Mission 10 · White River National Forest · CO · 2026
Sweetwater Lake
The U.S. Forest Service has a decision open here and is taking comments on it. White River National Forest, Colorado.
The agency files it as “Sweetwater Lake Recreation Management and Development Project (SLDP)”
Record openthe agency stopped taking comments September 23 · what you find still counts
Places to check
1
People it would take
6
Said they’ll go
0
Photographs filed
0
Opened
September 4
Window closed
September 23
Evidence
Nothing filed yet.
No photograph has been filed on this mission yet. The first one lands here with its fingerprint, where its location came from, and how far inside the agency’s own boundary it was taken. The places to check are below.
The objective
What we are testing.
White River National ForestRecreation use
“vehicle traffic is relatively light under existing conditions, and the parking area's capacity is limited to approximately five vehicles”
The agency wrote that in its own document, under 4.1.2 KOP 2 – Site Entrance to Sweetwater Lake. Nobody has been out to check it.
Go to the Sweetwater Lake entrance off County Road 150 and photograph the parking area at the old lodge. Show how many vehicles fit and how many are actually parked or driving in. A wide photo of the whole parking area with vehicles visible, showing whether only about five can fit and whether traffic is light.
Everything else the document says about the ground.
9 more sentences, in the agency’s own words, with where each one sits in the document. Any of them is fair game for a photograph.
“No permanent structures are visible from this KOP (only temporary tents), and the landscape appears largely undeveloped”
Under 4.1.1 KOP 1 – Sweetwater Lodge to Sweetwater LakeWhere: KOP 1, near the northeast shore of Sweetwater Lake along Sweetwater Road/County Road 150, looking south
“There is evidence of equestrian outfitter operations at the edge of the pastures, including a corral and fencing; patches of dirt are exposed”
Under 4.1.3 KOP 3 – Nature Overlook to Sweetwater LakeWhere: KOP 3, at the existing Nature Trail Overlook, looking north across Sweetwater Lake
“a two-story house on private property sits prominently atop a hill near the eastern shore of Sweetwater Lake”
Under 5.2.1 KOP 4 – North Overlook (Down-Valley View)Where: KOP 4, at the proposed North Overlook on the north shore of Sweetwater Lake, looking southeast
“no buildings or evidence of equestrian outfitter operations are present. Instead, the Sweetwater Lake shoreline directly transitions into open meadows”
Under 4.1.5 KOP 5 – North Overlook (Up-Valley View)Where: KOP 5, at the proposed North Overlook on the north shore of Sweetwater Lake, looking northwest
“an approximately 120-acre area containing an extensive wetland complex from Sweetwater Creek to the lake inlet and cliff bands along the southwestern shore”
Under 1.6.1 Summary of Proposed Activities by ZoneWhere: Environmentally Sensitive Area Zone, southwestern shore of Sweetwater Lake from the inlet toward Sweetwater Creek
“The elevation of Sweetwater Lake is approximately 7,700 feet and the surrounding slopes rise to around 9,000 feet”
Under 4.1 Scenic Characteristics of the Proposed SUPWhere: Sweetwater Lake and surrounding valley slopes
“KOP 4 additionally looks towards the existing Sweetwater Campground and its access road (NFSR 607.1); however, these features are minimally visible”
Under 5.2.1 KOP 4 – North Overlook (Down-Valley View)Where: KOP 4, proposed North Overlook on the north shore of Sweetwater Lake, looking southeast
“The nearest city, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, is over 40 miles to the southwest”
Under 4.3.1 Existing Nighttime EnvironmentWhere: throughout the Project Area at night
“this land is assigned a Viewer Sensitivity Level of High and a Visual Distance Zone of Foreground-Middleground (0-5 miles)”
Under 2.2.1 Visual Resource Management ProgramWhere: BLM land directly adjacent to the Project Area boundary
The decision
Who is deciding, and when.
Deciding
U.S. Forest Service
Kind of decision
Comment period
The agency’s title
Sweetwater Lake Recreation Management and Development Project (SLDP)
The window shut September 23. Evidence still counts: it backs the objections from people who did comment, goes to the lawyers, and outlives the decision.