The Lower Weber River Basin is home to some of the most densely populated areas in Utah. This has resulted in historic and contemporary changes to the landscape and streams within it including vast development of infrastructure, water systems, and unsuitable land management practices (overgrazing and stream homogenization/channelization). In contemporary times, fragmented and degraded habitats threaten the ecosystem, the species within it, and the human population. The NOAA Climate Explorer projects increased temperatures and increased number of dry days for the Lower Weber Basin and rapid development of the area continues. These factors raise resource concerns and suggests that available habitat for fish and wildlife will continue to decrease. Already, populations of green sucker and Bonneville cutthroat are imperiled. Therefore, this project is needed to ensure that the current available habitat is maintained and maximized. Removing barriers to aquatic organisms will reduce habitat fragmentation, installing wildlife-friendly fencing will allow proper grazing management that enhances habitat for many riparian and upland species including wintering habitat for elk and deer, restoring and protecting floodplains will reduce fire risk and improve water quantity and quality during dry years and seasons, reducing sediment inputs in streams will improve fish and macroinvertebrate habitat and reduce cost and maintenance efforts incurred by water-distribution facilities, improving habitat complexity will improve the ability for fish and wildlife to persist throughout disturbances, and strategically implementing project elements with volunteer assistance and at education facilities (i.e., the Ogden Nature Center) will allow the general public to become more educated about watershed health.

The purpose of this project is to improve ecological resiliency in the Lower Weber River Basin, where projected climatic trends and habitat degradation threaten at risk species. Objectives to meet this purpose include 1. Recover aquatic-organism passage at Beaver Creek to allow fishes in the South Fork Ogden River to access additional spawning habitat (up to 89 miles of perennial and ephemeral streams above the barrier), 2. Implement riparian fencing and grazing management strategies at Beaver Creek to prevent stream degradation and improve habitat for terrestrial species, 3. Use process-based restoration on Cottonwood Creek to recover and improve heterogeneous habitat and riparian health, 4. Improve and protect floodplain access on the mainstem Weber River while reducing sedimentation of the Stoddard-Peterson reach, 5. Make habitat improvements at the Ogden Nature Center by building beaver dam analogs to restore stream structure, expand riparian vegetation through stream restoration practices and native plantings, and restore upland areas to improve habitat for beavers, migratory birds, waterfowl, native pollinators, fish, amphibians, bats, and mule deer, while reducing fire risk by capturing sediment and reconnecting the floodplain, and 6. Demonstrate methods to reduce conflicts between humans and beavers and educate the public about the importance and value of beavers on the landscape.

This project improves the ecological resiliency of the Lower Weber River. Species of concern including the green sucker and Bonneville cutthroat trout (the Utah State Fish) are at risk in this location due to increasing variability/extremes in weather patterns and reduced habitat availability resulting from habitat degradation and fragmentation. For example, 10 miles of the mainstem Weber River between Riverdale Bench Canal Diversion and Marriott-Slaterville Canal Diversion becomes uninhabitable to Bonneville cutthroat trout during dry years due to water temperature regimes that would result in mortality. Similarly, available habitat to bluehead sucker is lacking and is likely a limiting factor in their recovery according to Webber et al. 2012. The NOAA Climate Explorer projects increased temperatures and increased number of dry days for the Lower Weber River Basin; therefore, it is imperative that we immediately work to maintain and enhance habitat in the Lower Weber River to improve resiliency of the ecosystem and the species it supports. Each project element addresses foreseeable or already occurring problems that are related to publicly scrutinized planning/recovery documents (see "Relation to Management Plans Section" for further details regarding management plans and benefited species).

