Lon Hagler lake violations
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DONALD LOCKE JR
Apr 5, 2021, 8:01:37 AM4/5/21
to jkef...@larimer.org, kste...@larimer.org, JShadduc...@larimer.org
Lon Hagler lake is my favorite lake to fish at, but the continued violations that goes on at this lake, is quite disturbing.
1. Over harvesting of fish is a serious concern. Almost every time I fish at this lake I see people over harvesting fish and are way over their daily bag limit.
2. Lon Hagler is a no wake lake, and I have witnessed power boats speeding across this lake multiple times over the last several years. This is of great concern because this lake has an earthen dam, and wake damage to the dam is a serious offense.
3. Dogs off leash is seriously out of control at this lake.
I witnessed at least a dozen dogs off leash yesterday, and to compound the problem, there were two Elk at the lake feeding on the shore line and playing in the water to cool off. Dogs off leash and Elk can turn in to a deadly situation for the dogs in a heart beat.
4. Vehicles driving along the shore line, is again seriously out of control!
Yesterday there were at least a dozen vehicles parked along the shore line where there were not supposed to be any vehicles at all.
Vehicles driving along and parking along the shore line, can do some pretty serious damage to the lake bottom and potentially ruining spawning beds for the fish at high water time. Not to mention hazardous fluids leaking from those vehicles can easily destroy the fishery.
5. There are no trash cans at this lake, and people are leaving trash all over the place because they are to lazy to take their trash home.
Yesterday I saw at least 4 bags of dog poop that was disposed of next to the restrooms.
6. Restrooms. While I understand that because of Covid the restrooms are not being cleaned like they should be on a regular basis, but to close the restrooms is not in ADA compliance! I am disabled and I was at the lake yesterday and when I walked up to the out house, it was locked up tight, leaving me no where to relieve myself.
I later learned as we were leaving that there was a porta potty at the other outhouse on the other side of the parking lot, but it was far to far of a walk for a disabled person, so we packed up and left that day.
One porta potty on the other side of the parking lot is far to far of a walk for disabled and elderly people and there should have been a porta potty at both restrooms, especially at the out house nearest the boat ramp that is clearly marked disabled on the building.
But even before Covid, the out houses at this lake were disgusting and most certainly not child or women friendly because they were rarely cleaned and the toilet lids continually had human waste on the lids.
7. Handicap parking signage is not well placed and is confusing, better signage that makes things more clear is a must.
As far as I am concerned, everyone involved in enforcing the laws and regulations of this fishery has failed in every way shape and form.
What is and has been going on at Lon Hagler for many years, is 100% unacceptable!
Something has to change Commissioners! Wild life officers are rarely seen by me at this lake, and when I do see them, they are just standing around BS'ing in the parking lot and not out checking to see who has a fishing license, who is over harvesting fish.
This is not anything new, this has been going on for years, long before we had Covid in our lives.
The clear lack of enforcement at this lake is unacceptable.
I love this lake, I love the fishery, but every time I visit this lake, I see many violations going on because there is a clear lack of enforcement.
This is one of the few lakes that has wide open shore lines, which is fantastic for disabled and elderly people whom want to fish from shore, but the restroom situation at this lake is horrible at best. Each one of you should visit the out houses at this lake and see for yourselves just how bad things really are.
Because there are no trash cans at this lake, people are leaving piles of trash inside and outside of the out houses, including bags and bags of dog poop.
Alcohol bottles / cans are very often found in large piles in and around the out houses where children can see and get in to, again because there are no trash cans at the lake.
Please I am begging of you to do something to clean this lake up, and get the laws and regulations back under control because everything I have mentioned is totally out of control and has been for years.
Donald Locke
1. Over harvesting of fish is a serious concern. Almost every time I fish at this lake I see people over harvesting fish and are way over their daily bag limit.
2. Lon Hagler is a no wake lake, and I have witnessed power boats speeding across this lake multiple times over the last several years. This is of great concern because this lake has an earthen dam, and wake damage to the dam is a serious offense.
3. Dogs off leash is seriously out of control at this lake.
I witnessed at least a dozen dogs off leash yesterday, and to compound the problem, there were two Elk at the lake feeding on the shore line and playing in the water to cool off. Dogs off leash and Elk can turn in to a deadly situation for the dogs in a heart beat.
4. Vehicles driving along the shore line, is again seriously out of control!
Yesterday there were at least a dozen vehicles parked along the shore line where there were not supposed to be any vehicles at all.
