Project Details

The Fish Lake Three Marinas Renovation project is an expensive undertaking that is being done in phases over several years.  Planning and design work began in 2018 and the first two phases of marina renovation work is now completed.  This project proposal is to secure additional funding to complete Phase 3 work at Bowery Haven Marina.  The project has been planned and designed to do only what is necessary to bring the marinas up to basic needs and safety for public boaters, anglers, and marina owners.

Phase 1 and 2 construction work at all three Fish Lake marinas has been completed.  
Summary of completed work:
   Bowery Haven Marina - Tripled the size of the parking lot including a new entrance, a new double pit toilet installed, a collapsing marina wall was removed and a new concrete wall constructed.
   Fish Lake Lodge Marina - Access roads and parking lots at the marina and Twin Creeks were graded, re-sloped, and resurfaced (water drainage improved), rip-rap on dikes replaced, and improved, and concrete walkways elevated above high water level.
  Lakeside Marina - Expanded the parking area to more than double in size, the existing parking lot was re-sloped to improve water drainage and resurfaced, existing dikes were straightened and rip-rap repaired, new dikes were built that expanded marina by 3 times the original size, old boat ramp removed and a new double wide boat ramp built, a new pit toilet installed, and an aerator is purchased and ready for use next fall to keep marina ice-free into December.  
Phase 1 and 2 construction, engineering, permitting, and other costs totaled approximately $1,725,500.00.  These funds came from USFWS Motor Boat Access Program, matching funds from Utah State Parks and Recreation, DWR Blue Ribbon Fisheries, DWR Habitat Council, Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant, and Sevier County.  Private marina owners have also contributed to marina improvements with private funds and time.

Phase 3 work at Bowery Haven Marina is planned to begin in September 2021. The work includes constructing new dikes and removing old dikes to expand the marina by double its current size, construct a new double wide boat ramp, additional parking lot expansion, and install a floating breakwater.

Bowery Haven Marina Phase 3, construction cost estimate is approximately $1,800,000.00.  
Currently, the committed funding for Phase 3 is $1,315,577.00 from USFWS Motor Boat Access funds, $233,333.00 in matching funds from Utah State Parks and approximately $50,000.00 of Phase 1 & 2 carry-over funds: totaling $1,598,910.00.  We are approximately $201,090.00 short, which doesn't account for any cost overruns or additional expenses that may come up. We need a minimum of $155,193.00 of state funding to match the Federal USFWS Motor Boat Access funds.

We are requesting DWR Habitat Council and Blue Ribbon Fisheries to fund $160,000.00 towards Phase 3 marina renovation work at Bowery Haven Marina.  We will also apply for a Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant in March for an additional $150,000.00, but currently do not know if this funding will be approved.

There is still additional work and features to complete at the Fish Lake marina above the Phase 3 estimated cost of $1,800,000.00 for marina renovation. There is a high need to install a floating rubber tire breakwater to make the outside dikes at Bowery Haven Marina available for boat docks and a high need to install 3 floating docks extending out into the marina for accessing additional boat slips.

We have previously discussed why the marinas need to be renovated and the following outlines why this project needs to be completed (This need description was written prior to completion of Phase 1 & 2 marina renovation work):

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 and 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.

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.