Completion Form

2023

1) A total of 7 beavers were transplanted into Deep Creek during the late summer/fall of 2021.  Two separate transplants were completed -- 2 adults initially, then a mix of 5 adults and juveniles on a later date.  Starter dams were constructed prior to release and the release was orchestrated so that the beavers would follow the stream downhill and encounter deep water and overhead cover in hopes that they find it suitable.
2) Ogden City worked with contractors to have fish passage measures installed at the 24th Street Kayak Park by including a low-velocity side channel. The cannel was completed by contractors in December of 2021. 
3) Trout Unlimited worked with engineers to design fish passage at Wilson Canal. The design is construction ready pending final details and includes a roughened ramp that will remove the current abrupt vertical drop and improve fish passage. Engineering efforts took place during 2021 and throughout 2022. 
4) Engineering for the pedestrian pathway near Riverdale is underway. Flooding during 2023 further eroded the bank and altered the placement of upstream gravel bars such that future erosion may be less sever. Trout Unlimited and Trails Foundations worked to have engineering work completed throughout 2022. Work included surveying the site, working with Department of Transportation to consider alternative placements of the trail and designing a new trail route that is further from the riverbank, which will help to reduce impacts to the riverbank and allow for revegetation efforts. Survey data will be used for continued efforts to address the bigger picture of how to effectively serve multiple uses in this constrained valley that includes a dynamic river between a highway/trail system and a railroad.
5)During the summer of 2021 and 2022, detailed survey data was collected by Trout Unlimited along the Parson's reach of the Weber River including topography data, bank erosion data, and pebble count data. These data will provide baseline information that can be compared to future data collections, and they are currently being used for a geomorphic assessment that aims to detect potential future problems, detect current problems, and inform future improvements in this area. 
6) Continued development of a solution for the replacement of Riverdale Bench Canal Diversion and fish passage there was undertaken by Trout Unlimited and DWR in 2021, throughout 2022, and in 2023. TU and DWR worked to gain permission to move the diversion upstream and new survey data was collected by engineers in the summer of 2023. Engineers are now updating design plans. We were unable to move to construction on this project because intensive design efforts and coordination has been required prepare for construction. 
7) Blackner's Bend floodplain restoration work was completed by contractors in spring/summer of 2022 with side channels being reconnected and grade controls being added. The grade controls include strategically placed boulders that ensure side channels are activated during spring flows. 
8) Ogden City and contractors completed revegetation at the Marriot Ditch in March 2021 with native seed being planted and live willow staking. In May and June of 2022, they returned to complete additional native riparian planting, willow staking, seeding, and weed removal.
9) Dinsdale Water Company, Inc. and Trout Unlimited worked to get engineering completed for Dinsdale Diversion Dam during late 2021 and early 2022.  Additional engineering was completed in 2023 due to high runoff before construction could be completed. Additionally, a categorical exclusion that included ESA and Archeological surveys written during the winter of 2022 and 2023. This was needed for Bureau of Reclamation Funding that will greatly contribute to this project. Construction is to take place this (2023) Fall or Winter. The new structure will remove materials that are hazardous to people in the river (i.e., old steel portions of the structure), add step pools to allow for fish passage, and improve the ability for water users to receive their water. 
10) In the Southfork Chalk Creek Drainage, in the fall of 2021 and throughout 2022, Trout Unlimited, Sageland Collaborative, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, G&E Ranch, and G Bar Ranch worked to implement BDAs at Fish Creek for phase three and in Branch Creek for phase one, plant willows along phase one of Fish Creek, and spread seed in disturbed areas. In total, the events resulted in over 53 volunteers working over 500 hours to complete about 40 BDAs on Branch Creek, plant willows along Fish Creek Phase one, and install about 30 BDAs on Fish Creek phase three. Additionally, planning was completed for the next phases on Fish Creek, Branch Creek, Hay Hollow, and the mainstem Southfork Chalk Creek by performing site visits and collecting aerial imagery. Furthermore, more in depth planning for lower Southfork Chalk Creek was carried out and included planning for future car body removal, process-based restoration, and fish passage at remaining barriers. This process included stakeholder meetings in the winter of 2021/2022 regarding diversions and the creation of high-resolution orthomosaics and digital elevation models in the spring of 2022. 
11) DWR implemented Morby Creek erosion control efforts in the spring and summer of 2022. These efforts included installing wattles and erosion control blankets.

