U.S. Forest Service
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests
30 S Chiricahua Drive
Springerville, AZ 85938
Web: www.fs.usda.gov/asnf
Twitter: @A_SNFs
www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnf
News Release
Media Contact: Marta Call
928-333-6280
martaicall@fs.fed.us
Temporary Closure of Black Canyon Lake Day Use Facilities
Heber-Overgaard, AZ, September 4, 2015; The Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, Black Mesa Ranger District announces today that access to Black Canyon Lake, and the day use facilities at Black Canyon Lake will be closed beginning September 8, 2015 for public safety while crews are on site rehabilitating the facilities. The access road into Black Canyon Lake will be closed at its junction with Forest Road 86 throughout the construction period, which is anticipated to conclude by March 1, 2016. Visitors in the area also should anticipate heavy truck traffic on Forest Road 86 in the vicinity of the lake.
This project, implemented in coordination with the Arizona Game and Fish Department through its Arizona Boating Access Program (ABAP), includes rehabilitation of the parking lot, improvements to day use facilities for boaters, and installation of a new boat ramp that will allow visitors to launch when lake levels are low.
ABAP has been actively funding and improving boating facilities statewide since 1985, including many cooperative projects on the National Forests. ABAP is an outstanding example of a “user pays—user benefits” program. In this case, anglers and boaters are responsible for payment of fishing tackle excise taxes, motorboat fuel taxes, and import duties on tackle and boats. These monies are collected by the sport fishing industry, deposited in the Department of Treasury, and are allocated the year following collection to state game and fish agencies for sport fisheries and boating access projects. The benefits provided by these projects to recreational boaters complete the cycle between “user pays—user benefits.”
Please call Black Mesa Ranger District at 928-535-7300 for up-to-date information on this closure and access to the lake.
For more information about the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests go to www.fs.usda.gov/asnf. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/apachesitgreavesnfs and Twitter at @A_SNFs
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