Lake Nighthorse is just two miles from downtown Durango, but opening up the 5,500-acre area for public recreation is seeming more distant. Cathy Metz, city director of parks and recreation, on Tuesday said she was less confident of city plans to open the lake to the public by summer 2013 because of complicating factors in reaching a lease agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, such as how to provide for law enforcement. The reservoir, which was created by the federal government to settle water claims with Native Americans, is currently outside the city’s jurisdiction. Because the Bureau of Reclamation and the state of Colorado have passed on managing the area for public recreation, the city has been trying to fill the void. Durango recently was awarded a $285,000 grant from Motorboat Colorado to fund improvements at the lake, but legal sticking points remain. La Plata County, for example, is researching the possibility of an intergovernmental agreement to allow for Durango police to respond to complaints at Lake Nighthorse, but this seems problematic because of issues such as insuring city police officers against accidents on county land. A simpler solution would be to annex the property into the city.

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