Project Details

The purpose of the Saratoga Springs, North Marina: Jetty & Boat Launch, is to rectify the glaring lack of designated access infrastructure to Utah Lake, addressing the burgeoning demand for water-based recreational activities, such as Sports Fishing, in the region. The absence of a structured boat launch and jetty has led to safety, environmental degradation and a suboptimal user experience, with floating and docks dotting the wetlands adjacent to Utah Lake put forth by homeowners and residents in the area.

This initiative seeks to enhance accessibility, safety, and the environmental sustainability, fostering a vibrant community while mitigation the adverse impacts of unregulated shoreline activities.

The imperative need for this project is underscored by empirical data from the Utah Department of Natural Resources, revealing the overwhelming demand for Utah Lake's recreational resources. The current inadequacies in access infrastructure not only jeopardize the ecological health of the lake, but also hinder economic growth. Implementing Phase 1, Part 1 of the North Marina project is essential to meet the needs of a growing population, ensuring a balance between increased recreational demands, environmental conservation and economic prosperity.

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.

The implementation of a boat launch and jetty at the North Marina is paramount due to the absence of a public marina and harbor on this side of Utah Lake. The current lack of dedicated faculties has resulted in overcrowding at existing sits, compromising safety and diminishing the overall user experience. The absence of a structured access point has led to unauthorized uses along the lake's shoreline, causing significant damage to the delicate wetlands the envelop the lake.

The construction of a boat launch and jetty in the North Marina not only addresses the urgent need for increased access to Utah Lake but also provides a regulated and sustainable solution, mitigating the environmental impact of uncontrolled shoreline activities. By establishing a well-designed facility, this initiative aims to alleviate congestion, enhance safety, and preserve the ecological integrity of the lake's surrounding wetlands, ensuring a harmonious balance between recreational enjoyment and environmental conservation.

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.