U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd is remaining mum on whether he will support a bill that would transfer Crystal Reservoir from the U.S. Forest Service to the city of Ouray.

Since Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper introduced the bill to transfer ownership of the reservoir on Sept. 10, Hurd’s teams in Colorado and Washington, D.C., have not returned the Plaindealer’s multiple calls and email inquiries asking whether the Grand Junction Republican will support the legislation.

Public officials and other supporters of the legislation in Ouray County have urged Hurd to co-sponsor the legislation, but it remains unclear if he will. The bill does not yet have a Republican co-sponsor, or any sponsor in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill to transfer ownership of the reservoir doesn’t appear to have outspoken opponents.

Since at least 2020, the U.S. Forest Service repeatedly expressed a desire to offload the resource, offering the city the opportunity to own the reservoir multiple times before draining it last spring, citing safety issues and liability concerns.

Now, the city wants to reclaim, refill and maintain the treasured recreation and water storage resource.

City leaders first asked Bennet for help transferring the reservoir to local ownership last fall.

Since visiting the site last October, Bennet and his team have led the effort to draft and introduce legislation that asks the Forest Service to transfer 45 acres of land, ownership of the reservoir, its dam, ditch and all infrastructure and associated water rights for free. In exchange, the city would repair, maintain and operate the reservoir and keep the area free and publicly accessible.

According to public records obtained by the Plaindealer, Hurd’s staff was formally looped into conversations about draft legislation to transfer the reservoir as early as June.

Ouray County commissioners also brought the issue to the congressman’s attention during a visit with county leaders in April.

“If Senator Bennet is on board with this, that carries a lot of weight with me,” Hurd said during his visit during a work session with county commissioners on April 23.

After that, commissioners also formally sent a letter asking Hickenlooper and Hurd to co-sponsor the legislation alongside Bennet, who pledged to help the city with the reservoir transfer.

Hickenlooper answered the call to action, but Hurd has so far met that call with silence.

During a Sept. 17 telephone town hall Hurd expressed support for sensible public land sales.

“I’m not opposed to all public land sales. I think if they’re smart, if they’re strategic, if they’re supported by the people that live in those communities and that are affected by them, they can make sense,” Hurd said.

He referred to the Convey Act — which transferred more than 30 acres of Bureau of Land Management land to Mesa County to support economic development — as a “perfect example” of a public land sale.

During the telephone town hall, Hurd also discussed co-sponsoring the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act, another piece of legislation aiming to preserve recreation and wildlife and prohibit resource extraction on more than 730,000 acres of public land.

“It’s a bipartisan piece of legislation … and introducing it is consistent with that commitment that I made to listening to the people that I represent, and having them help me make land decisions that affect our livelihoods and our communities and preserve the best parts of Colorado that makes us who we are,” Hurd said.

Hurd was not asked about the Crystal Reservoir transfer during the town hall.

Supporters of the Crystal Reservoir transfer launched a website with a petition earlier this month at savecrystallake. org, which currently has a little more than 300 signatures. The website specifically urges people to call Hurd and ask him to co-sponsor the legislation.

“It’s important to have the bill be reflective of the broad support it has in the community,” Commissioner Lynn Padgett told the Plaindealer.

“To have it be bipartisan, bicameral and to have it be all of our home team sponsoring the legislation is hugely important,” she said.