The Bonneville cutthroat trout (BCT) and Colorado River cutthroat trout (CRCT) are both covered under Conservation Agreements to help protect and expand their populations and habitats to prevent them from becoming listed under the ESA. The DWR, in cooperation with the Dixie National Forest, have identified the upper East Fork Sevier River and tributaries above Tropic Reservoir as an area where a Conservation Population of BCT can be re-established. This would add about 30-35 miles of stream supporting BCT and other native fishes. Large stream treatments need to be broken up into shorter sections that can be efficiently and effectively treated with available manpower, time and budgets. A temporary fish barrier needs to be constructed on the East Fork Sevier River to make the stream sections above feasible to successfully treat two times. The fish barrier will prevent non-native fish below the barrier from moving upstream into a treated reach. In the future a permanent main barrier will be constructed just above Tropic Reservoir and eventually this temporary barrier would be removed (approximately 6-10 years) to connect steams together. Re-establishing BCT trout now in the upper reaches will provide a source population to establish BCT in lower streams in the future. UM Creek flows into Forsyth Reservoir and then down into Mill Meadow Reservoir. Above Forsyth Reservoir, UM Creek supports a Conservation Population of Colorado River cutthroat trout. Forsyth Reservoir has CRCT, splake and tiger trout (splake and tigers are sterile fish) stocked in it. Rainbows, browns and other trout are not stocked, in part, to help protect the CRCT population in UM Creek. The main barrier on UM Creek has had problems and is not always an effective barrier and splake have gotten above it in the past. Recently a few rainbow trout have been netted and caught in Forsyth Reservoir. The rainbows pose a real threat to the CRCT population if they should become established and move above the fish barrier. We believe that the dam at Forsyth Reservoir is not always an effective barrier and rainbow trout can move upstream from Mill Meadow Reservoir into Forsyth Reservoir. Rainbow trout may also have been moved by other people. The Southern Region would like to build a fish migration barrier on UM Creek just above Mill Meadow Reservoir to prevent or reduce the risk of rainbow trout, as well as perch, from moving upstream into Forsyth Reservoir. In Fall of 2019 the main UM Creek barrier had maintenance work completed and it now functions much better as a barrier to help protect the CRCT population. Three existing barriers on the North and South Forks of North Creek had maintenance work completed on them in fall of 2019, but there was too much water to repair the concrete splash pads. One barrier the pad has washed away and the other two have holes and need more concrete added to them.

- Construct a temporary fish barrier on the East Fork Sevier River that prevents non-native fish species from moving upstream into areas treated for re-establishing native Bonneville cutthroat trout. - Establish a new Conservation Population of BCT and other native fishes above the barrier. - Construct a new fish barrier on UM Creek that prevents non-native fishes from moving upstream from Mill Meadow Reservoir into Forsyth Reservoir. - Protect an established Conservation Population of Colorado River cutthroat trout in UM Creek. - Repair three concrete splash pads on existing barriers.

Without the barriers it would be very difficult and possibly not successful to establish a Conservation Population of BCT in the upper East Fork Sevier River. Without a barrier on UM Creek rainbow trout may be able to establish in Forsyth Reservoir and threaten to eliminate an existing Conservation Population of CRCT in UM Creek. Without concrete splash pads a plunge pool forms below barriers and fish are more likely to jump over the barrier and the pool weakens the rock barrier footings, possibly leading to failure. Barriers could fail and non-native fish move upstream past the barriers. They could cross breed with native cutthroats and we loose the genetic purity of the native cutthroats. Also, other trout species may out compete cutthroats for space and food resources, which can reduce CT numbers. By not expanding and preserving Conservation Populations of native cutthroat trout, it could become a factor in listing the species under the ESA.

Meets objectives in the Bonneville Cutthroat Trout and Colorado River Cutthroat Trout Conservation Agreements with the USFWS by expanding genetically healthy populations, creating metapopulations, and improving, restoring and protecting existing and potential cutthroat trout habitat. Meets UDWR goals and objectives to conserve, enhance and manage Utah's protected wildlife populations by: - maintaining and increasing critical habitats and watersheds - decrease risk to species and habitats - Manage sensitive species populations to prevent them from being federally listed

Not applicable

There would be a short term increase in stream sedimentation during construction. Sediments will not travel very far down stream. After construction there will be no change in water quality or quantity.

