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BONNY LAKE STATE PARK, COLO. -- A small Colorado town is bracing itself for the loss of a state park and popular reservoir.

Bonny Lake State Park near Burlington, Colo. is being turned into a state wildlife area.

It is the result of a water agreement with other nearby states known as the Republican River Compact.

All the water from the reservoir must be drained and released to Kansas and Nebraska.

But the lake is not the only thing drying up in the town.

Built in 1951, the reservoir will soon be just a memory for those who have been enjoying it for half a century.

"We have been coming out to Bonny Dam for eight years," Park Ranger Dick Stitzel said. "It was really busy, you could hardly find a parking spot out here."

Others saw the same traffic.

"Many people from Colorado Springs came out here every weekend and picnicked, camped, caught fish and just had a blast," Burlington native Ken Bishop said. "Catching fish, water skiing, I invented water skiing I guess."

The water level is dropping about two inches per day, and as the water sinks, so do the hearts of nearby residents.

"We have probably only got about a third of the lake that we used to," Stitzel said.

Many are sad to see it go.

"It is a sad waste of money, of everything, and it is just lost," Bishop said.

Stitzel and other park rangers are working to close campsites, and wildlife officials said they are trying to save what fish they can.

"It leaves a little hole in the heart," Stitzel said.

A salvage order has been signed for the reservoir, which means fisherman can catch as many fish as they would like over the next few weeks.

But, with winter weather just around the corner and the water level receding, both fisherman and the fish are running out of time.

Meanwhile, several local businesses are also in danger of drying up.

"Soon to be ex-Papa's Bait and Tackle, because it will not take long until we will be out of business," owner Kenneth Condry said.

Condry has owned Papa's Bait and Tackle for 11 years and has watched children over the years grow up at the lake.

"I really feel that the kids are getting the raw end of the deal," Condry said.

Many said politics are to blame for the loss of the reservoir, and that no one is going to benefit in the long run.

"I just almost get irate because there is no logic, no sense," Bishop said.

"To take away the lake just to prove they could do something is ridiculous," Condry said.

A result that locals said leaves everyone coming up empty handed.

"It is a big loss, a big loss," Condry said.

At its peak Bonny Lake State Park saw more than 250,000 visitors a year.

A final decision on what will happen with the empty reservoir is still up in the air.

Do you have memories from time spent at Bonny Lake State Park? If so FOX21 would love to hear from you.

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