The Beaver Creek Aquatic-organism Passage element addresses fluvial Bonneville cutthroat trout passage and access to spawning habitat, which is considered an urgent need by the 2014 Weber River Watershed plan and by the Region-wide Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Bonneville Cutthroat Trout (Lentsch et al. 2000). The Beaver Creek fencing and grazing plan element addresses grazing practices that affect wildlife habitat and riparian health (including habitat for ruffed grouse, dusky grouse, and white-tailed jackrabbit, wintering habitat for mule deer, and crucial wintering habitat for elk). This is in line with the Utah Upland Game Management Plan, the Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan, the Elk Herd Unit Management Plan Elk Herd Unit # 4 Morgan-South Rich August 2016, and the 2014 Weber River Watershed plan. Additionally, water quality on the South Fork Ogden River currently does not meet water quality standards due to nutrient and eutrophication (Ogden River 9-Element Watershed Plan 2023). This project will reduce nutrient loading by adding fencing that will reduce cattle impacts on Beaver Creek, which is in line with management practice suggested by the watershed plan. The Cottonwood Creek Process Based Restoration element addresses floodplain access, improved quantity and temperature of water during summer months, more heterogenous habitat including pool formation large woody debris using process-based restoration (e.g., PALs). These actions support the Lower Weber River Sub-watershed Plan (2019) by ensuring that clean cold water is delivered to a portion of the Weber Rive that has been heavily altered and at times has been considered impaired based on macroinvertebrate communities. Additionally, this project helps to provide habitat and support to spawning fluvial Bonneville cutthroat trout (Budy et al. 2020) and is in line with recommendations by the the Region-wide Conservation Agreement and Strategy for Bonneville Cutthroat Trout (Lentsch et al. 2000). The mainstem bank stability and floodplain connectivity project will reduce sediment loading in the mainstem Weber River especially in the Stoddard-Peterson Reach, which suffers from chronic low flows and sedimentation of substrate. This is in line with recommendations from the Weber River Basin Planning for the Future Utah State Water Plan (2009) and the 2014 Weber Watershed Plan. Additionally, a portion of this element intersects with an impaired reach of the Weber River that is listed as impaired based on macroinvertebrate bioassessments (Final 2022 Integrated Report on Water Quality), and high sediment loading is a likely contributor to poor health of the macroinvertebrate community. The habitat improvements at the Ogden Nature Center support the Utah Beaver Management Plan by increasing awareness and appreciation for the role of beavers in Utah's ecosystems and working to improve riparian habitats, associated streams, and wetlands.

This project will improve fire resiliency by improving floodplain connectivity on the mainstem Weber River, on Cottonwood Creek, and at the Ogden Nature Center. Floodplain connectivity and BDAs within the stream channel increase the surface area of the stream and wetted soils along the stream bank. When soil moisture persists throughout the year, riparian plants remain green during dry summer months, serving as important fire breaks. Particularly at Ogden Nature Center, habitat becomes very dry during summer months, and the declining water table has exacerbated the situation.

One of the primary goals of this project is to improve habitat quality in the Weber River system and to address degradation of water quality. The source of water quality degradation has not been thoroughly quantified throughout the basin, but the most likely causes are channelization, erosive action, a lack of floodplain connectivity, and lack of quality riparian vegetation buffers. Additionally, stream-bank erosion is a major contributing factor to suspended sediment loading and sedimentation of substrates, which negatively impacts macroinvertebrates and fishes. The floodplain and stream-bank stabilization project element will address erosive banks at the Morgan Ranch that are estimated to contribute 405 tons/year of sediment and erosive banks near the 2015 Thurston property project that are believed to have released about 300 tons of sediment in 2023. To reduce water-quality degradation resulting from these massive inputs, we will use natural channel design features to return the stream to a sustainable state of equilibrium. Other project elements will address hydromodifications by implementing process-based restoration, which will help to trap sediment, return streams to a natural state of equilibrium, and protect/revegetate riparian areas. Further, water quality on the South Fork Ogden River, which currently does not meet water quality standards due to nutrient and eutrophication (Ogden River 9-Element Watershed Plan 2023), will be improved by cattle exclusion fencing on Beaver Creek.

