water last week. The lake behind the dam
now covers about 2,000 acres.

    The extra water has benefitted the increasing number of visitors to John
Martin this year.

    Mensor said visitations topped 100,000 for the recent fiscal year that
ended June 30. That is the highest visitation rate since Mensor joined the
park in 2005.

    He said other state parks are reporting higher visitation rates also. It
could be that higher fuel costs are prompting more Coloradoans to vacation
in state, Mensor noted.

    Campground reservations have been running at about 30 percent capacity,
though that level is expected to dropoff until temperatures begin to cool a
bit.

    Some 10,000 acre feet of watrer acquired from the City of Aurora was put
into Nee Noshe, which was very dry earlier this year.

    "It was a pleasant surprise," Division of Wildlife biologist Jim Ramsay
told the Democrat.

    He noted that southeast Colorado is experiencing a very dry year. But
fortunately there was so much snowpack in the southern mountains last winter
that mountain reservoirs had extra capacity that could be sold this year by
its municipal owners.

    Ramsay said the area could not count on extra water purchases every
year. It was also fortunate that DOW had some extra funds to buy the water.

    Ramsay said he has to adjust the fish restocking rate every year based
upon the current and projected water storage levels at John Martin.

    DOW spokesman Michael Seraphin reported in a news release that both John Martin and Nee Noshe have been drying up in recent years. It was at the point where  DOW biologists were considering salvage operations so that stranded fish would not go to waste.

    "But the infusion of new water will give them new life," Seraphin wrote.

    "John Martin and Nee Noshe reservoirs have always been key fishery resources for the lower Arkansas Valley," according to Dan Prenzlow, DOW regional manager for southeast Colorado.

    "But an adequate conservation pool and decent water levels are needed to provide the habitat for strong fish populations. These purchases will help the fish and benefit boater and anglers," Prenzlow said.

    With just under 20,000 acre feet stored behind John Martin Dam, the reservoir remains well below its capacity of 600,000 acre feet. If  completely full, it would have the potential for being the largest reservoir in the state, Seraphin noted.

    "John Martin is known as one of the top spots in  southeast Colorado for crappies, wiper, catfish, walleye, saugeye, perch, bluegill, bass and other warm water species," Seraphin noted.