Activewear company Liquido ticketed, faces fines for Hanging Lake conduct
sruibal@postindependent.com
GLENWOOD CANYON — Liquido Active has been served three citations for “various infractions” related to the clothing company’s conduct at Hanging Lake, U.S. Forest Service District Ranger Aaron Mayville told the Post Independent on Wednesday. The citations carry a potential fine, the amount of which Mayville did not disclose.
The Brazil-based activewear company received intense social media backlash for posting a photo, which has since been deleted, on Instagram of a photographer wading in Hanging Lake to take photos of models posed on the log that stretches across the fragile lake.
Swimming in Hanging Lake and walking on the log are prohibited. The photo was posted on June 14. The company issued an apology on social media the next day.
Mayville said in addition to the citations, the Forest Service is working with Liquido Active on a “strategy for public awareness and stewardship” at Hanging Lake.
The public interest campaign was proposed by Liquido Active without prompting, Mayville said.
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“They have a lot of good ideas,” he said, adding the company has worked well with the Forest Service. “When you issue a citation, not everyone responds as well as they did.”
Mayville said the company, perhaps because of the online backlash, has recognized Hanging Lake as a “sensitive, beloved area of the state.”
Visitors are prohibited from getting in the water at Hanging Lake because it endangers the travertine formations that give the designated National Natural Landmark its turquoise color. Body oils, lotions, sunscreen and stepping on the travertine can cause damage.
The Forest Service has grappled with increasing crowds at the lake of more than 1,000 visitors a day in the summer, and is expected to soon propose a fee and shuttle system that would eliminate the parking crunch at the Interstate 70 rest area 9 miles east of Glenwood Springs and hopefully reduce the risk of damage to the 1.2-mile trail and lake.
Another photo that has garnered criticism was an advertisement for Hoffman West Real Estate in Edwards featuring a man fishing off the log in Hanging Lake. Hoffman West posted on Facebook on Monday a statement saying the photo was purchased in a package of photos for web development 10 years ago.
The company said no one in the company was involved in the photo, the photo has since been removed and is not being used in current advertisements.
“Like you, we are outraged by the recent vandalism and the misuse of a very ecological sensitive site,” the statement said.