The Provo River Restoration Project (PRRP) is restoring the
diversity and productivity of fish and wildlife habitat along the middle
Provo River in order to partially offset fish and wildlife losses caused
by the Central Utah Project
(CUP) and other federal reclamation projects in Utah. The project began
in 1999 and is anticipated to continue to 2007. In addition to fish and
riparian habitat restoration, this project includes acquisition of
angler access, modification of diversion dams to bypass instream flows,
recreation facilities planning and development, and Jordanelle wetlands
mitigation. These are described below:
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.
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