Cultural resource surveys will be completed before project work begins. Joint Utah Division of Water Rights/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Stream Alteration Permits and County Floodplain approvals will be obtained before stream restoration activities are implemented. All project activities, particularity vegetation treatments, will adhere to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and avoid take of breeding birds.

Recovering aquatic-organism passage at Beaver Creek will be done by removing the diversion dam that is in place. We are currently exploring two options for ensuring the owner retains access to their water right -- 1. if feasible, the surface water right may be converted to a groundwater right and a well would be installed or 2. the diversion will be rebuilt using a natural-channel design that does not restrict fish movement and improves the ability to manipulate the quantity of water and measure flow. Riparian fencing and grazing management strategies will be implemented at Beaver Creek to prevent stream degradation, reduce nutrient loading in Beaver Creek and the South Fork Ogden River, and improve habitat for terrestrial species. Fencing will be installed according to suggestions by the "Fencing with Wildlife in Mind" document produced by Colorado Division of Wildlife. By installing fence along the riparian corridor and splitting the 300-acre field into 2 or 3 smaller fields many grazing strategies will become available (e.g., rotational grazing, seasonal grazing, etc.). Then, after vegetation surveys are completed, a grazing prescription designed to reduce invasive species and enhance wildlife forage will be devised. Process-based restoration will be used on Cottonwood Creek to recover and improve heterogeneous habitat and riparian health. This will primarily include the implementation of post assisted log structures. Any materials used will be natural (i.e., wood) and posts will be untreated. To improve and protect floodplain access on the mainstem Weber River while reducing sedimentation of the Stoddard-Peterson reach we will use natural-channel design principles and implement toe-wood structures and J-hooks to nudge the current unstable channel to a sustainable point of equilibrium. We plan to install beaver dam analogs on the northern extent of the Plain City Canal at the Ogden Nature Center. Untreated pre-sharpened wood posts will be used for the beaver dam analogs. Volunteers will fill in the gaps between fence posts with materials found on site (rocks, branches, etc.). Exact placement of structures will be determined after consultation with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. We will plant at least 500 plants (native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous species) along the riparian corridor at Ogden Nature Center with a large focus on willows. We will consult range maps in the NRCS technical note (Tilley et al. 2012) for riparian species in the intermountain west. Plantings will coincide with beaver dam analog placement to increase water availability to young vegetation. Before revegetation, we will treat the area as needed to remove invasive species from the riparian corridor and surrounding uplands. Invasive species removal will be key to ensure survival and success of native plantings. To engage the public, Ogden Nature Center will host a community event focused on beavers and low-tech restoration practices. We will invite a variety of stakeholders including families, agency professionals, producers, and community members interested in coexistence with beavers, particularly in an urban setting. During events, we will also demonstrate areas that have been fit with mitigation devices such as beaver-pond levelers and exclusionary fencing. Furthermore, we will invite conservation partners to table at the event and will conduct a public viewing of the documentary "Beaver Believers" to encourage attendance.

All project element locations will be photographed before, during, and after implementation. Additionally, photos will be taken opportunistically in the months and years following implementation. To objectively measure stream response, Rapid Stream Riparian Assessment (RSRA) surveys (Stacey et al. 2021) will be used for stream reaches where process-based restoration is used. Surveys using the RSRA protocol allow the stream reach to be scored on a scale of 1--5 with 1 representing highly impacted and non-functional conditions and 5 representing healthy and completely functional conditions. At locations on the mainstem Weber River, the bank assessment for non-point source consequences of sediment (BANCS; Rosgen 2009) model will be used before and after implementation to evaluate changes in the predicted sediment contribution within the reach -- a reduction in sediment contributions will be considered a successful outcome. Improvements to riparian and upland habitats resulting from fencing and grazing plans will be monitored using orthoimagery from unmanned aerial system, and on-the-ground vegetation assessments, which will include surveys for invasive plant species. Additional monitoring will take place at Ogden Nature Center, where trail cameras and wildlife survey's will be completed to help characterize wildlife activity. Ogden Nature Center has been collecting monthly bird surveys, which will provide baseline data, and will continue to so during and after implementation. Photographs, orthoimagery, RSRA reports, and BANCS model output will all be reported and submitted to the UWRI website.

