![big](images/big_springs.jpg) The Big Springs Tribal Fish Hatchery is a new hatchery
planned for the Ute Tribe. It is proposed to be built using the Big
Springs as a water supply. Big Springs is located in the Uinta River
basin, in Duchesne County, Utah.
A final Environmental
Assessment for constructing the Ute Tribe Fish Hatchery;
Big Springs Unit and Youth Camp Unit was completed
in May 2007. Based on the document, the decision was
made to construct the Ute Tribe Fish Hatchery on approximately
4 acres on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.
The action consists of: developing the water supply,
internal water delivery systems, hatchery building,
fish rearing units, staff housing and power supply.
Construction of the Hatchery will allow the Tribe
to meet its fishery long-term stocking needs and management
objectives for providing cold-water sport fishing
opportunities and to help conserve Colorado River
cutthroat trout in its historic range in Utah. Under
the Fish Hatchery
Production Plan, other fish species to be reared
here are rainbow, brown, brook and lake trout.
The hatchery proposal is for a production capacity
of 16,000 pounds of cold water fish annually. Final
estimated cost of reconstruction is roughly $3 million.
The Mitigation Commission is responsible for $2.2
million of the cost.
The Central Utah Project and other reclamation
projects created many reservoirs in Utah. These flatwater
areas provide for a variety of water-related recreation
opportunities including fishing. Most reservoir fisheries
are heavily used and not able to sustain themselves
through natural recruitment, requiring management
programs dependent on stocking hatchery-reared fish.
Fish stocking demands in Utah for reclamation projects
have been met in the past through both State and Federal
hatcheries. CUPCA identifies funding for planning
and implementing improvements to existing hatcheries
and/or the development of new fish hatcheries to increase
production of warm-water and cold-water fish for areas
affected by the Colorado River Storage Project in
Utah.
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