Highline Lake State Park

Background | Criteria | Northwest Colorado | Northeast Colorado
Southwest Colorado | Southeast Colorado

Highline Lake State Park
Mesa County

Size: 854 acres

Elevation: 4697 feet

Habitats: Primary – semidesert shrubland, open water

Secondary – lowland riparian, wetlands, shore/bank, sagebrush shrubland

Ownership: Federal (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation)

State (CO State Parks)

Land Use: Primary – hunting/fishing, recreation/tourism

Secondary – nature and wildlife conservation, water supply

IBA Criteria: 1, 2, 4 (waterfowl, landbirds)

Site description

Location: Highline Lake State Park, located northwest of Loma, is a complex of two lakes (Highline and Mack Mesa) and ponds supplied by Highline Canal with water diverted from the Colorado River.

Vegetative/natural features: Park uplands are dominated by saltbrush shrublands and saline bottomland shrublands. Diverse wetland, riparian, and aquatic plant communities have become established around the reservoir and below both dams.

Ornithological Importance

Observers have recorded more than 200 species of birds at the park, including waterfowl, shorebirds, neotropical songbirds, and raptors. Seven species of ducks and six species of shorebirds are common. As a "migrant trap," the park also holds many winter residents.

Breeding species:	Average #	Maximum #
Burrowing Owl	9	24

Migrant species:	Average #	Maximum #
Osprey	4 (spring)	8 (spring)
Greater Sandhill Crane	500 (spring)	5,000 (spring)
American White Pelican	12 (spring)	24 (spring)
White-faced Ibis	500 (spring)	500 (spring)
Black Tern	10 (spring)	15 (spring)
charadriiformes	1,000 (fall)	10,000 (fall)
other waterbirds	1,000 (spring)	3,000 (spring)

Wintering species:	Average #	Maximum #
Bald Eagle	10	20
waterfowl	15,000	25,000

Conservation/Management Issues

Serious threats:
1. disturbance to birds by recreational use of the park;
2. hydrologic changes (April to October more water comes into Highline Lake than the headgate pipe can vent, thus the water level always remains at the spill level except during droughts).

Minor threats:
1. development of park facilities.

Potential threats:
1. cowbird parasitism, facilitated by nearby dairy and range livestock industries;
2. pollution from human activity upstream.

Efforts to address threats:
Park regulations restrict waterfowl hunting to weekdays north of the buoy line on Highline Lake. No boats are allowed from October 1 through March 1, and electric trolling motors are the power boating limit on Mack Mesa Reservoir.

Management details:
The portion of the site that is federally-owned is managed by Colorado State Parks through an agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The site is a Colorado Watchable Wildlife site.