Trout Unlimited-Project Management, Implementation, and Monitoring Ogden Nature Center-Project Management, Implementation, and Monitoring Utah Division of Wildlife Resources-Technical Advice Utah Division of Water Quality-Technical Advice Utah Department of Agriculture-Technical Advice USDA NRCS-Technical Advice and Funding BOR-Technical Advice and Compliance Assistance Bio-West-Technical Advice, Project Planning, Implementation Assistance, and Monitoring Feeny Family LC-Landowner and Grazing Management Implementation Mountain Durst LC-Landowner and Funding Assistance Morgan Ranch-Landowner and In-kind contributions (materials)

In-stream projects will use natural-channel design and process-based methods that are expected to have long lasting benefits and allow the streams to naturally maintain equilibrium. Nonetheless, monitoring (described above) will take place and required maintenance will be implemented as soon as possible if a project site can benefit from additional efforts. Additionally, small changes to grazing strategies may be made using an adaptive-management framework. Therefore, grazed fields will be evaluated periodically to determine if minor changes could improve results. In the Weber Basin, Trout Unlimited maintains 2 full-time staff and over 300-chapter members who mobilize as volunteers when needed. If management efforts are needed for any project element, the TU staff and volunteers will be available to take action. Ogden Nature Center has been in existence since 1975 as an urban nature preserve and has implemented a wide range of projects to establish wildlife habitat from a landscape that was essentially scraped gravel. Our Board of Directors recently approved our coexistence strategies, which provides long-term support for implementing restoration practices at the nature preserve. Given the close proximity to urban areas, Ogden Nature Center is well-positioned to serve as a long-term demonstration of these practices to other landowners and stakeholders that are interested in restoration using low-tech process-based methods and beaver reintroduction.

This project will encourage sustainable use of natural resources by educating the general public about resource concerns and living with wildlife -- especially by strategically implementing project elements at an education-focused facility (the Ogden Nature Center). The grazing strategy developed near Beaver Creek will improve sustainable grazing and wildlife habitat on the property. Finally, all project elements will improve the ecological resiliency of the basin by improving habitat complexity and water quality; therefore, populations that rely on these habitats will become more sustainable for recreation activities such as fishing and hunting. Further, water quality benefits will have far reaching effects due to the distribution of water along the Wasatch Front for municipal and secondary use. Water security will be improved for individuals living in this area.

07/01/2024

06/30/2025

2025

Trout Unlimited: Three of the five Trout Unlimited projects that were proposed received funding: 1. Beaver Creek Fencing, 2. Beaver Creek Fish Passage, and 3. Cottonwood Creek Riparian Improvement. The Beaver Creek fencing plan was altered to avoid impacts on wildlife as discussed in the WRI comments received here and during the proposal meeting. Instead of fencing both sides of the creek, we fenced the side with the most active grazing, and we are using a combination of topography and off-channel water to further limit effects of grazing on the other side. This project also fenced a spring head to prevent contamination and reduce cattle impacts to the spring. All fencing was completed using wildlife friendly techniques including smooth bottom and top wires, 4-strand fencing, and wildlife-friendly wire spacing. Engineering for the Beaver Creek Fish Passage project was completed, and construction will be completed in FY 26 once final approval is received from NRCS. The final design includes fish passage at the Pine Creek crossing and at the primary diversion. Implementation at Cottonwood Creek included the construction of debris jams in overflow channels of the mainstem creek. We built 11 large structures using available deadfall and nearby juniper trees. If standing dead trees were nearby, they were felled on top of the structures to improve anchoring and provide additional material. Ogden Nature Center: Three BDA's were constructed along the Plain City Canal extending the length of the canal at points identified as locations with most impact, focusing on the northern extent of the canal. Volunteers installed BDA's, weaving willow canes and large sticks around drilled grading stakes and securing with mud and rock sourced from the canal. A Weber State Ecology class and the Ogden Nature Center's Volunteer program added supplemental materials to four previously installed BDA's where needed, and planted willow propagules and riparian plugs around all seven BDA's. Wildlife cameras monitor BDA's, beaver activity and Redtail wetland to inventory species and number of visits in riparian areas. Redtail wetland was revegetated in spring 2025 with wetland sod, wetland seed mix and riparian plugs. To remove oil contamination entering Redtail Wetland from Plain City Canal, a sorbent oil boom was placed in May 2025, containing and removing trash and oil from the water. A film screening of Beaver Believers and community discussion was held at ONC in March 2025, which brought 115 community members to view the film and participate in a panel of regional experts and conservation partners.

