The Mitigation Commission is responsible for implementing the Provo River Restoration Project (PRRP) along the middle Provo River, from Jordanelle Dam to Deer Creek Reservoir, in Wasatch County, Utah. The project’s purpose is to advance the sequence of natural succession and to provide additional habitat diversity instream and in the surrounding forest. It is necessary to make up for fish, wildlife and related recreational losses caused by federal water reclamation projects in Utah, particularly the Central Utah Project (CUP).

Project authority comes from the Central Utah Project Completion Act of 1992. Funds are provided through annual appropriations from Congress. Approximate project cost is $45 million: $35 million for land acquisition and $10 million for construction. This amount represents about 1½% of the cost of building the CUP. PRRP construction began in 1999. Realignment of the main river channel is now complete. Remaining miscellaneous construction activities are expected to be finished in 2008.

PRRP requirements come from mitigation commitments associated primarily with CUP construction. Meeting these commitments was necessary, whether achieved through implementing the PRRP, or otherwise. Examples of these commitments and the projects that made them necessary are:

The Provo River Project, which dammed and then channelized, straightened, and diked the middle Provo River in the 1950’s and 60’s. Consequently, many of the river’s abundant resources were lost, such as riparian forest, emergent wetland, backwater and deep fishing holes - prime fish and wildlife habitat.

The Strawberry Aqueduct and Collection System, which dewatered many miles of streams on the south slope of the Uinta mountains and significantly reduced trout populations. As a result, the federal government was required to restore fish habitat and provide angler access elsewhere.

Jordanelle Reservoir, which inundated four miles of Provo River and association wetlands. To offset its impacts, providing angler access, acquiring and restoring riparian woodlands, and providing a 125 cfs minimum flow year round from Jordanelle Dam were conditions for its construction.

The Commission is meeting angler access requirements by providing a protected 800 to 2,200-foot-wide corridor along the entire middle Provo River for angler and wildlife habitat. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and The Nature Conservancy are cooperators in the acquisition effort. Private land acquisitions necessary to provide contiguous public ownership of the corridor are about 99% complete.

The Central Utah Project Completion Act (CUPCA) further directs the Commission to develop and implement plans for construction of recreational facilities along the restored river. Seven public access area have been constructed, each providing fenced parking, trash recepticles, bathrooms and interpretive opportunities. In addition, a few of the sites provide accessible fishing piers.