The Wasatch Front and areas surrounding the Jordanelle and Strawberry reservoirs dominate the first draft plan of the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission.
Released Friday, the draft suggests an average $15 million annually for the next five years for Utah habitat and watershed restoration, acquisition of wetlands and conservation efforts.The project includes partnerships between private conservation groups and public agencies and is itemized according to watershed. The commission's meeting Friday began a 30-day public comment period for the draft, with a final plan set for release May 3.
The commission was born in 1992 through the Central Utah Project Completion Act after Congress realized it was necessary to offset the construction of such water projects with a balanced agenda of restoration.
In this, its first planning effort, the commission received proposals for projects totaling $225 million, even though the group is authorized to spend little over half that - $141 million - during its entire tenure. To whittle the list, projects were evaluated using a three-tiered ranking system that eventually resulted in the present draft plan.
The results include the following highlights:
- Statewide, the plan addresses fish hatcheries, inventory of sensitive species, stream and riparian restoration, small dams and efforts to restore the native cutthroat trout population.
- In the Provo River/Utah Lake watershed, the plan includes establishing the Utah Lake Wetland Preserve, a network of habitats located at the southern portion of Utah Lake. Among the other plan elements are efforts to stabilize lakes in the Upper Provo River and construction of a campground at Washington Lake.
- The terms of a 1995 agreement involving the U.S. Forest Service and the commission make up the priority list for the Diamond Fork watershed, including compensation for the loss of more than 100 acres of wetlands and critical big-game winter range.
- Within the Strawberry/Duchesne River watershed, nine priorities are identified, including development of a 782-acre parcel for "wildlife and wetland values," as well as stabilization of eroding banks on the lower Strawberry River.
As in many other watershed areas, the plan also addresses angler access, specifically in one case to the Strawberry River downstream of Soldier Creek Dam to near the confluence of Red Creek at the Pinnacles.
- Preservation of wetlands dominates the commission's plan for the Great Salt Lake watershed, including continued support for the National Audubon Society's South Shore Ecological Preserve and similar efforts in Davis County.
- Within the Jordan River watershed, the state's most urban tract, the commission's highest priority is acquisition of lands that can be restored in later years, according to the plan.
These are but a sampling of the plan's entire scope. Several such elements are proposed in each watershed area.
Anglers, environmental and conservation groups, water users and recreationalists have all awaited the commission's plan, many of them having suggested projects and watched their proposals pass or fail in the evaluation stages.
The Utah River Conservation Council is among the crowd. The recently formed council asked for $25,000 to study whitewater hazards. While its project wasn't funded, the council remains hopeful about the future impact of the entire draft plan.
"It looks good at this stage," said Zach Frankel, council director. "We're hopeful about it.
"We are disappointed that there's such a lack of whitewater recreation (study)," he said, describing highway debris and leftover construction material that is dumped in Utah's rivers and creates hazards for river enthusiasts.
"Those (areas) are dangerous and they're also bad for fish and wildlife habitat as well," he said. "Someone needs to clean up some of these river sections."
"I'm very pleased with (the plan's) emphasis on riparian and wetland conservation . . . by the way of mitigating things that have happened in the past," said Stewart C. Harvey, conservation for the Great Salt Lake Audubon.
Harvey, like others, said he hasn't had time to fully digest what the report says.
"I see that maybe they're doing a little more dreaming than will come to pass," he said. "But I am pleased with the general nature of the plan."
Copies of the draft plan are available at the commission office, 111 E. Broadway, Suite 310, Salt Lake City.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Utah watersheds
A. West Desert
B. Great Salt Lake/Provo River
C. Bear River
D. Great Salt Lake/Jordan River
E. Provo River/Utah Lake
F. Upper Green River
G. Duchesne/Strawberry
H. Green River
I. Sevier/Beaver River
J. Lower Colorado
K. Colorado