Specific needs to be address by this funding were:
1) Deep Creek process-based restoration and beaver releases,
2) Fish passage at the 24th Street Kayak Park, which was identified as a fish passage barrier due to vertical plunging water with high water velocities,
3) Engineering of the Wilson Canal Diversion just upstream of the 24th street Kayak Park,
4) Sustainable pedestrian pathway protection near Riverdale, 
5) Collection of detailed survey data along the Parson's reach of the Weber River to identify areas to reconnect floodplain habitat,
6) Replacement of the Riverdale Bench Diversion,
7) Continued implementation of floodplain restoration on the Blackner's Bend project,
8) Revegetation at the Marriot Ditch Diversion,
9) Reconstruction of the Dinsdale Diversion,
10) Process-based restoration and sediment reduction in South Fork Chalk Creek Drainage; restoration planning; and seeding of disturbed areas, and
11) Morby Creek erosion control.

1) Beaver releases were largely uneventful save for the insistence of volunteers to disturb the release a bit by taking pictures.  I really wanted the beavers to perceive the downstream area as an escape route, but no amount of insistence on my part was deterring people from wandering downstream into the 'safe' area.  The second release was somewhat better as I was able to impress upon individuals that the first release likely resulted in a failure due to downstream disturbances during the introduction.  It remains to be determined if they ultimately stayed.
2) Fish passage at the 24th Street Kayak Park was achieved by including a low-velocity side channel. This side-channel has functioned well and visually appears to maintain low-velocity without any abrupt vertical drops that would preclude fish passage. Maintenance of this channel will be needed after high flows in 2023, and upstream work at Wilson Diversion will aim to improve flow direction and the longevity of this project. 
3) Engineering of fish passage at Wilson Canal is near complete and includes a roughened ramp that will remove the current abrupt vertical drop and improve fish passage. Additionally, flow direction and velocity adjustments made here will improve the work completed at the 24th Street Kayak Park.
4) Engineering for the pedestrian pathway near Riverdale is underway. Flooding during 2023 further eroded the bank and altered the placement of upstream gravel bars such that future erosion may be less sever. Therefore, the current preferred alternative is to realign the trail further from the riverbank and encourage the natural processes of the river such that equilibrium can be achieved at this river bend. The juxtaposition of infrastructure (i.e., the railroad, highway, and trails) continue to make this a complicated area to modify and improve river function. 
5)Detailed survey data was collected along this area and the overall Parson's reach of the Weber River including topography data, bank erosion data, and pebble count data. These data will provide baseline information that can be compared to future data collections, and they are currently being used for a geomorphic assessment that aims to detect potential future problems, detect current problems, and inform future improvements in this area. 
6) This project funded the continued development of a solution for the replacement of Riverdale Bench Canal Diversion and fish passage there. The current design for the Riverdale Bench Canal Diversion includes moving the diversion upstream to improve conveyance of flood water, drastically reduce the height of the diversion, and improve reliability of the diversion for water users. We were unable to move to construction on this project because intensive design efforts and coordination has been required prepare for construction. Now, design and engineering has moved forward and construction can be implemented once required funding is obtained. 
7) Blackner's Bend floodplain restoration has been largely successful with side channels functioning during high flows. Final components will include setback of the levee to open up more floodplain and adding roughened boulder ramps at the two vertical drops near the I-84 bridge to ensure fish passage. 
8) Revegetation at the Marriot Ditch was completed and vegetation there continues to improve.
9) Engineering was completed for Dinsdale Diversion Dam and construction is to take place there this Fall or Winter (2023). The new structure will remove materials that are hazardous to people in the river (i.e., old steel portions of the structure), add step pools to allow for fish passage, and improve the ability for water users to receive their water. 
10) In the Southfork Chalk Creek Drainage, BDAs were implemented at Fish Creek for phase three and in Branch Creek, and seed was spread in disturbed areas. Additionally, planning was completed for the next phases on Fish Creek, Branch Creek, Hay Hollow, and the mainstem Southfork Chalk Creek. Furthermore, more in depth planning for lower Southfork Chalk Creek was carried out and included planning for future car body removal, process-based restoration, and fish passage at remaining barriers. This process included stakeholder meetings regarding diversions and the creation of high-resolution orthomosaics and digital elevation models. Next steps are to begin implementing additional process-based restoration, secure funding for engineering of fish-passage solutions, and secure funding for construction of fish-passage solutions and habitat improvements. 
11) Morby Creek erosion control efforts were implemented with limited success due to conflict with cattle. Additional efforts will occur when cattle are expected to not be present for a longer duration.

Tanner Cox

09/14/2023 12:24:50