Project Details

The Jordan River Commission and Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands in partnership with Draper City and the City of Riverton are implementing ongoing vegetation and hydrologic improvements for the purpose of re-establishing and enhancing the regionally rare and critically important wetland and riparian habitat along the Jordan River. The proposed actions under this request include the expansion of existing riparian and wetland revegetation pilot projects, implementation of bank-stabilization projects, ongoing fuel abatement, and management of invasive vegetation, in addition to planning future phases. This work includes herbicide applications and mechanical removal of noxious weeds (including phragmites, scotch thistle, hoary cress, garlic mustard, Russian olive, and salt cedar), in addition to seeding native grasses and forbs and planting native trees, and installing conifer revetments and erosion control devices. The goal of this work is to enhance wildlife habitat, improve water quality, increase water quantity, mitigate wildfire potential, and increase recreation access.

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.

CITY OF RIVERTON:
-Project planning for continued enhancement and improvement of approximately 15 acres along the Jordan River 
-Mapping and continued treatment of invasive weed species including phragmites, thistle, hoary cress, and salt cedar.
-Bank stabilization and restoration of the vertical eroding bank on the west side of the Jordan River through the reach. Bank stabilization to incorporate access points for the public to access the river's edge, and re-vegetate all disturbed areas with native riparian vegetation.

DRAPER CITY:
- Ongoing open space reclamation of approximately 10 acres to improve upland and nearby riparian habitat.
- Retreatment of invasive weed species including phragmites, thistle, white top, Russian olive, garlic mustard, and salt cedar.
- Revegetation seeding of native and beneficial plant species
- Identify future restoration and site improvement opportunities in coordination with Riverton, Salt Lake County, and FFSL

HOGLE ZOO:
Install and maintain a wildlife camera near the Draper and Riverton section of the Jordan River to identify wildlife species in the area and habitat impacts

GALENA:
- Re-establishment and rehabilitation of 10 acres of severely degraded riparian habitat to a more natural, resilient, restored environment, resulting in a gain of aquatic resource area and functions.
- Implement bank-stabilization work along 3000 linear feet (0.55 miles) of river channel, resulting in improved water quality and quantity.
- Fuel abatement to mitigate wildfire risk and reduce potential for homeless encampments.
- Provide a much-needed urban wildlife viewing area along the Jordan River.

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.

- Continued habitat loss for wildlife.
- Continued impaired water quality.
- Continued bank erosion, river incision, and riparian habitat loss.
- Noxious weed encroachment.
- Continued high water temperatures and high TDS in this stretch of the river.

The Jordan River has a long history of straightening, channelization, and dredging. This has resulted in long segments of steep, eroding banks. The erosion causes excess sediment in the water and adversely impacts water quality and the river's health. Without bank stabilization, the banks will continue to erode, damaging habitats and affecting water quality.

Noxious weeds are another major threat. As the dominant vegetation on the current proposed project area (including phragmites, salt cedar, Russian olive, Dalmatian toadflax, purple loosestrife, whitetop, Scotch thistle, Canada thistle, and Russian thistle), if not contained, they will continue to spread and increase in density, making this necessary work more expensive in the future.

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.

This project relates to the goals and objectives of the following management plans:

FFSL Jordan River Comprehensive Management Plan (2017) Goals/objectives: 
- Fish and wildlife habitat: Management of Jordan River sovereign lands will strive to maintain, enhance, or restore aquatic, wetland, riparian, and terrestrial habitat under its jurisdiction.
- Aesthetic beauty: Management of Jordan River sovereign lands will strive to maintain or improve visual conditions along the Jordan River, recognizing that aesthetic beauty increases the value of the Jordan River as a community resource.
- Public recreation: Management of Jordan River sovereign lands will consider and support diverse recreation activities and facilities at sustainable levels.
- Water quality: Management of Jordan River sovereign lands will consider and support the State of Utah's anti-degradation policy for water quality.

Blueprint Jordan River (2008) Goals /objectives: 
1) Restore the river channel and buffers to improve and protect water quality, enhance hydrologic function, and to support vegetation, wildlife, and habitat, 
2) Integrate storm water treatment into open lands to naturally filter water runoff, 
3) Enhance fish habitat, and 
4) Promote the river as a quality-of-life amenity and recreational destination by creating urban fisheries.

Jordan River Natural Corridor Report (2000) Goals/objectives: 
1) Provides recommendations for natural conservation corridors specially naming the restoration project, 
2) Addresses restoration to "ensure proper grading and stream bed elevation and supplemental irrigation to allow successful habitat restoration away from the immediate riverbank", 
3) Provides a physical and biological assessment, and 
4) Addresses improving water quality by restoring the river profile to reduce erosion.

