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36-712: In 1956, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was given the responsibility, under the Colorado River Storage Project Act , to begin planning and construction of the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP), a series of projects in Colorado , New Mexico , Utah , and Wyoming that would make possible comprehensive development of the waters of the Colorado River and its major tributaries. One of the initial projects of

72-594: A National Park Service unit that offers camping, hiking, and views of the river and the surrounding 1900-ft. deep canyon. North of the reservoir is the Gunnison Ranger District of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests , a unit of the U.S. Forest Service. The Gunnison Ranger District includes almost 30 campgrounds and a number of hiking and equestrian trails spread across 1.3 million acres. Towns near Blue Mesa include Gunnison to

108-543: A major Reclamation Bureau dam led to subsequent strengthening of its dam-safety program to avoid similar problems. Even so, the failure of Teton Dam, the environmental movement, and the announcement of President Carter 's "hit list" on water projects profoundly affected the direction of Reclamation's programs and activities. Reclamation operates about 180 projects in the 17 western states. The total Reclamation investment for completed project facilities in September 1992

144-515: A unit of the Curecanti National Recreation Area Blue Mesa Reservoir offers a number of recreational opportunities, including boating, fishing, boat-in, developed, and primitive camping, hiking, horseback riding, and hunting. A popular lake for boating, Blue Mesa has marinas at Elk Creek and Lake Fork, near the dam, both of which can be accessed by U.S. 50. Watercraft can also be launched from

180-626: Is located on the Gunnison river approximately 30 miles west of the city of Gunnison, near the intersection of U.S. 50 with Colorado Highway 92, which travels along the top of the dam. The reservoir extends east 20 miles and is composed of three main basins, the Iola, the Cebolla and the Sapinero, from east to west. U.S. 50 traverses the northern shore of both the Iola and Cebolla Basins before crossing

216-722: Is to "manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public". In redirecting its programs and responsibilities, Reclamation substantially reduced its staff levels and budgets but remains a significant federal agency in the West. On October 1, 2017, the Hoover Dam Police Department was closed and the National Park Service took over law enforcement duties for

252-631: The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad . Morrow Point Reservoir is part of the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit of the Colorado River Storage Project , a Bureau of Reclamation project that retains the waters of the Colorado River and its tributaries, such as the Gunnison, for agricultural and municipal use. The second of three reservoirs impounded for the Aspinall Unit, Morrow Point lies between

288-492: The 1960s and earlier drew to an end. Reclamation wrote that "The arid West essentially has been reclaimed. The major rivers have been harnessed and facilities are in place or are being completed to meet the most pressing current water demands and those of the immediate future". Emphasis in Reclamation programs shifted from construction to operation and maintenance of existing facilities. Reclamation's redefined official mission

324-676: The Bureau. One of the most notable features of Morrow Point is the famed Curecanti Needle , a striking 700-foot (210 m) tall granite spire on the reservoir's southern shore. Located immediately west of the mouth of Blue Creek and directly across from the mouth of Curecanti Creek, the Needle was a well-known landmark to generations of rail travelers, who passed near to the spire on the Denver & Rio Grande Western's Black Canyon route between Gunnison and Montrose . Though difficult to access,

360-749: The CRSP, the Curecanti Unit, focused on the upper reaches of the Gunnison River, the fifth-largest tributary of the Colorado River . The centerpiece of the plans for the Gunnison was the construction of four dams on a 40-mile stretch (64 km) of the river east of the National Park Service's Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park , projects that would not only help control the amount of water flowing into

396-473: The Colorado, but would also create new opportunities for flood control, water storage, and the generation of hydroelectric power. The first of these dams was Blue Mesa Dam, which was begun in 1962 approximately 30 miles (48 km) west of Gunnison, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Sapinero . Finished four years later, the dam created Blue Mesa Reservoir, which became the primary water storage reservoir for

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432-495: The Curecanti Unit (later renamed the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit). According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Blue Mesa Reservoir has a warm-summer humid continental climate , abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded here was 96 °F (36 °C) on July 22, 2005, while the coldest temperature recorded was −36 °F (−38 °C) on January 7, 1971. Blue Mesa Dam

