The Mitigation Commission is directly involved, with numerous federal, state and local entities, in measures to recover the June sucker (Chasmistes liorus), a fish endemic to Utah that naturally occurs only in Utah Lake and spawns only in the lower Provo River. Human settlement, development and use of water for irrigation, municipal and industrial purposes resulted in hydrological and habitat changes in Utah Lake and its tributaries. These, in addition to the more than twenty non-native species introduced into Utah Lake, contributed to the decline of June sucker. Small populations of June sucker have been established in a few other locations, such as Red Butte Reservoir above Salt Lake City, as temporary refuge to guard against a catastrophic loss in Utah Lake.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the June sucker as endangered with critical habitat in 1986. The species had a documented wild population of fewer than 1,000 individuals at the time of listing. In 1987, the wild spawning population was estimated to be between 311 and 515 individuals.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a June Sucker Recovery Plan in 1999. The Mitigation Commission and several other agencies and groups committed to work cooperatively to develop a Recovery Implementation Program for June sucker. A final environmental assessment on agency participation in the June sucker recovery implementation program has been published. The Mitigation Commission's participation in the program was formalized on April 17, 2002. The program establishes a multi-agency cooperative effort to implement the June Sucker Recovery Plan by funding, coordinating and facilitating June sucker recovery, while balancing and accommodating water resource needs. [Click here to link to the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program web site.]

The June Sucker Recovery Plan lists, among many other things, establishment of a second spawning run in a tributary to Utah Lake other than Provo River as a requirement for long-term protection and eventual recovery of the June sucker. Efforts are being implemented by the JSRIP and other entities to establish Hobble Creek as this second spawning tributary. (June sucker historically used Hobble Creek for spawning.) These efforts include reconstruction and restoration of the lower Hobble Creek channel where it enters Utah Lake, which was completed in late summer 2008, and delivery of supplemental flows to lower Hobble Creek.

The Commission recently completed a report describing ecosystem flow recommendations for the lower Provo River. [Click here to download LOWER PROVO RIVER ECOSYSTEM FLOW RECOMMENDATIONS FINAL REPORT, September 2008.] The framework developed for the Provo River recommendations was applied to lower Hobble Creek. In April 2009, the Commission completed a report describing the process and products of developing year-round instream flow recommendations for lower Hobble Creek. The guiding principle for the study is that the recommended flow regime for lower Hobble Creek should protect the entire riverine ecosystem year-round. [Click here to download Lower Hobble Creek Ecosystem Flow Recommendations Report, April 2009.]

Mitigation Commission projects aiding June sucker recovery are: supporting development of a comprehensive Utah Lake Fish Management Plan that will help clarify how to best manage Utah lake to improve sport fishery opportunities while achieving recovery of June sucker; modifying lower Provo River diversion dams that interfere with June sucker spawning and fish passage [click here to link to a 2001 study that evaluated these diversion dams]; acquiring lower Provo River instream flows and investigating strategies to lower high flow releases; and, developing a native species fish hatchery that will produce June sucker, least chub, leatherside chub, roundtail chub and flannelmouth sucker.

As part of President Obama’s plan to help stimulate the lagging economy, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed in February, 2009. Funds provided to the Mitigation Commission from the Recovery Act accelerate the opportunity to perform needed improvements at the Fisheries Experiment Station native species hatchery in Logan, Utah. This facility is managed by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and was expanded to accommodate an interim facility for raising June sucker. Recovery Act funds will be used to install a recirculation system to better manage temperature and water quality of flows.