Project Details

The Fish Lake Three Marinas Renovation project is an expensive undertaking that is being done in phases over several years.  The project has been planned and designed to only do what is absolutely necessary to bring the marinas up to basic needs at this time.  We are still short of funding to complete what is considered minimum work to improve the situation for boating and anglers at Fish Lake.
Currently the plan is to begin work on the marinas renovation in May or June 2019 (FY19) and continue into fall 2019 (FY20), using funding already committed over both fiscal years.   FY19 has $801,000.00 committed from DWR Federal Motor Boat Access funds ($450K), Utah State Parks matching funds ($150K), Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant ($100K), Sevier County Travel Council ($1K), Blue Ribbon Fisheries ($50K) and DWR Habitat Council ($50K).  FY20 has $750,000.00 committed from DWR Federal Motor Boat Access funds ($562.5K) and Utah State Parks matching funds ($187.5K). Two year total of $1,551,000.00.  Right now the engineers have estimated the cost of the first phase of construction to be $1,536,000.00.  The next phase of construction for FY21 or FY22 is estimated to cost $1,432,000.00 and currently we have $750,000.00 committed from DWR Motor Boat Access funds and Utah State Parks matching funds.  We are almost $700,000.00 short for what is needed for future phases of the project and there are still needs beyond that, such as new boat docks.  Any funding we can secure for FY20 will be spent and other funding can be carried over to meet funding needs for future phases of the project in FY21 of FY22.  We will also be applying for $150,000.00 to the Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant program in February for additional funding help in FY20.

We have previously discussed why the marinas need to be renovated and the following outlines why this project needs to be completed:

Fish Lake provides one of the more popular fisheries in the state, with over 157,000 angler hours annually (2017 creel survey). Almost all anglers at Fish Lake use boats for fishing, outside of ice fishing season. Almost all angling occurs from boats due to the very limited opportunities for shore fishing.

Currently, the facilities at all three marinas are at or above capacity for use. Bowery Haven Marina has a 4-year waiting list for seasonal boat slips. The 11 pontoon rentals are fully checked out each weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Slips and dock space are limited for additional rentals or courtesy public boat docking. Similar conditions occur at Lakeside and Lodge marinas. Visitor use has increased significantly within the last 5 years, and the trend is expected to continue into the future.

The marinas were built in the 1960s, when most boats on the lake were 12- to 15-foot aluminum fishing boats with small outboard motors. Pontoon boats were very rare and larger boats were seldom used for fishing in the 1960s. Small aluminum fishing boats are still used today; however, larger boats that can be used for variety of water activities now make up a much larger percentage of the boats used in Utah and for fishing. Pontoon boats are becoming more popular, especially at Fish Lake. Pontoon boats are typically 8.5 feet in width and take up the boat slip space of two smaller boats.

The existing marina facilities are not conducive to launching, docking, and navigating larger boats. The boat ramps are short and narrow, and large boats do not have enough room to maneuver in the small marinas. The marinas facilities are in poor condition. Many of the docks are narrow and made of wood; this results in unstable and slippery conditions, and high maintenance efforts. Many dock anchor points are substandard, creating unsafe conditions and frequent maintenance needs. The dikes, which are used to access some of the slips, have uneven surfaces and are overtopped by water at times. Large rocks in and around the marina entrances present a hazard to boaters. Dirt parking areas are uneven and boundaries are not well defined. Restroom facilities are inadequate for the observed and expected visitation rates.   Bowery Haven marina uses rented port-a-potties.

The existing marina facilities at Fish Lake (Lakeside, Lodge, and Bowery Haven) are not able to meet current demand based on number of visitors and size of boats. The facilities are in poor condition, and present safety hazards for those who use them.

The purpose of the project is to increase the capacity of the marinas to meet current and projected future demand and improve safety of the facilities.

There is still a need to find funding above what is already committed to complete features that are basic necessities and of highest priority.  We are asking BRF and Habitat Council to help fund a portion of the project.

Provide evidence about the nature of the problem and the need to address it. Identify the significance of the problem using a variety of data sources. For example, if a habitat restoration project is being proposed to benefit greater sage-grouse, describe the existing plant community characteristics that limit habitat value for greater sage-grouse and identify the changes needed for habitat improvement.

Provide an overall goal for the project and then provide clear, specific and measurable objectives (outcomes) to be accomplished by the proposed actions. If possible, tie to one or more of the public benefits UWRI is providing.

LOCATION: Justify the proposed location of this project over other areas, include publicly scrutinized planning/recovery documents that list this area as a priority, remote sensing modeling that show this area is a good candidate for restoration, wildlife migration information and other data that help justify this project's location.

TIMING: Justify why this project should be implemented at this time. For example, Is the project area at risk of crossing an ecological or other threshold wherein future restoration would become more difficult, cost prohibitive, or even impossible.

List management plans where this project will address an objective or strategy in the plan. Describe how the project area overlaps the objective or strategy in the plan and the relevance of the project to the successful implementation of those plans. It is best to provide this information in a list format with the description immediately following the plan objective or strategy.

If applicable, detail how the proposed project will significantly reduce the risk of fuel loading and/or continuity of hazardous fuels including the use of fire-wise species in re-seeding operations. Describe the value of any features being protected by reducing the risk of fire. Values may include; communities at risk, permanent infrastructure, municipal watersheds, campgrounds, critical wildlife habitat, etc. Include the size of the area where fuels are being reduced and the distance from the feature(s) at risk.

Describe how the project has the potential to improve water quality and/or increase water quantity, both over the short and long term. Address run-off, erosion, soil infiltration, and flooding, if applicable.

Description of efforts, both completed and planned, to bring the proposed action into compliance with any and all cultural resource, NEPA, ESA, etc. requirements. If compliance is not required enter "not applicable" and explain why not it is not required.

Describe the actions, activities, tasks to be implemented as part of the proposed project; how these activities will be carried out, equipment to be used, when, and by whom.

Describe plans to monitor for project success and achievement of stated objectives. Include details on type of monitoring (vegetation, wildlife, etc.), schedule, assignments and how the results of these monitoring efforts will be reported and/or uploaded to this project page. If needed, upload detailed plans in the "attachments" section.

List any and all partners (agencies, organizations, NGO's, private landowners) that support the proposal and/or have been contacted and included in the planning and design of the proposed project. Describe efforts to gather input and include these agencies, landowners, permitees, sportsman groups, researchers, etc. that may be interested/affected by the proposed project. Partners do not have to provide funding or in-kind services to a project to be listed.

Detail future methods or techniques (including administrative actions) that will be implemented to help in accomplishing the stated objectives and to insure the long term success/stability of the proposed project. This may include: post-treatment grazing rest and/or management plans/changes, wildlife herd/species management plan changes, ranch plans, conservation easements or other permanent protection plans, resource management plans, forest plans, etc.

Potential for the proposed action to improve quality or quantity of sustainable uses such as grazing, timber harvest, biomass utilization, recreation, etc. Grazing improvements may include actions to improve forage availability and/or distribution of livestock.