Officials celebrate miraculous comeback of popular lake after years of challenges: 'We're finally starting to see the results'

The state of Nevada is celebrating that its beloved Cave Creek Reservoir, located in Cave Lake State Park, is now back at full capacity. This is wonderful news as the lake had been dry for nearly five years as crews worked to repair and upgrade the nearly ninety-year-old dam that makes the lake possible.

In addition to repairing the aging dam, the Nevada Division of State Parks expanded the spillway, increased storm capacity, and repaired the low-level buttress.

Perhaps even more impressive, crews are restocking the lake with 17,000 fish in an effort to recreate and encourage the healthy ecosystem that existed before the work was done. The workers also erected two hundred artificial habitats on the lake that will assist with reestablishing the fish population.

The goal is to get brown trout and rainbow trout numbers back up, as well as introduce smallmouth bass to the lake.

Cave Creek State Park is located about 255 miles north of Las Vegas and has long been a popular destination for hikers and water enthusiasts. So the news that the lake was reopening is being met with much excitement. The plan is to hold a public event touting the major accomplishment. "Rediscover Cave Lake" will be held on June 7.

Conservation efforts such as this are essential to preserving our delicate ecosystems. And this is only the latest good news on that front. A woman in Maine recently donated 326 acres around Rockabema Lake for preservation and so others could enjoy the natural beauty of the area. And technological advancements being made on everything from genetic libraries for endangered species to the creation of artificial leaves all aim to promote conservation.

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A news release about the project celebrated the success. "The reservoir is now spilling over into the newly constructed dam spillway as expected, and all systems are functioning correctly."

And the leaders behind the restoration of Cave Lake were understandably thrilled with the progress.

"This is a big step in turning Cave Lake back into a destination spot for visitors from all over the state, a lot of people and a lot of different agencies have worked hard on this project, and we're finally starting to see the results. It's all very exciting," said the Nevada Department of Wildlife director Alan Jenne.

Should the government be allowed to restrict how much water we use?

Definitely 💯