468-898: The Department of the Interior. Frederick Haynes Newell was appointed the first director of the new bureau. Beginning with the third person to take over the direction of Reclamation in 1923, David W. Davis, the title was changed from Director to Commissioner. In the early years, many projects encountered problems: lands or soils included in projects were unsuitable for irrigation ; land speculation sometimes resulted in poor settlement patterns; proposed repayment schedules could not be met by irrigators who had high land-preparation and facilities-construction costs; settlers were inexperienced in irrigation farming; waterlogging of irrigable lands required expensive drainage projects; and projects were built in areas which could only grow low-value crops. In 1923

504-576: The Gunnison and create opportunities for hydroelectric power generation, water conservation, and recreation. Morrow Point Reservoir is managed by the National Park Service as a unit within the Curecanti National Recreation Area , and is the location of the Curecanti Needle , a striking 700-foot (210 m) granite spire on the reservoir's southern bank whose unique shape was for decades a recognized symbol of

540-473: The Hoover Dam. The Hoover Dam Police Department existed for more than 80 years. Reclamation commissioners that have had a strong impact and molding of the Bureau have included Elwood Mead , Michael W. Straus , and Floyd Dominy , with the latter two being public-power boosters who ran the Bureau during its heyday. Mead guided the bureau during the development, planning, and construction of the Hoover Dam,

576-520: The Needle is popular with climbers, who must either use a boat or cross the frozen lake in winter to reach the base. Morrow Point Reservoir is part of the Curecanti National Recreation Area , a National Park Service administered area charged with developing and managing recreation facilities on the three reservoirs that compose the Aspinall Unit. Recreational opportunities at Morrow Point include boating (hand-carried craft only), camping, and hiking. There are three small developed areas with lake access,

612-626: The Pine Creek Trailhead, accessible via U.S. 50 approximately 1 mile west of Blue Mesa Dam, the Pioneer Point Overlook, north of the reservoir on Colorado Highway 92, approximately 5.5 miles west of Blue Mesa Dam, and the Hermit's Rest Trailhead, on Co. 92 approximately 17 miles west of Blue Mesa Dam. Pine Creek Trailhead's 232 steps lead 180 ft. down to the water, where hand-carried craft can be launched. Once on

648-475: The Ponderosa and Stevens Creek campgrounds, and at Iola, on the reservoir's southern shore. During winter months Iola Basin is also a popular spot for ice fishing. Blue Mesa contains 8 developed campgrounds, two of which are designated for groups. These range from the 160-site Elk Creek on the main body of the lake to smaller, more remote sites like Ponderosa and Gateview located on arms of the lake. Several of

684-635: The United States Bureau of Reclamation. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 16, 2017. Burman is the first woman to ever lead the Bureau of Reclamation. David Murillo was serving as the acting commissioner of the bureau. Burman resigned on January 20 after the inauguration of the Biden Administration . The current Commissioner is Camille Calimlim Touton , the first Filipino American to head

720-609: The United States' first multiple-purpose dam. John W. Keys , the 16th Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation who served from July 2001 to April 2006, was killed two years after his retirement on May 30, 2008, when the airplane he was piloting crashed in Canyonlands National Park , Utah . On June 26, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Brenda Burman to serve as the Commissioner of

756-557: The agency was renamed the "Bureau of Reclamation". In 1924, however, in the face of increasing settler unrest and financial woes, the "Fact Finder's Report" spotlighted major problematic issues; the Fact Finders Act in late 1924 sought to resolve some of these problems. In 1928 Congress authorized the Boulder Canyon ( Hoover Dam ) Project, and large appropriations began, for the first time, to flow to Reclamation from

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792-476: The agency. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 4, 2021. Morrow Point Reservoir Morrow Point Reservoir is an 817-acre (331 ha) artificial reservoir on the Gunnison River in western Colorado . Located in the upper Black Canyon of the Gunnison , the lake was created in 1968 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as part of a larger plan to impound the upper section of

828-526: The campsites can accommodate RV's, but only Elk Creek offers electrical hook-ups. Boaters may camp overnight in 4 free camping areas with a total of 9 individual sites. Boaters may also camp on the southern shore of the Cebolla and Iola Basins, as long as campsites are not within a half-mile of any developed area, bridge, maintained public road or other boat-in/backcountry campsite. In 2022, decreases in Blue Mesa's already low water level caused by drought and

864-541: The east and Montrose and Delta to the west, all of which can be accessed via U.S. 50. Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation , formerly the United States Reclamation Service , is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior , which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and operation of the diversion, delivery, and storage projects that it has built throughout

