A new parking area area was constructed during 2022 in the CCE area on the north end of Strawberry Reservoir. This new 2.5 acre lot and small craft cement boat launch will provide much need expansion of parking and launching facilities, both summer and winter, for anglers and recreationists in the Strawberry Valley. The current single vault toilet is located about 500 yards from the new parking area. We are anticipating much higher use in the area than we previously had, and the additional vault would be needed. In addition, the new facility would be more strategically located closer to the new boat ramp, and in the new parking area making it much more convenient, summer and winter. In addition, the old restroom and parking area are slated for reclamation in the near future, and a replacement restroom is needed. Currently, we are providing portable restroom facilities for the winter, but a permanent restroom will alleviate this need in the future.

A Forest Service approved CXT double vault restroom would be purchased by the Forest Service, through a FS contract, and installed on site.

Restroom facilities in large parking areas where people will be lauching boats, and accessing the ice in the winter are quite necessary for sanitary purposes. It would be unfortunate to make the public use "the bushes" in such a situation.

The current Strawberry Management plan (UDWR Publication) calls for the support of a minimum of 1 million angler hours of pressure on the reservoir. Angler perception of crowding has been shown to often limit the desire to fish body of water. By dispersing pressure to a new parking area and small water craft launch site, we can effectively reduce this potential crowding. Restroom facilities must be a part of this expansion. The current management plan also calls specifically for improvement and development of areas for small water craft launching. The impetus for this comes from the conflicts that often occur between people launching small craft (such as personal inflatable craft, and other small vessels) that require more time to set up and launch than larger boats. The Strawberry Fisheries Management plan also calls for a minimum of 150,000 ice fishing hours annually. Providing access and facilities is key to this objective. The Forest Plan calls for protection of areas for sage grouse, and allows for closure of non-motorized areas to vehicle traffic. Uinta Forest Plan - 2003 Land and Resource Management Plan, Uinta National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/uwcnf/landmanagement/planning/?cid=stelprdb5076960&width=full Strawberry reservoir TMDL study 2005. Utah Division of Water Quality publication. -Greater Sage-grouse ROD- Attachment C: Utah Plan Amendment GRSG-GEN-DC001-Desired Condition: The landscape for the greater sage-grouse encompasses large contiguous areas of native vegetation, approximately 6-to-62 square miles in an area, to provide for multiple aspects of species life requirements. Within these landscapes, a variety of sagebrush-community compositions exist without invasive species, which have variations in subspecies composition, co-dominant vegetation, shrub cover, herbaceous cover, and stand structure to meet seasonal requirements for food, cover, and nesting for the greater sage-grouse. GRSG-R-GL-064-Guideline: In priority habitat management areas, sagebrush focal areas, and Anthro mtn., new recreational facilities or expansion of existing recreational facilities, including special-use authorizations for facilities and activities, should not be approved unless the development results in a net conservation gain to the greater sage-grouse or its habitat or the development is required for visitor safety. Wasatch County Resource Management Plan encourages land managers to "Maintain, enhance, and expand sport fishing opportunities...". This proposal for the new Chicken Creek East parking area and boat ramp was put before the Wasatch County Council and Public Lands Committee, and they were fully supportive of this effort.

Construction of this boat ramp will provide an excellent drafting location along the north shore of Strawberry Reservoir. All sized engines and water tenders will be able to directly access the reservoir, reducing drive times to other ramps of difficulties associated with dirt access'. This would have been particularly helpful 2 years ago when 2 small brush fires started along the highway on Strawberry's north shore, one was immediately across Hwy 40 from the new boat ramp site. A restroom on this site will only enhance, and make the site more usable.

Without a restroom facility available at a 2.5 acre parking lot with a boat launch, the amount of human waste entering the reservoir would greatly increase.

The NEPA work for this project was completed during the fall of 2018, and all permitting has been finalized. The project is now deemed "shovel-ready".

The Forest Service would use their contract with the CXT manufacturer to hire them to build, transport and install the double vault CXT restroom on site at the new CCE parking area.

The FS and UDWR would partner in making sure that purchasing and installation of the CXT was accomplished. The FS concessionaire would be responsible for the maintenance of the facility after it was constructed, as fees in the area would be collected to cover these costs.

UDWR

Maintenance of the facility would be done through the FS concessionaire in the area, and overseen by the Forest Service,

By providing this access for anglers, we will be insuring that crowding and use at other areas do not overly limit access to Strawberry Reservoir, throughout the entire year. We will also be dispersing certain types of users that have had conflicts at the other boat ramps around the reservoir, thus providing a wider variety of users a more enjoyable and user friendly experience.

06/30/2024

06/30/2024

2024

The restroom was not installed during FY24 due to the Forest Service not being able to get the restroom ordered in time

The project should be completed during FY25

A portion of the money ($42,5000) from the Habitat Council was carried over into FY 25, and the work should be finished by Dec. 1st 2024. The FS is paying the remainder.