After an eight-month break, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation again is pumping water from the Animas River to fill Lake Nighthorse. The reservoir is part of the Animas-La Plata Project to provide American Indian tribes and other entities with water. Pumping began in May 2009 but stopped in July when the flow in the Animas River dropped to the minimum required to protect downstream fish habitat and satisfy landowner water rights. Lake Nighthorse is currently about 20 percent filled. It can hold 120,000 acre feet. The Bureau of Reclamation is in charge of the project until the reservoir is full, estimated to be in 2011 - depending on water available. At that time, the project will be turned over to a management team hired by the A-LP sponsors - three American Indian tribes, the state of Colorado and water districts in Colorado and New Mexico.

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