Trout Unlimited: Three of the five Trout Unlimited projects that were proposed here received funding: 1. Beaver Creek Fencing, 2. Beaver Creek Fish Passage, and 3. Cottonwood Creek Riparian Improvement. Beaver Creek fencing was altered to avoid impacts on wildlife as discussed in the WRI comments received here and during the proposal meeting. Fencing was added to the West side of the creek where the most grazing pressure occurs. On this side, we were able to place fencing in the upland area, which will prevent impacts on the stream including hoof shear, nutrient input, and damage to riparian plants. On the east side, steep topography greatly limits grazing pressure. Additionally, two spring heads can be used for off-channel watering that will further reduce grazing pressure. One of the spring heads was fenced to prevent contamination and reduce cattle impacts on the spring. Future projects will include development of water storage and water troughs at the spring(s) to ensure consistent off-channel water is available to cattle. All fencing used wildlife friendly techniques including smooth bottom and top wires, 4-strand fencing, and wildlife-friendly wire spacing. Engineering for the Beaver Creek Fish Passage project was completed, and construction will be completed in FY 26 once final approval is received from NRCS. The final design includes fish passage at the Pine Creek crossing by removing the current diversion structure and piping the canal water under Pine Creek. The primary diversion on Beaver Creek will also be made fish passable by installing step pools below the structure. Implementation at Cottonwood Creek included the construction of debris jams in overflow channels of the mainstem creek. We chose to use debris jams instead of BDAs because they do not require posts, which could not be driven in the large cobble deposits, and they allowed us to use larger deadfall material, which has a co-benefit of reducing fuel loading for wildfires. The structures were designed to help modulate extreme flows during run-off conditions and improve hyporheic exchange. Ogden Nature Center: This project aimed to demonstrate beaver/human coexistence in urban settings and improve riparian habitat at the Ogden Nature Center. We successfully constructed three additional BDAs, inventoried wildlife species and visit frequency along the canals, and installed non-lethal beaver deceivers in flood-prone spots. We also educated students and the public about the benefits of beavers and threats watersheds face by constructing two educational panels to be displayed along our trails and passing out project stickers. Volunteers that assisted on this project were also informed about how their work impacts the greater goal to restore habitat through Utah watersheds.

Trout Unlimited: At Beaver Creek, grazing will be monitored to ensure that horses and cattle are using off-channel water and spending limited or no time in the streams. Additional, work to develop watering at the spring(s) will be done to ensure that they provide sustainable off-channel water. The Beaver Creek diversion rebuild will be completed in FY 26. At Cottonwood Creek, the debris jams will be monitored to determine their effectiveness and determine if additional jams need to be constructed to have the desired effect. Additionally, we are working to develop living with beaver projects and fish passage projects on Cottonwood Creek and its tributaries. Ogden Nature Center: Future management includes continuing public education about the project at our property, expanding our efforts to monitor wildlife through cameras and acoustic detectors, and remaining an example of how institutions can coexist with beavers by mitigating any potential flooding risks.