Park Rangers say it was a successful holiday weekend on Lake Pueblo
Park rangers patrolling Lake Pueblo said Monday overall it was a safe and successful holiday weekend for boaters.
Park Ranger Joe Stadterman was one of four rangers on the lake Monday afternoon. He said a majority of the emergency calls he responds to on the lake deal with people suffering from heat stroke or heat exhaustion. On Monday he pulled over boaters if their registration wasn’t visible or if it was expired.
“We are looking for any safety violations, that’s kind of our No. 1 priority,” said Stadterman.
He is also looking for boat drivers who have had too much to drink. It is difficult to watch for on the water.
“There are no lines on the water like there are on the roads so we are left to find other clues that are more difficult to spot,” said Stadterman.
If they do find a driver who they believe has had too much to drink, park rangers run a sobriety test that differs from the one conducted on land.
“We don’t have paved roads with lines on them like other police officers do. We still have field sobriety tests but ours aren’t as dependent on balance and we use other methods to see if people are impaired,” said Stadterman.
Park rangers arrest and jail boat drivers who are over the legal alcohol limit. A BUI, or boating under the influence, has many of the same consequences as driving under the influence. However, boat drivers convicted of BUI do not lose their driver’s licenses.
Swimming and cliff jumping are also banned on Lake Pueblo. Stadterman said on hot days, park rangers weigh the penalties of swimming versus medical repercussions from heat-stroke before deciding whether to issue a swimmer a ticket. However, they are much harsher with issuing citations for cliff jumpers.
Water levels in Lake Pueblo fluctuate, making cliff jumping dangerous.
“Just because you jumped off a cliff yesterday and it was deep enough, the water level could have gone down exposing dangers to you that weren’t there before,” said Stadterman.
Lake Pueblo is open year-round. However, Stadterman said park rangers will not have another busy weekend until Memorial Day next year.
