Project Details

Roughly half of Utah's population lives within 15 minutes of the Jordan River. It is a refuge for humans and animals alike from the surrounding urban area. However, a long history of abuse and urban encroachment has left habitat fragmented and the river in an impaired state. Invasive species like Russian olive, salt cedar, and phragmites populate the shores. These weed species use more water and provide lower quality habitat than their native counterparts. Dense, overgrown stands of vegetation and the cover this provides for homeless encampments increase wildfire risk. As a coordinating body, the Jordan River Commission seeks to make improvements to the Jordan River by developing partnerships, facilitating grants, and providing guidance and oversight for projects. This project will focus on improvements to the Jordan River that will provide recreation access and restore an area overgrown with invasive species.

Millcreek City and Salt Lake County are working on a new trailhead and trail extension for the Jordan River Parkway. The Millcreek City Trailhead will provide a much-needed access point from the Meadowbrook Expressway (4000 South). Currently, Millcreek (population 65,000) is the largest city on the Jordan River, for which there is no extension of the Jordan River Parkway. Extending the Parkway onto the east bank of the river in this area will increase access to recreation and active transportation opportunities for an underserved portion of the community and provide a prime opportunity for aquatic and wetland habitat restoration.

The County is currently working on phragmites management, which will reduce fire risk and provide space for native wetland and riparian revegetation. This extension is anticipated to be very popular; the increased foot traffic also has the potential to reduce the number of homeless encampments in the area, which will also reduce fire risk and negative water quality impacts. Revegetation will provide the opportunity for bank stabilization and improved habitat, water quality, and quantity. This is a large project, but even partial funding would be acceptable and appreciated.

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.

The overarching goal for Phase 1 of this project is to develop Millcreek City's trailhead and trail extension and restore the area where noxious weeds are removed and mitigate construction impacts.

Existing funding for this project has allowed for partial paving of the trail extension, some vegetation management, property acquisitions, and purchases for playground equipment, a water fountain, tables, and a pavilion.

OBJECTIVES & OUTCOMES:
- Design and construct a low-impact trailhead with water-wise, beneficial plants to help mitigate drought impacts by keeping stormwater on-site and reducing landscape water use. The trailhead will replace a sewer pump station that will be decommissioned by the Taylorsville Bennion Improvement District this summer (2022). This trailhead and extension will provide much-needed access to this area of the Jordan River Parkway.
- Establish a Monarch Waystation/pollinator garden of at least 500 square feet at the trailhead. Millcreek is a designated Monarch City. The use of these funds will improve pollinator habitat by providing appropriate exposure, shelter, nectar-producing plants, milkweed, and ongoing management for the site (see attached brochure for requirements). These will help monarch and other pollinator populations.
- Complete additional paving for the trail extension for the Jordan River Parkway to increase access for recreation, active transportation, and wildlife viewing. This part of the project is partially complete and has already allowed for the removal of invasive vegetation, expanding the area for native hydric plant revegetation.
- Install a cross-water pedestrian bridge that complies with the Jordan River Comprehensive Management Plan. This bridge will connect the east and west side of the Jordan River Parkway.
- Follow a phased management approach for the dense stand of phragmites in the area. The phragmites were already treated once in 2021. The area will need to be treated several times to manage the infestation. Treating phragmites will help greatly mitigate wildfire risk as multiple wildfires in recent years have already impacted this area.
- Revegetate and beatify with native plants to support habitat and improve water quality
- The larger, phased project includes partnerships with Salt Lake County and Taylorsville City on the west side of the river, where additional wildfire mitigation, weed infestations, Parkway improvements, restoration, and adaptive management are also occurring. 
- Partnerships with surrounding public and private landowners for future habitat augmentation and improved management for wildlife will also be developed.

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.
- Drought impacts on local wildlife
- High TDS and E. coli 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, and Russian olive), if not contained, they will continue to spread and increase in density, making this necessary work more expensive in the future, and increasing the risk of wildfire. In the last four years, there have been at least two major wildfires in this area (on the west bank in Taylorsville), resulting in lost habitat and new noxious weed infestations in areas of wildfire impact.

With climate change, drought impacts are a pervasive problem that will only be felt more strongly as our population grows. To help mitigate the effects on our limited water supply, it's essential to use water-wise landscaping principles and Low Impact Design where possible. For this project, these principles will be incorporated into the trailhead design.

