Angler Access
Acquiring angler access and establishing public access areas along the middle Provo River corridor is an existing  requirement for the Municipal and Industrial System of CUP's Bonneville Unit. The Commission is completing this requirement through the Provo River Restoration Project, which will provide a protected 800 to 2,200-foot-wide corridor along the entire middle Provo River for angler access and wildlife habitat. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and The Nature Conservancy are cooperators in the acquisition effort.

The Central Utah Project Completion Act (CUPCA) also directs the Commission to develop and implement plans for construction of recreational facilities along the middle Provo River corridor in partnership with local, state and federal governments and public and private entities. The Municipal and Industrial System environmental impact statement commits to providing sanitary facilities, fenced parking areas and public access corridors. A Provo River Corridor Management Plan is being prepared.

Fish and Riparian Habitat Restoration Project
Restoration of fish habitat and replacement of riparian habitat is required as partial mitigation for CUP’s Bonneville Unit. Fish habitat in the middle Provo River was severely degraded as the result of earlier actions taken to develop Provo River waters for agricultural, municipal, industrial and other purposes. CUPCA requires the Commission to restore fish habitat along this reach of the Provo River. A final environmental impact statement was issued in December 1997, with a Record of Decision issued in February, 1998 selecting the Proposed Action (Riverine Habitat Restoration Alternative).

The project involves removing or setting back most existing flood-control dikes, restoring meanders and reestablishing a floodplain along the middle Provo River. Flood easements and lands already acquired by the BOR are being used, in addition to other lands acquired from private landowners. Dike alteration is coordinated with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, BOR, Provo River Water Users Association, Wasatch County and others. Water supply deliveries to downstream users will not be adversely affected. The Commission is funding a number of studies and monitoring efforts to help guide the PRRP.

The 1987 Final Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Municipal and Industrial System committed the BOR to assure instream flows released from Jordanelle Dam could be bypassed all the way to Deer Creek Reservoir. Some diversion dams in this reach are incapable of accurately measuring or bypassing instream flows. No funding or responsible party was identified for this item. Recognizing this need, the Commission approved allocating CUPCA funds to rehabilitate diversion dams in concert with implementing PRRP. The Commission is working with the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, State of Utah, affected irrigation companies and other interested parties to resolve this problem.

The Commission is also cooperating with the BOR to complete wetland mitigation requirements for the Municipal and Industrial System. Jordanelle wetlands mitigation, in some instances, overlaps the Provo River Restoration Project because of PRRP’s impacts on some of the BOR's constructed wetland mitigation ponds. The Commission and BOR are developing alternate plans for completing required wetland mitigation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

PRRP - Education and Interpretation
Visitor facilities and interpretive materials consistent with the Wetlands Ecosystem Education Plan will be provided primarily through established angler access points along the middle Provo River corridor.