News

The Provo River Delta Restoration Project reached a major milestone Thursday, March 2, as the Provo River was diverted into a series of channels and ponds, connecting the river with a restored delta and Utah Lake.

To mark the occasion, a celebration was held onsite, attended by dozens of community members and government officials from the local, state and federal levels. The crowd cheered as, in three scoops, an excavator cut through the man-made levee and redirected the Provo River to a newly constructed floodplain and wetland marsh complex.

The 260-acre project first broke ground in June 2020 with the goal to restore the interface between the Lower Provo River and Utah Lake, another step in the on-going effort to recover the June sucker (Chasmistes liorus), a federally listed threatened fish species that occurs naturally only in Utah Lake and its tributaries.

Historically, June sucker likely spawned in several of the tributaries to Utah Lake, but changes to those environments have greatly reduced suitable habitat. The Lower Provo River currently provides the greatest, though still limited, habitat suitable for June sucker spawning, however, very limited rearing or “nursery” habitat was available before delta restoration.

Research has shown that most larval fish do not survive longer than 20 days after hatching in the existing channel. It is believed that the larval fish die because of a lack of suitable nursery or rearing habitat and they are, therefore, unable to grow to adults. The diversity of habitats and function supported by the restored delta will provide the necessary conditions for more juvenile June sucker to grow large enough to survive in Utah Lake.

While the diversion is a significant milestone, work will continue on the PRDRP as numerous recreational amenities and project features are constructed along the existing river and around the delta. One such project includes the installation of a small dam near Utah Lake State Park which will help maintain water elevation and quality in the old Provo River channel as well as provide opportunities for flat water recreation and sport fishing.

The PRDRP has been in development for three decades through efforts by the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program and its member entities: the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District and the Central Utah Project Completion Act Office of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The JSRIP is a multi-agency effort designed to coordinate and implement recovery activities for the June sucker. Recovery efforts have shown enough success that in February 2021, the US Fish and Wildlife Service officially moved the June Sucker from “endangered” to the lower “threatened” status.

BIO-WEST has nearly 30 years of experience researching the June sucker and working on the PRDRP. Over the years, BIO-WEST has provided numerous technical studies, designs, environmental and biological assessments, permits, and construction implementation oversight and revegetation for the PRDRP and JSRIP.

To learn more about the PRDRP, check out its website at https://www.provoriverdelta.us/.

To learn more about the June sucker and its significance to Utah Lake, visit JSRIP’s website at https://www.junesuckerrecovery.org/