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 aligns with the following Guiding Principles of the Blueprint Jordan River (2008):
Guiding Principle 1: Preserve and rehabilitate natural river features and functions to the greatest extent possible
Guiding Principle 3: Restore riparian and in-stream habitats 
Guiding principal 5: Reduce the use of hardscapes and impermeable surfaces in and near the corridor
Guiding Principle 7: Balance needs for development, recreation, and public access with river protection 
Guiding Principle 9: Apply design standards for complementary development and redevelopment in the corridor to support increased visibility and recreational use of the river 
Guiding Principle 10: Encourage regional transportation planning to connect communities to the river corridor, emphasizing non-automobile travel

This extension of the parkway also supports the goals of the Jordan River Comprehensive Management Plan (2017). It will support flood control measures that minimize impacts to the bed and banks of the Jordan River through the correct placement of a midblock bridge (see attached document). This project also supports hydrology goal 1, infrastructure goal 1, and all water quality goals, wildlife habitat goals, and recreation goals of the JRCMP.

Additionally, the work for this project is in harmony with the Environment, Recreation, and Stormwater Best Practice Guidelines established in Best Practices for Riverfront Communities (2013).

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.

OVERVIEW:
The project will result in a highly visible river trailhead with an average of 27,000 cars per day passing by. There will be 25 parking spaces, restroom facilities, a mid-size picnic pavilion, and a "Welcome to Millcreek" marker. From the trailhead, users can follow the Jordan River Parkway north over the Meadowbrook Expressway on an existing pedestrian bridge to South Salt Lake, General Holm Park, and beyond; west over the river on an existing bridge to Taylorsville; or south on the new trail extension.
The new trail extension will run from the new trailhead south to a new bridge near the Millcreek-Murray border at 761 W 4060 S. From there, the parkway will head west on a new bridge to connect with the main Jordan River Parkway on the west (Taylorsville) side of the river.

In 2021, Millcreek collaborated with team members from Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation to continue working on the Jordan River Trail within Millcreek. Salt Lake County completed construction and vegetation management on a portion of the trail last spring (see pictures). Private properties were successfully acquired to complete this portion of the trail extension in 2021.

VEGETATION MANAGEMENT METHODS:
Salt Lake County will hire contractors for vegetation management. Phragmites will be mowed with brush hogs and sprayed with an aquatic safe glyphosate herbicide such as Rodeo or Roundup Custom. Cut stump and herbicide treatments will be used on Russian olive and salt cedar, as needed. The Jordan River Commission will secure a volunteer force for 100 hours to dig and remove scotch thistle with shovels and another 100 hours for revegetation projects. This work will take place in Fall 2022 or Spring 2023.

The Jordan River Commission will donate 75 native trees (a mix of Fremont cottonwoods and peachleaf willows), 750 understory seedlings, and 2 acres worth of seed. The trees are cuttings propagated in 3' tall pots to develop a robust root system. Holes for the trees will be dug using post-hole diggers and augers. Trees will then be fenced to protect from predation. If funded, this grant will provide additional plants for revegetation. The trees will be mapped and monitored by Commission staff and volunteers using GIS. This will be in addition to the existing native trees and other revegetation the commission has already completed in an earlier phase of the overall project.

In Spring 2023, the Jordan River Commission will collaborate with the Hogle Zoo Conservation Staff and Millcreek City to plant a Monarch Waystation pollinator garden at the new trailhead. This will be completed using volunteer labor.

TRAILHEAD AND TRAIL EXTENSION DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE:

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.

Millcreek City: Lead agency and funding partner for Phase 1 ($80,000 for engineering costs, $100,000 in-kind staff support)

Jordan River Commission: Technical assistance, staff support, and advisor ($55,000 in-kind)

Utah's Hogle Zoo: Monarch Waystation and volunteer support ($1179 in-kind)

Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation: Partner agency and funding partner (Real estate valued at $876,000, in-kind staff support of $50,000, $40,034.00 match for the LeRay McAllister grant, $60,000 match for the FFSL vegetation management grant, $45,000 match for FFSL trail construction grant).

Salt Lake County and Taylorsville are also working on weed management and revegetation work west of the river, adjacent to the project site.

Utah Quality Growth Commission: Funding partner ($40,034.00 from LeRay McAllister Critical Land Conservation Fund to obtain the final private properties to link the publicly owned parcels in this project)

Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands: Funding partner ($125,000 from FY21 Jordan River Recreation Zone Improvement Grants, $165,000 FY 22 Jordan River Recreation Zone Improvement Grants (pending), $250,000 from vegetation management grant, $120,000 from trail construction grant)

Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation: Funding partner ($250,000 from Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant Regional Asset Tier)

Governor's Office of Planning and Budget: Funding partner ($250,000 pending from the COVID-19 Local Assistance Matching Grant Program)

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.