The Dixie National Forest has completed NEPA for the East Fork barrier. The Fishlake National Forest has just started NEPA (January 17) for the UM Creek barrier. It is expected to be approved by the end of summer 2020. A Stream Channel Alteration permit will be secured before construction begins.

The DWR heavy equipment crew will construct both barriers. The East Fork barrier will be built using 2'x4'x2' and 2'x4'x4' concrete blocks. An excavator is used to stack the blocks to create a 5' high vertical drop and side walls. A rubber pond liner material is placed on the upstream side of blocks to keep water from leaking through the blocks and the stream above is backfilled with dirt and gravel material. The top blocks are cabled back to buried deadman anchors to prevent them from being washed off by high flows. Regional DWR employees will pour a concrete splash pad below the structure to prevent a plunge pool from forming. The DWR crew will also haul 4-5 loads of rock to the site, which will be used to help prevent erosion around the barrier. A front-end loader is needed to move blocks and rock from the access road down to the stream. The UM Creek barrier will be constructed from loose rock that is located very close to the barrier location. An excavator stacks the rock up to form a 5' vertical drop with side walls. A rubber pond liner material is placed on the upstream side of the rocks to keep water from leaking through the rocks and the stream above is backfilled with dirt and gravel material. Regional DWR employees will pour a concrete splash pad below the structure to prevent a plunge pool from forming. All disturbed areas will be smoothed out, blended to contours and reseeded. It should take the DWR heavy equipment crew 9-10 days to complete both barriers. UDWR regional personnel will purchase concrete and other materials and then repair the concrete splash pads

Barriers are visually inspected annually to be sure they are functioning properly and not having problems. Maintenance is completed as necessary.

Dixie National Forest Fishlake National Forest

The upper East Fork Sevier River will be manged as a Conservation Metapopulation for Bonneville cutthroat trout. At some point in the future, several temporary barriers will be removed to create the metapopulation. The UM Creek Colorado River cutthroat trout population will continue to be maintained in the future. Periodically the fisheries above the barriers will sampled to assess the population and to be sure non-native fishes do not occur.

The streams will continue to provided recreational sport fishing and there will be no changes or impacts to existing uses in the area.

07/28/2020

10/22/2020

2021

Concrete blocks were delivered close to the barrier site on upper East Fork Sevier River. DWR heavy equipment crew moved the blocks from drop location to the barrier site. The crew used the DWR excavator to shape the stream banks and stack the concrete blocks to build the fish barrier. Rubber pond liner was placed above the blocks and the stream bed filled in to the 5' barrier height for about 30' above barrier. Future sediment deposition from the stream will fill the pond created above the barrier. A 2' high berm was constructed on the banks on each side of the barrier to prevent high water flows from going around the barrier. Disturbed areas were reshaped and smoothed out to blend in with surrounding contours. All disturbed areas were reseeded. The UM Creek barrier was not constructed because a better location was found. Changing to a new site delayed construction for one year and a new project proposal was submitted for FY22. The concrete pads on North Creek barriers were not repaired and replaced because the water was too high. We will try to fix the pads in FY22 under a new project number.

The Bonneville cutthroat trout (BCT) is covered under a Conservation Agreement to help protect and expand their populations and habitats to prevent them from becoming listed under the ESA. Construction of the upper East Fork Sevier River temporary fish barrier allows the DWR to treat the streams above the barrier to remove non-native fishes and the stream will not be reinvaded by non-native fishes from below. Once all fish all removed, the DWR will stock native Bonneville cutthroat trout back into the stream, along with other native species such as speckled dace, mountain sucker and southern leatherside. The barrier is functioning as intended. Streams above will be treated to remove non-native fishes in the near future. UM Creek barrier is funded, approved and is planned for construction in October 2021. North Creek barrier pads are planned to be repaired in fall 2021 as well.

Barrier will be inspected regularly to make sure it is functioning properly. It will take 5-10 years before the barrier is removed. In the near future, another barrier will be constructed further downstream and the streams between the 2 barriers will be treated and native cutthroat trout reestablished.