This southeast Colorado reservoir completely dried out, taking away one of the region’s best recreation spots

BACA COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — All that’s left of the Two Buttes Reservoir is a scattering of lifeless buoys, a rusty lawn chair, empty beer cans, and a number of fishing lures that have fallen into the water over the years.

But now, the water is gone. The reservoir completely dried up. And with that, signs of recreation that no longer exist stick out of the dry bed. An empty crater of dirt. At least for the time being.

“So where we're standing right now is just–oh, maybe–I don't know, 50 feet from the end of the boat ramp,” said Jim Ramsay, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) aquatic biologist for the region. “And we're in the dry lake bed. Normally we would be in about probably 25 feet of water right here if the lake was full.”

Two Buttes Reservoir, and its accompanying state wildlife habitat area, sits in the extreme southeast corner of Colorado between Lamar and Springfield. It’s aptly named after a nearby geographic feature.

The 700-acre body of water is typically a recreational oasis in the plains, with ample fishing opportunities and boating. The prairie reservoir served as a refuge for the region.

“Down here in southeast Colorado, there aren't very many places to go fishing, boating, and recreating. So when this lake fills up, it's a big deal for the local communities,” Ramsay said.

Two Buttes doesn’t serve as a local water supply, but its impact is felt far and wide, Ramsay added.

“It's a great perk for the local economy, and it really boosts the area to have visitation from the Front Range and from Oklahoma and Kansas. People come from a long way to recreate here at Two Buttes Reservoir,” he said.

In his 20 years as an aquatic biologist for the area, Ramsay said he’s seen the reservoir dry out three times by his recollection. It’s not necessarily uncommon, but the extended drought in the region was exacerbated by Colorado’s record warm winter and record low snowpack.

Two Buttes is fed by an intermittent stream that flows in after large storm events. Ramsay said the drainage is narrow, so the storms have to hit the drainage perfectly and put down enough precipitation to flow down.

In 2013, Ramsay said the reservoir was bone dry and filled up to 30 feet within a week thanks to some big storms and flooding. That water lasted about eight years before the next dry up.

The most recent big storm to fill Two Buttes came three or four years ago, he said.

“If we could get a fresh storm every year that would just run water in here, we could keep this lake going,” said Ramsay. “But unfortunately, we're at the mercy of Mother Nature when it comes to that.”

In late October, CPW issued an emergency fish salvage for Two Buttes due to the declining water levels and the unlikelihood of significant rainfall.

A salvage order comes when the lake is in imminent danger of going dry or becoming too low to support a fishery. That means the game fish in the reservoir are in peril of dying with no water. The salvage order allows anglers to take the fish with relaxed restrictions and regulations on fishing.

That salvage order ended last week, no longer needed since there’s no longer any water.

If and when Two Buttes fills again, Ramsay said it can quickly become one of the best warmwater fisheries in Colorado. It has produced strong populations of largemouth bass, wipers, saugeye, channel catfish, bluegill, and crappie.

Strangely enough (a sign of the unique geography of the area), just a stone’s throw away from Two Buttes—on the other side of the earthen dam of its eastern edge—the Black Hole Pond still holds good water levels and is providing fishing opportunities.

A fisherman was driving through from Oklahoma to Aurora and stopped by to try his luck in Black Hole Pond. But while casting his lure, he questioned what happened to Two Buttes. The area had been recommended to him to break during his road trip.

Meantime, though Two Buttes could quickly fill up with some good storms in the near future, CPW isn’t wasting the land during the period of uncertainty.

Recently, CPW had a plane fly over the dry lake bed to drop seeds.

“In absence of water, we can grow some grasses and forbs and some vegetation that benefits the terrestrial wildlife that inhabit the area,” Ramsay said. “The deer, the pheasants, the quail all can use the plants that grow up in the dry lake bed.”

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