Project Details

The City of West Jordan will restore 70 acres located along the 50-mile Jordan River stretching across three counties.  The City is requesting $100,000 for design planning which includes a match for a $50,000 Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant.  The goal of the wildlife and bird habitat restoration and river re-meander is to include active recreation (urban fishery and elevated boardwalk), as well as passive recreation (bird watching and interpretation about: wildlife; aquatic habitat; plants; and noxious weeds).  The City is seeking to partner with the UDWR for not only the design, but also in the future development and construction of this project.  To date, several discussions have occurred with partners and UDWR about the best approaches to use to restore the river structure and function, provide for more suitable wildlife and aquatic habitat, and ways to plan for a viable urban fishery.

The project is located across from the Sharon Steel settlement site which was part of a 1990's superfund clean-up effort.  When completed, this will be the largest wildlife and bird habitat restoration project located along the Jordan River.  The property was acquired by the City of West Jordan (27 acres) and the Utah Reclamation and Mitigation Conservation Commission (URMCC) (43 acres) for habitat restoration including a river meander following it's alteration by the Sharon Steel slag pile which is now capped and cannot be removed from the river's edge.  The following three partners provided funding for the property acquisition: City of West Jordan $281,815, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) $75,000, and URMCC $426,800.

Restoring a naturally functioning channel and associated wetlands will reduce sediment transport, improve habitat, and water quality.  Emphasis will be placed on designing channel shading that would affect aquatic reduction-oxidation conditions and improve dissolved oxygen and water temperature creating a more suitable habitat.  The re-meander will improve water quality by reducing the sediment loading in the river.   According to the Jordan River TMDL Phase II (2010) prepared for Utah State Division of Water Quality, this section of river has the highest water temperatures.  One goal of the project is to lower the water temperature to provide for a viable river and community fishery.

Construction following completion of the design will be funded in part with $753,000 committed by the USFWS from the Sharon Steel Settlement funds.  The City will own the property and maintain facilities constructed, treat and monitor weeds, and work with UDWR on an agreement to manage the urban fishery.  The request for funding to UDWR is due to planning and construction funding being permanently cut in 2011 by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers who had the project lead over the past several years, drafted an environmental assessment, obtained cultural clearance, and had produced hopes of providing construction funding.

It is now up to the City and their partnership of over seventeen local, state, and federal agencies to complete the project.  Partners include: West Jordan, Midvale, Sandy, USFWS, National Park Service, DOI Restoration Support Unit, Environmental Protection Agency, North Jordan Irrigation Company, Salt Lake County, Jordan River Commission, Rocky Mountain Power, URMCC, Tracy Aviary, University of Utah, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), Utah Governor Office of Planning and Budget, Utah Division of Water Quality, and Utah Sovereign Lands.  Many of the partners have been involved and financially vested in the project for several years and want to see the project designed and constructed due to the projects momentum.  Refer to the budget to see what partners are contributing through cash or in kind resources.  The City is excited to have the property acquired, environmental assessment near completion, and to begin the design phase allowing the City to expend the Sharon Steel damage settlement

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.

- Continued impaired water quality
- Bank erosion
- Noxious weed encroachment
- Continued habitat loss for wildlife 
- Continued high water temperatures in this stretch of the river
- Continued rise in construction costs if the design is not funded
- Shifting priorities for involved stakeholders after a two year commitment if funding is not obtained
- Funding from Fish and Wildlife Foundation ($50,000) will not be granted to the City without a non-federal cash match leaving no design funding

The project will address the above threats by establishing a more natural flow in the river system, reduce water temperatures through shading, decrease the bank erosion and increase bank stabilization, create wetlands, and improve overall water quality, as the wetlands serve as a natural filter.  The movement of the river channel, without proper planning and design, may cause issues such as floods and/or damage to property near the Jordan River.  If the river remains in the same area, it will continue to erode the river banks, and increase sediment deposition downstream.

Noxious weeds are the dominant vegetation on the  current proposed project area (including Scotch Thistle, Dalmation Toadflax, White top, Russian olive), and if not contained, will continue to spread into nearby residential areas, as well as downstream, due to seed dispersal, etc.  Last year, the Department of Interior, Restoration Support Unit completed a noxious weed survey for the 70 acre project area.  Spraying and other appropriate removal of noxious weeds will be completed this year and next by URMCC on their 43 acres in an effort to reduce the amount of weeds several years prior to completing the restoration.  The Jordan River Commission is currently applying to an EPA grant to pay for noxious weed treatment over the next two years on the City's 27 acres. The restoration project will incorporate a long term noxious weed treatment plan (refer to monitoring methods).

The Department of Interior through the America's Great Outdoor Initiative committed two years of in-kind staff time from the Restoration Support Unit, USFWS, and NPS.  Other partners like the Jordan River Commission have also committed two years of in-kind support and resources.  The City is striving to have the restoration design completed while there is strong support by stakeholders within two years.  This would allow the City to then begin using Sharon Steel Settlement funding for construction.

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.

Big Bend Restoration Environmental Assessment (EA) (Draft 2013) URMCC will completed the EA this summer.  Goals /objectives: 1) Restore channel geomorphology, native riparian and wetland habitat, and improve wildlife habitat, 2) Improve water quality by running water through wetland complexes, 3) Reduce risk of flooding due to improved channel capacity, and 4) Restore an estimated 10,000 linear feet of shaded river aquatic habitat.

West Jordan City Trail Action Plan (2012) Goals /objectives: 1) Includes a timeline showing the partners involved since 1991 and identifies settlement funding, 2) Identifies the restoration project adjacent to the trail, 3) Includes a listing of the restoration plans, and 4) A goal stated in the plan is, "Create an aesthetic, native, and healthy plant community through restoration and establishment of a natural area." 
West Jordan Parks, Recreation, Trails, and Open Space Handbook (2012)  The goals/objectives: 1) Identifies lands Environmental and Recreational uses, 2) Open land gives permanent protection to natural resources and environmentally sensitive lands including wetlands and wildlife habitats, 3) Restore City open space in an ecologically way helpful to the wildlife and native plant species, and 4) Connect corridors in and around the community that has been legally and permanently preserved to provide for recreation as well as wildlife corridors.

Army Corps of Engineers -- West Jordan Section 206 Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Draft Environmental Assessment (2010). The assessment included a cultural and historic concurrence of no affect from the Utah State Historic Preservation Office.   Goals /objectives: 1) Restoring lowland riparian habitat, 2) The restoration provides an opportunity to restore the degraded ecosystem structure, function, and dynamic processes of the river, 3) Restoring both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem functions could improve both aquatic and terrestrial habitat over what presently occurs on-site, and 4) Increased the number and diversity of aquatic invertebrates and improved 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.

Sharon Steel Damage Settlement Restoration Plan (1997)  Goals/objectives: 1) Restoring, replacing, and enhancing natural functioning habitats for migratory birds and other wildlife, 2) Addresses settlement funds to provide maximum benefits for resources damaged, 3) Identifies migratory birds and endangered species and their habitat and outlines restoration of their habitat, and 4) Addresses restoring, enhancing, and replacing natural, functioning habitats.

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.