This project also relates to the following best practices from the Best Practices for Riverfront Communities (2013) document:
-Improve natural river function
-Improve bank stability
-Manage Invasive and Nuisance Species
-Improve and Restore Native Plant Diversity

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.

CITY OF RIVERTON:
Riverton City will contract RiverRestoration.org to conduct the project planning, data collection, and final design. Site conditions will be collected this Spring with engineering design occurring over the summer of 2022. Invasive species treatment will be conducted by a licensed herbicide applicator contractor.

DRAPER CITY:
Draper City Trails and Open Space will spend 10 hours on project preparation and site mapping. A conservation corps or other group will be contracted in the Fall of 2022 to mow a 1.1-acre dense stand of phragmites. Draper staff will follow up by spraying the stand with herbicide (Roundup Custom) in the Spring of 2023. Draper City will also hire contractors to re-treat a 10-acre parcel infested with scotch thistle and hoary cress with herbicide in the Spring of 2023. Treatments of garlic mustard, Russian olive, and salt cedar will occur as necessary. These treatments will be followed by revegetation seeding with a mix of native and beneficial grasses and forbs and native tree (Fremont Cottonwoods and Peachleaf Willows) and understory plantings. An additional 100 hours of volunteer time will be spent on weed management (digging thistle, trimming Russian olive) and revegetation seeding and planting.

GALENA:
Under the supervision and guidance of FFSL staff, two Utah Conservation Corps crews (10 individuals) will be scheduled for two hitches (16 days or 160 total work hours) in both the Fall of 2022 and Spring of 2023. These crews will perform streambank stabilization work along 3000 linear feet of the river, installing conifer revetments (secured with duck-bill earth anchors), coir jute, straw wattles, sod mats, and willow poles. These installations will be implemented according to the specifications deemed appropriate according to the geomorphology of each stretch of river (inside vs. outside bend, bankful height, slope, etc.) and based on the lessons learned from past projects on different stretches of the river.

Outside-bends with steep eroding banks will be planted with native trees grown in tall pots and planted in holes augered >3' deep. Plantings will be located 15' OC and 10' in from the toe of the bank. The roots of these trees, once established, will armor the steep banks and prevent further river migration and erosion, and sediment transport. These trees will also provide much-needed shade to the river, improving dissolved oxygen levels once established.

Inside-bends with low gradient bank slope and low elevation relative to water level will be planted with willow poles using a hammer drill and a waterjet stinger. Willow poles will be harvested on-site and planted with a 1:1 root to shoot ratio at a depth of >3'. Willow poles will be planted in a grid, 5' OC and up to 15' from the toe of the bank. Each willow planting will be housed in a plastic shrub shelter. These shrub shelters prevent herbivory from beavers and voles, stabilize relative humidity, and most importantly, prevent herbicide drift from ongoing herbicide applications to phragmites, allowing us to continue weed abatement while establishing native plants to stabilize the soil and prevent further erosion. Especially low-lying inside-bends will be planted with sod mats.

Incised straightaways will have conifer revetments installed at the toe of the bank. Steep eroding parts of the bank will have slope re-contoured to a gentler gradient, and loose soil will be stabilized with jute coir and straw wattles. Willow poles will then be planted throughout according to the specs above and sown with a mix of hydric and mesic native grass and forb seed.

All of this work is to be performed along a 3000' stretch of the Jordan that has had two complete seasons of phragmites herbicide applications and repeated mowing.

FFSL will continue phragmites control afterward.

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.

Partners include: Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands, Jordan River Commission, Draper City, City of Riverton, Tracy Aviary, Utah Open Lands, the Hogle Zoo, and Salt Lake County Watershed Planning and Restoration.

FFSL will lead project management and provide oversight and implementation of the expansion of the pilot projects at Galena.

Jordan River Commission will act as the fiscal agent and coordinating body

Draper City will provide access and ongoing maintenance of their project site

City of Riverton will provide access and ongoing maintenance of their project site

Utah Open Lands provides thorough, detailed annual survey reports of conditions, improvements and threats at Galena.

Tracy Aviary performs six Breeding Season Point Count Surveys and six Non-breeding Season Group Surveys annually, and provides a detailed report of avian species richness and abundance in each habitat type at Galena.

The Hogle Zoo will provide a wildlife camera and ongoing monitoring and maintenance for the 2022-23 grant cycle.

Salt Lake County Watershed Planning and Restoration will provide technical support, consultation, and will loan several necessary pieces of equipment.

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.