Vehicles driving along and parking along the shore line, can do some pretty serious damage to the lake bottom and potentially ruining spawning beds for the fish at high water time. Not to mention hazardous fluids leaking from those vehicles can easily destroy the fishery.
5. There are no trash cans at this lake, and people are leaving trash all over the place because they are to lazy to take their trash home.
Yesterday I saw at least 4 bags of dog poop that was disposed of next to the restrooms.
6. Restrooms. While I understand that because of Covid the restrooms are not being cleaned like they should be on a regular basis, but to close the restrooms is not in ADA compliance! I am disabled and I was at the lake yesterday and when I walked up to the out house, it was locked up tight, leaving me no where to relieve myself.
I later learned as we were leaving that there was a porta potty at the other outhouse on the other side of the parking lot, but it was far to far of a walk for a disabled person, so we packed up and left that day.
One porta potty on the other side of the parking lot is far to far of a walk for disabled and elderly people and there should have been a porta potty at both restrooms, especially at the out house nearest the boat ramp that is clearly marked disabled on the building.
But even before Covid, the out houses at this lake were disgusting and most certainly not child or women friendly because they were rarely cleaned and the toilet lids continually had human waste on the lids.
7. Handicap parking signage is not well placed and is confusing, better signage that makes things more clear is a must.
As far as I am concerned, everyone involved in enforcing the laws and regulations of this fishery has failed in every way shape and form.
What is and has been going on at Lon Hagler for many years, is 100% unacceptable!
Something has to change Commissioners! Wild life officers are rarely seen by me at this lake, and when I do see them, they are just standing around BS'ing in the parking lot and not out checking to see who has a fishing license, who is over harvesting fish.
This is not anything new, this has been going on for years, long before we had Covid in our lives.
The clear lack of enforcement at this lake is unacceptable.
I love this lake, I love the fishery, but every time I visit this lake, I see many violations going on because there is a clear lack of enforcement.
This is one of the few lakes that has wide open shore lines, which is fantastic for disabled and elderly people whom want to fish from shore, but the restroom situation at this lake is horrible at best. Each one of you should visit the out houses at this lake and see for yourselves just how bad things really are.
Because there are no trash cans at this lake, people are leaving piles of trash inside and outside of the out houses, including bags and bags of dog poop.
Alcohol bottles / cans are very often found in large piles in and around the out houses where children can see and get in to, again because there are no trash cans at the lake.
Please I am begging of you to do something to clean this lake up, and get the laws and regulations back under control because everything I have mentioned is totally out of control and has been for years.
Donald Locke
John Kefalas
Apr 5, 2021, 8:44:09 AM4/5/21
to DONALD LOCKE JR, jkef...@larimer.org, kste...@larimer.org, JShadduc...@larimer.org
Good morning Mr. Locke,
It is most unfortunate that you had such a negative experience at the Lon Hagler Lake yesterday, and thank you for sharing your observations and concerns with us. The Lon Hagler Reservoir is a State Wildlife Area managed by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Division, and I've provided the website for your review https://cpw.state.co.us/swa/Lon%20Hagler%20SWA and contact information, but I presume you already know this. Larimer County does not have direct oversight regarding the management, operations and maintenance of this natural resource, although I will bring this matter to the attention of our County Director of Natural Resources and ask that he reach out to our local CPW partners and share your observations and let us know what he finds out from this interaction. Here is the Fort Collins CPW number to call and express your concerns directly to them, 970-472-4300, and my hope is that this response is helpful and adequate for now. Be well and take good care.
 | John Kefalas County Commissioner, District 1 |
Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St | 2nd Floor PO Box 1190, Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190 Cell: (720) 254-7598 |
Jody Shadduck-McNally
Apr 5, 2021, 11:32:09 AM4/5/21
to DONALD LOCKE JR, jkef...@larimer.org, kste...@larimer.org, JShadduc...@larimer.org
Thank you Mr. Locke for emailing me and contacting me with your concerns. I live close to Lon Hagler and visit it a few times a year. I see that Commissioner Kefalas has already responded to your email and I agree with his statement. I have recently contacted the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Office in Fort Collins myself. Just for your information, sometimes you will need to leave a message for them to contact you back. They are responsive to those messages. I am sorry to hear about your experiences at Lon Hagler.
Best regards,
Jody Shadduck-McNally Larimer County Commissioner, District 3 | |
Commissioner's Office 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80521 | 2nd Floor W: (970) 498-7003| M: (970) 939-0558 |
On Mon, Apr 5, 2021 at 6:01 AM DONALD LOCKE JR <locke...@comcast.net> wrote:
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