Provo River Delta Restoration Project
Location
Eccles Conference Center
Event Website
http://water.usu.edu
Start Date
4-1-2014 5:00 PM
End Date
4-1-2014 5:20 PM
Description
The Provo River Delta Restoration Project is needed to facilitate recovery of June sucker (Chasmistes liorus) in Utah Lake by restoring habitat conditions at the Provo River/Utah Lake interface essential for spawning, hatching, larval transport, rearing, and recruitment. June sucker is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, occurs naturally only in Utah Lake, and spawns primarily in Provo River. Currently, June sucker recruitment is severely limited in-part because of degraded rearing habitat at the mouth of the river. A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Provo River Delta Restoration Project was released to the public in February 2014 for review, and comments are being accepted through May 7, 2014. Three action alternatives are being considered, any of which would remove man-made levees, re-connect the river and lake with adjacent wetlands, restore natural fluvial processes and ecological conditions to this river/lake interface, and reestablish essential rearing habitat for June sucker. The restored rearing habitat would support juvenile June sucker until they are capable of surviving in the larger open water environment of Utah Lake. Under any of the three action alternatives, the lower 1.5 miles of Provo River channel would be split so that the main flow would be directed into a restored river delta area, promoting the development of a diverse, vegetated aquatic environment capable of supporting young-of-year and juvenile June sucker and other aquatic life. This natural area would also provide a variety of public recreation opportunities. The project addresses specific downlisting and delisting criteria for the species and is a major component of the broader efforts of the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program. The proposed action and Draft EIS are a joint effort of the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, the U.S. Department of Interior's Central Utah Project Completion Act Office, and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.
Provo River Delta Restoration Project
Eccles Conference Center
The Provo River Delta Restoration Project is needed to facilitate recovery of June sucker (Chasmistes liorus) in Utah Lake by restoring habitat conditions at the Provo River/Utah Lake interface essential for spawning, hatching, larval transport, rearing, and recruitment. June sucker is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, occurs naturally only in Utah Lake, and spawns primarily in Provo River. Currently, June sucker recruitment is severely limited in-part because of degraded rearing habitat at the mouth of the river. A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Provo River Delta Restoration Project was released to the public in February 2014 for review, and comments are being accepted through May 7, 2014. Three action alternatives are being considered, any of which would remove man-made levees, re-connect the river and lake with adjacent wetlands, restore natural fluvial processes and ecological conditions to this river/lake interface, and reestablish essential rearing habitat for June sucker. The restored rearing habitat would support juvenile June sucker until they are capable of surviving in the larger open water environment of Utah Lake. Under any of the three action alternatives, the lower 1.5 miles of Provo River channel would be split so that the main flow would be directed into a restored river delta area, promoting the development of a diverse, vegetated aquatic environment capable of supporting young-of-year and juvenile June sucker and other aquatic life. This natural area would also provide a variety of public recreation opportunities. The project addresses specific downlisting and delisting criteria for the species and is a major component of the broader efforts of the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program. The proposed action and Draft EIS are a joint effort of the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, the U.S. Department of Interior's Central Utah Project Completion Act Office, and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/runoff/2014/2014Abstracts/5