Powell Slough is one of the only remaining areas alonng the east side of Utah Lake where people can still hunt and fish. Powell Slough was once a prime area for waterfowl hunting, pheasant hunting, and fishing. However, because of the thick phragmites and limited legal access points, Powell Slough on Utah Lake has been difficult to access for sportsman. There is currently a locked gate on one of the only access points on the north end of Powell Slough. People are currently driving around this gate and driving down to the water(See Photos). Land ownership questions have been resolved and now we would like to open up this gate, improve a two track road that folks are using with gravel road base, place a buck and pole fence and boulders along the road to prevent vehicles from going off road, and placing signage to inform public that this is a legal access point and what hunting and fishing activities are legal. This will greatly enhance the sportsman access and allow more opportunity.

1. Improve access to Powell Slough for sportsman. 2. Improve hunting and fishing opportunity on Utah Lake. 3. Remove ambiguity about legal access points on Powell Slough for sportsman. 4. Remove ambiguity about hunting and fishing opportunity and regulations on Powell Slough.

If we do not do this project people will continue to drive around gates and cause erosion and other damage to property. People will also be able to drive off-road through out the property and cause damage to the wildlife resources. There will continue to be a loss of potential hunting and fishing opportunity for the public. Utah Lake will continue to go underutilized.

UDWR Goals and Objectives: Constituency Goal: 1. Increase public awareness of wildlife as a quality-of-life issue in order to expand our support base and achieve stable funding. This project helps to provide a greater opportunity for the public to experience nature close to the city and increase opportunity for city kids to experience hunting and fishing. 2. Expand programs to recruit and retain young hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers. This project will achieve this goal as well. Utah Lake Commission Plan Goals: 1. Encourage and promote multiple uses of the lake. This project will add value and encourage more uses of Utah Lake for sportsman by increasing access. 3. Promote resource utilization and protection. This project will help to increase the use of Powell Slough and protect the resources by preventing people from leaving the road and damaging the resource. 4. Maintain and develop recreation access. This project will increase and improve the access for sportsman to Powell Slough.

There are lots of dry grasses and phragmites in the fields surrounding the road. Building this will help prevent people from driving off road and increasing the risk of starting a fire.

This project will prevent vehicles from driving out into the mud and stream bank where they get stuck and contaminate the water.

All permits and permission will be acquired previous to implementation.

We will use UDWR backhoe and bull dozer to smooth out the road, lay road base, and place boulders. We will pile dirt and boulders on edges of gate to prevent people from driving around and causing erosion when it is desired to be closed. We will use volunteers and UDWR personnel to build the buck and pole fence. Boulders will be placed along the parking area and boat access area to the stream. Signs will be placed at the entrance and parking area to inform people about hunting and fishing regulations.

We will document changes in the surrounding vegetation and road with before and after photographs. (See Images)

The property on Powell Slough is a combination of FFSL and BOR property. The UDWR is partnering with these agencies to invest in this property and add value of it to sportsman and wildlife. The UDWR is also partnering with the Utah Lake Commission to plan and implement this project. Utah County will be a partner and several nearby companies will be brought in as well. Sportsman groups have expressed a great need for this and we will work with them to help with labor of installing fencing.

We are investing more up-front to build the fence out of buck and pole and boulders which will reduce the long term maintenance costs. This will be a very low maintenance project and will greatly improve future management of Powell Slough. If vandalism occurs or trash gets placed on the road there are local companies who are interested in maintaining the property and keeping it clean. Also, we can work with dedicated hunters and members of the community to keep the property clean and maintain fences and signs as they break or get vandalized.

This fencing will also make it easier for livestock to graze powell slough without concern of cattle getting out into town.

10/01/2018

06/21/2019

2019

We first got a cooperative agreement in place with BOR and UDWR to get sportsman access to the Powell Slough area. We then built a post and rail fence all along the road and parking area access points. We also had large boulders placed around the large parking area and boat ramp to keep people from driving where they shouldn't. We then had dump trucks haul in gravel and we spread it with our backhoe. Over the winter sportsman began accessing the area and we noticed that the gravel was being pushed around and so in the spring we had some road base hauled in and graded to help wold the gravel in place.

Powell Slough is one of the only remaining areas alonng the east side of Utah Lake where people can still hunt and fish. Powell Slough was once a prime area for waterfowl hunting, pheasant hunting, and fishing. However, because of the thick phragmites and limited legal access points, Powell Slough on Utah Lake has been difficult to access for sportsman. There was a locked gate on one of the only access points on the north end of Powell Slough. People were driving around this gate and driving down to the water(See Photos). Land ownership questions have been resolved and a access agreement has been put in place. We improved a two track road that folks are using with gravel road base, placed a buck and pole fence and boulders along the road to prevent vehicles from going off road, and placing signage to inform public that this is a legal access point and what hunting and fishing activities are legal. This project has greatly enhanced the sportsman access and allows more huting and fishing opportunity.

We are investing more up-front to build the fence out of buck and pole and boulders which will reduce the long term maintenance costs. This will be a very low maintenance project and will greatly improve future management of Powell Slough. If vandalism occurs or trash gets placed on the road there are local companies who are interested in maintaining the property and keeping it clean. Also, we can work with dedicated hunters and members of the community to keep the property clean and maintain fences and signs as they break or get vandalized.