The Horton property consists of approximately 24.29 acres of pasture/grazing land bordering Utah Lake. This property provides a water quality buffer to Utah Lake and the Provo River Delta, serves as critical upland habitat for nesting and migratory birds, and is pasture for grazing - serving multiple purposes. This parcel is one of the last pieces of undeveloped property between Utah Lake and fast approaching residential developments moving in from Provo City. The property sits adjacent to 1,150 acres of protected land that currently runs for more than 4 miles along the Utah Lake shoreline. This protected area currently encompasses the State of Utah's Powell Slough Waterfowl Management Area (700 acres), the Taylor Family Easement (108 acres held by The Nature Conservancy), the **Provo River Delta Restoration Project (287 acres), the Robins, Seale, and Heslington Easements (a combined total of 55 acres held by the Department of Agriculture and Food) and Utah Lake State Park. **The purpose of the Provo River Delta Restoration Project is to help recover the June sucker, a Utah species of Greatest Conservation Need (listed N1), and in doing so, restore the area's natural ecosystem. The project will restore the historical Provo River Delta into a system of braided channels and wetlands before eventually making its way into Utah Lake. The diversity of habitats and function supported by the restored delta area will provide the necessary conditions for juvenile June sucker to develop to a size where they can survive in Utah Lake.

Protecting this parcel will add to the existing conserved lands in the area and are expected to provide multiple benefits including: - preserving viable agriculture (i.e., allowing grazing to continue); - preserving wildlife and migratory bird habitat; - providing buffer land for Utah Lake and the Provo River Delta which helps protect water quality; - protecting open space and enhancing outdoor recreational opportunities. To ensure long-term protection of the conservation values of the Property, the major restrictions of Property Uses within the Deed of Conservation Easement, are as follows: Subdivision is prohibited; Industrial Activities are prohibited; Construction of small agricultural Structures are permitted within a half-acre building envelope located along the existing dirt-access road, with prior written approval of the easement UDAF.

Utah Lake is located approximately 40 miles south of the Great Salt Lake and is most important as a freshwater oasis for water-dependent wildlife in the arid Great Basin. Large numbers of waterfowl and shorebirds use the wetlands surrounding the lake as a resting place and breeding ground. Large populations of white pelican travel from their nesting sites of the Great Salt Lake to feed at Utah Lake daily. Bald eagles are commonly seen at the conservation area during the winter months. Utah Lake is also home to the June sucker (Chasmistes liorus), a fish species that is State-listed N1, a species of Greatest Conservation Need. Endemic to Utah, the June sucker naturally occurs only in Utah Lake and spawns in the lower Provo River, one of the three largest tributaries to the lake. The Utah Lake ecoregional portfolio site is also home to the G1 endemic Utah Hydroporus diving beetle (Hydroporus utahensis). Protection of this land is under immediate threat of fast approaching residential and commercial development from the East (Utah County is one of the State's fastest growing counties). Action must be taken now to ensure this land are protected in perpetuity.

Acquisition of a conservation easement over this property advances strategies within the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Plan. By way of a Cooperative Agreement between the Utah Department of Natural Resources, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, The Nature Conservancy, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, TNC agreed to acquire lands identified by the interagency June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program. Also, TNC's Great Basin Ecoregional Plan has identified the Utah Lake Conservation Area as a high-priority conservation site. This project advances TNC's 2030 goal Saving Healthy Lands for a Healthier Planet, and specifically TNC's Utah Business Unit's Protecting Resilient Lands strategy.

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According to the Utah Division of Water Quality, Utah Lake suffers from high percentages of dissolved solids, concerning levels of PCBs in fish, and high levels of phosphorous due to municipal water waste and agricultural runoff, which leads to significant, poison algal blooms in summer. Protecting land directly next to the lake helps create a buffer. The land filters discharges into the lake and also serves to recharge the valley's large aquifer, whose artesian wells have been used by farmers in the area for more than a century. Likewise, the Provo River's two outlets will now essentially straddle this parcel of land, which will enlarge the river's riparian buffers.

Immediately upon TNC's acquisition of the conservation easement, TNC will assign the easement to UDAF. TNC has been awarded funds through the State of Utah's LeRay McAllister Working Farm and Ranch Fund. These funds will be used to fund a portion of the Horton easement. The Fund's regulations state a government agency is required to hold the conservation easement. Since UDAF's conservation programs work to sustain Utah's agricultural lands and protect the state's natural resources, UDAF is the most appropriate state agency to hold the easement. UDAF will be responsible for conducting annual site visits to ensure the condition and uses of the properties are in compliance with the general, underlying conservation purposes of the conservation easement.

Historical uses of the property will continue, which include pasturing of horses, raising alfalfa, and maintaining fences. There are no buildings or structures located on the property. A provision within the conservation easement permits small agricultural structures may be built within a half- acre building envelope located along the existing dirt/access road, with prior written approval from UDAF.

Property management and taxes will be the responsibility of the landowner. Monitoring the Property for compliance with the terms and conditions of the conservation easement will be the responsibility of UDAF. UDAF will supply a copy of the annual monitoring report to TNC.

The Utah Department and Agriculture and Food, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Department of Natural Resources, United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Services, Provo City Council, Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program, Utah Lake Authority, Central Utah Water Conservancy District, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, Provo Sustainability Committee, Conserve Utah Valley, Senator Mike K. McKell, and Utah State Representative Marsha Judkins.

Future property management will be the responsibility of the landowner and conducted in accordance with the Conservation and Grazing Management Plan developed by UDAF and the Horton Family.

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05/07/2021

11/27/2024

2025

The acquisition of the Horton conservation easement closed on November 27, 2024, and the Deed of Conservation Easement was recorded. All of the funds granted by UT Division of Wildlife Resources, in the amount of $250,000, were used towards the purchase price of the Horton conservation easement. Immediately upon TNC's acquisition of the conservation easement, TNC assigned the easement to Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. A portion of funding was received from the LeRay McAllister Fund. Under its regulations, a state agency is required to hold the conservation easement. Since UDAF's conservation programs work to sustain Utah's agricultural lands and protect the state's natural resources, UDAF is the most appropriate state agency to hold the easement. UDAF holds conservation easements across the state which they monitor and enforce in accordance with the terms and conditions of those easements.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) acquired a conservation easement over the Horton property, located in Utah County, Utah, from the owner, Horton Family Trust, for the purchase price of $972,000. The Property consists of approximately 24 acres of ranchland bordering Utah Lake. This parcel is one of the last pieces of undeveloped property between Utah Lake and fast approaching residential development. The Property sits adjacent to protected land that currently runs for more than 4 miles along the Utah Lake shoreline. This protected area currently encompasses the State of Utah's Powell Slough Waterfowl Management Area (700 acres), the Taylor Family Easement (held by The Nature Conservancy of 108 acres), the *Provo River Delta Restoration Project (287 acres), the Robins Family Easement (held by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food of 31 acres), the Seale Family Easement (held by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food of 8 acres), the Heslington Family Easement (held by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food of 16 acres), and the Utah Lake State Park. Acquisition of this conservation easement will help conserve local agricultural land, maintain open space and views from existing public trails, and maintain habitat for nesting and migratory birds.

Property management and taxes will be the responsibility of the landowner. Monitoring the Property for compliance with the terms and conditions of the conservation easement will be the responsibility of Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.