New Mexico state parks see spate of closures amid extreme weather

Aug. 24—If, in the waning days of summer, the water of the state parks beckons for a swimming or boating excursion, officials urge you to call ahead.

Some of those parks and lakes are closed — or could be, depending on fast-changing weather conditions.

"Check in with the parks; they can give you more real-time information," said Toby Velasquez, director of the State Parks Division.

As of Friday, just two of 35 state parks — 19 have lakes or some body of water — are fully closed, including Morphy Lake State Park and Pecos Canyon State Park. But as Labor Day weekend approaches and heavy rains continue to inundate New Mexico, the situation remains fluid, if not uncertain.

Velasquez said the parks at Morphy Lake and Pecos Canyon were closed due to issues related to the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, the largest fire in New Mexico history. But heavy storms this summer have prompted officials issuing warnings about potential closures — some due to rainfall and flooding, either within the park or on adjacent properties and roadways. Areas near Roswell saw more than six inches of rain during a seven-day period, leading to significant flooding.

The closures and partial closures come as more visitors seek recreation in these outdoor settings after two years of restrictions and other challenges brought on by the pandemic.

Attendance at the state parks in the 2022 fiscal year was 5.24 million, according to statistics provided by the department. That's up from fiscal year 2019's 4.56 million attendance figure before the pandemic.

"It's been people realizing as a result of the pandemic how important the outdoors were to them," Velasquez said of the rise in attendance.

At one point this year, nine of the state parks were closed, most in relation to the fires that raged nearby, Velasquez said.

For communities located near the closed parks, the impact is deep. Pecos Mayor Ted Benavidez said Monday his village misses the tourists and the business they bring when they visit the Pecos Canyon State Park.

"The park being closed really hurt the village in terms of revenue," he said.

"People are missing out on hiking, missing out on fishing. It's just sad people can't go into the mountains right now," he said.

Benavidez said if the state says the park should be closed, the village needs to respect that decision. Pecos Canyon is rife with mud, and the river running through the park, is "black," he said.

"I don't think there's anything alive in there," Benavidez said. "Everything that burned in the houses [around here] went into that river."

One closure is not related to fire. El Vado Lake is shut down to boating for a $31 million renovation to fix deteriorating sections of the 87-year-old dam. The first phase began this year and is expected to be finished by the end of 2023.

The repairs, which include installing a synthetic lining over the dam's entire faceplate to prevent leaking, require the reservoir to be nearly empty to protect the workers and the facility.

In other instances, construction projects can lead to the closure of certain areas in a park. Five lake campsites at Bottomless Lakes State Park near Roswell are temporarily shuttered because of construction projects, according to the State Parks Division website.

Low water levels at Elephant Butte Lake also have led to the closure of two of three boat ramps there, according to the Elephant Butte State Park website.

Ken Tighe a past commodore of the Rio Grande Yacht Club at Elephant Butte, said the closures mean it "takes almost two hours to launch your boat because of the line [of people and boats waiting to get into the water]."

He said the water, which can reach depths of 60 to 80 feet, is somewhere around the 10-foot mark by the docks, "which is plenty of water for most boats."

Other state park lakes also have some ramp closures, with limited access to comfort stations or drinking water.

On a bright note, Abiquiú and Cochiti lakes, which have closed in the past because of late-summer algae blooms, are both experiencing healthy water volumes that have diluted the algae threat.

"Last year and the year before, the [algae] blooms were bad this time of year" compared to now, said John Mueller, Abiquiú Dam's operations manager.

Blue-green algae forms in warm, slow-moving water, such as a lake. The water is usually tainted with nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen carried by runoff from agriculture, lawns and septic tanks.

At Abiquiú, a tiny bit of algae was spotted floating near the surface, though not enough to pose potential harm to swimmers, Mueller said.

Abiquiú's water level is the highest it's been in years, thanks to a solid monsoon, Mueller said. The elevation, measured last week, was about 6,196 feet above sea level, 13 feet higher than last year at this time and 22 feet higher than two years ago, he said.

Velasquez said as long as fire and flooding affect the state, they can affect the operations at state parks just in terms of nearby roadway access.

"It may not even be at a park but rather a challenge a byway or highway to the park," he said.

He urged park visitors to pay attention to daily weather reports as the monsoon, expected to last into September, continues to bring heavy rainfall.

"We have roadways that have been temporarily closed because there is active flooding. ... It can change hour to hour and day to day," he said of weather conditions and subsequent closure notices.