By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
The June sucker planting program slated for Mona
Reservoir in the near future will not jeopardize
recreation.
Michael R. Styler, Executive Director of the State of
Utah Department of Natural Resources, followed up a recent
discussion with Juab County Commissioners by sending them a
letter to further explain some issues that surfaced during
the earlier meeting.
"I am writing this letter to confirm our discussions
and to assure you the experimental introduction of June
sucker into Mona Reservoir will not have any impact on
existing uses at Mona or in any way interfere with the
operations of the dam and facilities," said Styler.
He said that June sucker placed in Mona Reservoir will
be covered under a permit to the Division of Wildlife
Resources which allows the division to study, monitor and
"take" the listed species as a part of the
investigation.
"The experimental introduction comes with a full
awareness on the part of the researchers that any loss of
June sucker are part of that authorized take," Styler
said.
He said, in addition, representatives of the June
Sucker Recovery Implementation Program have met with Current
Creek and Mona water users and, based on assurances, from
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services in Oct. 11, 2006, agreed
to the experimental introduction.
Indemnification from federal takings includes other
activities the county commissioners expressed, such as
recreational use, incidental take by anglers or actions by
landowners.
"Simply put, this study will tell us if June sucker
can make it Mona (under existing constraints) and any loss
of fish would be covered under our existing research
permit.
Any future actions or interest in Mona for the long
term, beyond the duration of the study, would be a
completely separate and new discussion requiring concurrence
from the users, landowners and commissioners, he said.
"I told Mike Styler that when we saw the water, they
would have the fish," said Chad Winn, commissioner.
However, said Winn, Styler said that the fish come
with 10,000 acre-feet of water and the only way the area
will ever receive water from the Central Utah Water
Conservancy District (CUWCD) is to allow the project.
CUP facilities are operated and maintained in
Duchesne, Wasatch, Summit, Juab, Utah, and Salt Lake
counties. The facilities include major storage and
regulating reservoirs, smaller diversion features, and
interconnecting conveyance systems. Some features are
operated under third party contracts with other water
agencies.
Winn said the commission had also made it clear that
they did not want the water brought through a pipeline and
then dropped into Mona Reservoir.
"We asked if the water could be brought down through
the channel to Mona Reservoir," said Val Jones, commission
chairman.
He said the channel could then be rehabilitated, which
commissioners consider to be an important part of the
project.
"The letter to use from Mike Styler is his guarantee,"
said Winn.
He had been concerned, said Winn, that recreation,
fishing and irrigators and present uses all be allowed to
continue in spite of the June sucker planting program.
The June sucker lives naturally only in Utah Lake and
the Provo River. The species was federally listed as
endangered April 30, 1986. The June sucker is unique among
the sucker family of fish in that it is not a bottom-feeder,
but has evolved a mouth which allows it to collect
zooplankton from the water. They can reach a weight of 5 lb.
and have a long life span of over 40 years.
June sucker were once abundant in Utah Lake, but
several factors have brought the species to the brink of
extinction. Some contributions to its decline include
predation on its young by introduced species such as the
white bass and walleye, overfishing, pollution and resulting
turbidity in Utah Lake, drought, alteration of water flow,
and the introduction of carp, which eat native vegetation
which provides shelter for June sucker.
Biologists have been rearing the June sucker and
releasing them into Utah Lake to help build the population.
During the summer of 2005, over 8,000 June sucker were
released into Utah Lake.
The June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program
(JSRIP) coordinates and implements recovery actions for the
June sucker.
The hope is that the fish will do well in Mona
Reservoir and the success of the study will allow the
knowledge used to see the fish planted in other places and
released from the endangered species list.
"If the program would bring water to the area, then I
could support it," said Jones.
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