900-465: The general funds of the United States. The authorization came only after a hard-fought debate about the pros and cons of public power versus private power. The heyday of Reclamation construction of water facilities occurred during the Depression and the 35 years after World War II . From 1941 to 1947, Civilian Public Service labor was used to carry on projects otherwise interrupted by

936-470: The lake's deep arms, such as Cebolla Creek and Soap Creek, which can only be reached by boat or unpaved road. While it was the Bureau of Reclamation that conceived of the plan to impound the Gunnison and constructed the Blue Mesa Dam, it was the National Park Service that was tasked with developing and managing recreational facilities at Blue Mesa Reservoir and the two smaller lakes to the west. As

972-475: The larger Blue Mesa Reservoir to the east and the remote Crystal Reservoir , to the west. Morrow Point Reservoir was created by the impoundment of the Gunnison River approximately 12 miles (19 km) west of Blue Mesa Dam by Morrow Point Dam, a 486-foot (148 m) concrete double-arch dam built by the Bureau of Reclamation . Completed in 1968, Morrow Point was the first concrete double-arch dam constructed by

1008-576: The need to release water to aid Lake Powell downriver led to the first cancellation of boating season as announced on May 1, 2022. Federal and state water managers indicated in early May, 2022 the plan for 2022 would allow the Blue Mesa Reservoir to recover water levels, although they would remain insufficient for opening the marinas. In addition to Blue Mesa Reservoir, Curecanti NRA also contains two other Bureau of Reclamation projects, Morrow Point Reservoir and Crystal Reservoir . Part of

1044-604: The reservoir south on the Middle Bridge and continuing west to the dam. The southern shore of the Iola Basin can be reached via Colorado Highway 149, which begins at an intersection with U.S. 50 at the Lake City Bridge, approximately 7 miles west of the city of Gunnison. While most of the recreational areas at Blue Mesa can be accessed from U.S. 50, the reservoir also contains a small number of facilities on

1080-475: The same project that created Blue Mesa, both Morrow Point and Crystal are smaller, narrower lakes, located within the Black Canyon of the Gunnison . Though considerably harder to access than Blue Mesa, these two lakes nevertheless offer visitors unique views and challenging recreational opportunities. West of Blue Mesa and immediately downriver from Crystal Dam is Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park ,

1116-569: The second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the western U.S. On June 17, 1902, in accordance with the Reclamation Act , Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock established the U.S. Reclamation Service within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The new Reclamation Service studied potential water development projects in each western state with federal lands. Revenue from sale of federal lands

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1152-451: The war effort. The last major authorization for construction projects occurred in the late 1960s, while a parallel evolution and development of the American environmental movement began to result in strong opposition to water development projects. Even the 1976 failure of Teton Dam as it filled for the first time did not diminish Reclamation's strong international reputation in water development circles. However, this first and only failure of

1188-434: The water, there are two developed and two primitive boat-in campsites along the north shore, and two primitive sites on the south shore. The two-mile (round trip) Pine Creek Trail follows an abandoned narrow-gauge railroad bed. Boat-in camping requires a Backcountry Permit, available at the Pine Creek Trailhead. Pioneer Point Overlook offers a scenic viewing area and is the trailhead for the strenuous Curecanti Creek trail,

1224-406: The western United States for irrigation , water supply , and attendant hydroelectric power generation . It is currently the U.S.'s largest wholesaler of water, bringing water to more than 31 million people, and providing one in five Western farmers with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland, which produce 60% of the nation's vegetables and 25% of its fruits and nuts. The Bureau is also

1260-648: Was about $ 11 billion. Reclamation projects provide agricultural, household, and industrial water to about one‑third of the population of the American West. About 5% of the land area of the West is irrigated, and Reclamation provides water to about one-fifth of that area, some 9,120,000 acres (37,000 km ) in 1992. Reclamation is a major American generator of electricity . As of 2007 , Reclamation had 58 power plants on‑line and generated 125,000 GJ of electricity. From 1988 to 1994, Reclamation underwent major reorganization as construction on projects authorized in

1296-733: Was the initial source of the program's funding. Because Texas had no federal lands, it did not become a Reclamation state until 1906, when Congress passed a law including it in the provisions of the Reclamation Act. From 1902 to 1907, Reclamation began about 30 projects in Western states. Then, in 1907, the Secretary of the Interior separated the Reclamation Service from the USGS and created an independent bureau within

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