It took two years, but the damage to fish in three Northern Utah streams by chemical spills is starting to be corrected.
The Division of Wildlife Resources began re-stocking portions of the Ogden and Logan rivers and East Canyon Creek this week with adult brown trout, said Bruce Andersen, DWR information officer.Andersen said 8,000 brown trout were stocked in the Ogden River, 2,000 were placed near Pineview Dam and 6,000 more were scattered in several locations below Harrison Boulevard.
Another 1,000 browns were planted above East Canyon Reservoir in East Canyon Creek, and 1,500 went into the Logan River near 600 West.
Andersen said part of the money for the fish plants came from Ogden City and a Summit County sewage treatment plant.
Andersen said Ogden City paid $6,000 to stock 2,000 catchable-size brown trout this year and in 1990. The money also pays for five annual plants of 10,000 smaller brown trout, called fingerlings.
The Snyderville Basin Sewer Improvement District paid $8,682 to plant 5,000 catchable browns for two years, as well as five plants of 10,000 smaller fingerlings. The DWR has stocked the fingerlings in the Ogden River and East Canyon Creek for three years.
The unprecedented series of spills began in January 1987, when chlorine was inadvertently released into East Canyon Creek from the Snyderville sewage treatment plant in Summit County. On May 1, 1987, a spill killed thousands of trout in the Ogden River between the Monroe Boulevard bridge and the Weber River. And several hundred brown trout and white fish died June 30, 1987, on the lower Logan River.
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UTAH GETS MORE GOATS - Nine Rocky Mountain goats were released last week in Whiterocks Canyon, an area northwest of Vernal on the rocky south slopes of the Uinta Mountains.
The goats were gifts from the Washington Department of Wildlife.
According to Charlie Greenwood, regional game biologist for the DWR, the goats were captured from a herd on Olympic National Park and drive to Utah in horse trailers.
"The release is part of an ongoing play to re-establish Rocky Mountain goats in Utah," he said. The first release was in 1967 in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
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SANDHILL APPLICATIONS BEING TAKEN - Applications for the 1989 sandhill crane hunt are now available at DWR offices around the state. They will be accepted through July 28. A drawing for the 100 permits will be Aug. 11.
The sandhill crane hunt will be In Cache and Rich counties, Sept 2-4 and 9-11.
The public drawing for special hunts for deer, elk and antelope will be held Aug. 4 at the main offices of the DWR in Salt Lake City, 1596 W. North Temple, starting at 9 a.m. Permits remaining after the drawing will be sold by mail only from Aug. 14-20. Swan permit applications will be available in late August at DWR offices. This year 2,500 permits will be issued.
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LAKE POWELL SWIM SET - The 6th annual Hall's to Bullfrog 5K Swim will be held Aug. 1 at Lake Powell. Registration will be July 31 at Bullfrog Marina.
Last year 42 swimmers made their way from the Bullfrog Marina to Hall's Crossing.