Herbicides toxic to people and fish contaminate Home Lake State Wildlife Area along Rio Grande River east of Monte Vista, forcing closure

Toxic herbicide contamination of water has forced a second extension of the closure of a popular state wildlife area for fishing east of Monte Vista in Colorado’s San Luis Valley.

The Home Lake State Wildlife Area will be closed for fishing at least through the end of June, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials announced this week.

Located near the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge and other protected public property along the Rio Grande River, this popular fishing reservoir has been closed since June 2. The initial closure was extended on June 16.

Herbicides used for agriculture in the valley got into Home Lake reservoir water and are toxic, CPW officials said in a news release, adding that they’ve caught people violating the closure to fish and removing signs.

“We are not doing this to be mean. We are doing this for the benefit of public health and safety,” District Wildlife Manager Tyler Cerny stated in the release.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture and CPW are investigating the source of the herbicides, officials said.

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment officials ordered the closure based on initial water testing results. Two herbicides used for agriculture apparently spread to vegetation south of the reservoir and then contaminated the water.

CPW crews have been tasked with sampling the water and determining impacts on aquatic life, including ducks, swans, and migratory birds.

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