Project Details

The Diamond Mountain Lakes (Matt Warner, Calder and Crouse) and the Pot Creek watershed are an incredibly valuable resource for Uintah Basin residents. All three of these lakes are very productive and grow large trout. Fishery management strategies for these 3 lakes include opportunity for family-oriented fishing (put-grow-take) and catch and release trophy. In order for those strategies to succeed, we must be able to overwinter fish in multiple waterbodies. The Diamond Mountain Lakes are among the highest angler use per surface acre in the state of Utah when functioning at their potential. The lakes also provide valuable water storage for residents that live along Pot Creek. The watershed is small and Pot Creek is an ephemeral stream that only flows in the spring and early summer during snow melt. Therefore, water for the reservoirs is entirely dependent on adequate annual snowpack in the headwaters. Low water years contribute to oxygen depletion that has resulted in numerous winter fish kills since 2013. We are able to mitigate winter fish kill conditions through water management and triage, but using a device to increase oxygen availability in these lakes helps us stretch this opportunity much further and eliminates some of the risk of winterkill conditions during shorter-term drought cycles.

We completed a SolarBee project on Calder Reservoir September 2022. We have studied the effect the device has had on water quality/dissolved oxygen through several winters while learning some of the issues these devices have. The device has proven effective at mitigating some of the low dissolved oxygen effects we have observed when it is operational. The 2022 Calder proposal was funded by Utah Division of Water Quality as a partnership opportunity. This proposal seeks to match that experience and partnership through DWR to obtain a similar product at Matt Warner Reservoir.

The overall goal of this project and others in this watershed is to maintain viable fisheries that do not winterkill.

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.

A SolarBee unit in Calder Reservoir has shown great promise for improving dissolved oxygen during winter months (see attached image). This promise and realized effect has convinced us that pursuing a SolarBee at Matt Warner should improve conditions and fish survival there. This is especially true looking into FY26 because we have been able to overwinter fish for two years in a row at both Calder and Matt Warner Reservoirs, and we hope to be able to continue this trend while we have a healthy fishery. Inaction will lead us to an increased risk to winterkill conditions and/or affect our water management strategies between the lakes. The Diamond Mountain lakes were categorized as Blue Ribbon fisheries for well over a decade before we began experiencing fish declines related to winterkills. When these lakes overwinter fish, the size, growth, and condition of these fish is beyond impressive. If we can utilize technology to limp our fisheries through weak water years, these lakes have the full potential to realize Blue Ribbon status once again.

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.

We are in the process of drafting a Diamond Mountain Fisheries Management Plan. This plan will identify water quality improvement projects as a principle management action we are undertaking to improve fisheries resources, availability, and angler satisfaction for these lakes.

As former Blue Ribbon fisheries and hopeful future nominees, this proposal links core values of the Utah Blue Ribbon fisheries plan. Specifically, standards and economic impacts are met when these fisheries are performing at their finest. These lakes exceed the standards category in terms of fish abundance and availability, high-quality outdoors experiences, scenery and aesthetics. The lakes also provide economic value to rural communities, with Vernal being a primary recipient. The vast majority of Calder Reservoir anglers hail from communities hundreds of miles away from Uinta County, with direct benefits for lodging, food, and fuel to Vernal and Dutch John. The core investment value for this management plan is also accomplished where the Blue Ribbon program invests in world-class fisheries to restore habitat, restore fisheries, and gain increased angler access to these resources.

This proposal is related to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources strategic plan with meeting constituency and resource goals. By increasing the capability for these reservoirs to sustain healthy, productive fisheries, we are meeting objective C1 to "increase opportunities for and participation in fishing, hunting, and other wildlife-related activities." By advancing a prescription to maintain lakes with different fisheries management strategies of trophy catch and release and put-grow-take, we are C4 "taking reasonable steps to address our constituents needs, wishes and priorities." Within the resource goals, we are satisfying R1 and R2 by increasing and maintaining these fishery populations and maintaining/increasing the quality of fisheries habitat available.

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.

We are proposing the purchase of a Solarbee water circulation system. It is a premanufactured device used in lakes all over the country to improve multiple water quality issues. This system will help reduce harmful algae blooms and improve dissolved oxygen. It works by circulating the upper part (epilimnion) of the water column. It is solar powered and can be positioned in the middle of a lake/reservoir. We can expect to see improvements in DO levels fairly quickly upon installation and throughout the winter months.

Water quantity could be affected as a secondary reaction. We currently have to play a game of triage and balance to satisfy downstream water user demand for water while holding enough to hopefully overwinter our fisheries. Having some increased trust in our ability to overwinter fisheries may allow us to keep water in places where we may otherwise elect to send water to lower lakes in the system. Every time we deliver water, we incur a substantial "water cost" to the process where we lose a substantial amount of water to "wet" a channel.

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.