The Uinta Basin Replacement Project, which was authorized by the Central Utah Project Completion Act, is located within Duchesne County near the towns of Altamont, Upalco, and Roosevelt, within the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah. The Central Utah Water Conservancy District (District) is implementing the project. The Mitigation Commission is responsible for mitigating project impacts to fish, wildlife and wetland habitats. Funding for mitigation measures is provided under Title II of CUPCA through the U.S. Department of the Interior. The final Environmental Assessment was signed in October 2001 and project construction began in 2003.

The Project’s purpose is to provide additional early and late season irrigation water, provide municipal and industrial water supplies, and to modify and operate water management facilities for environmental purposes. This involves stabilizing thirteen high mountain lakes within the High Uintas Wilderness Area, constructing the new Big Sand Wash Feeder Diversion Structure and Pipeline, enlarging Big Sand Wash Reservoir, constructing a new Big Sand Wash-to-Roosevelt Pipeline, modifying the Moon Lake outlet works, and fish and wildlife mitigation and enhancement. Environmental needs include fishery resources that are depressed by widely fluctuating streamflows, dry damming, and recurring instream activities such as rebuilding irrigation diversions, channelization, and bank stabilization. [For more information, click here to link to the District’s web page].

The Mitigation Commission issued a Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact in February 2004 for implementing the fish and wildlife mitigation features of the Uinta Basin Replacement Project. The mitigation features are as follows:

• High Mountain Lakes Stabilization. [For more information visit our High Uintas Lake Stabilization site by clicking here, or on menu item above] Stabilization of thirteen high mountain lakes has been completed. Nine (Bluebell, Drift, Five Point, Superior, Water Lily, Farmers, East Timothy, White Miller, and Deer) are located in the Upper Yellowstone River watershed and four (Brown Duck, Island, Kidney and Clements) are in the Brown Duck Basin of upper Lake Fork watershed. The lakes were stabilized to provide the following: eliminate operation and maintenance impacts in the wilderness area; return streamflows to year-round natural hydrologic runoff patterns; reclaim and restore approximately 170 acres of mountain lake shorelines; and, restore wilderness fishery and recreational values. [Click here to download the High Lakes Stabilization Swift Creek Drainage Lakes Technical Memorandum dated June 2006 (pdf 2,242K) and Construction Report dated September 2008 (1,904 K). Click here to download the Swift Creek Drainage Deer Lake and East Timothy Lake Technical Memorandum dated January 2010 (pdf 2,228K); Click here to download the Deer Lake Construction Report (1,925K) and East Timothy Lake Construction Report (3,704K), both dated November 2010; Click here to download the Clements Lake Stabilization Technical Memorandum dated June 2007 (pdf 2,323 K) and Construction Report dated October 2008 (2,058 K); Click here to download the Brown Duck and Island Lakes Stabilization Technical Memorandum dated January 2008 (pdf 3,053K) and Construction Report dated January 2010 (2,258K); Click here to downloand the Garfield Basin Lakes Stabilization Technical Memorandum, April 2009 (pdf 2,321K) and Construction Report, January 2010 (2,739K) Click here to download the High Lakes Stabilization Kidney Lake Technical Memorandum dated April 2009 (pdf 3,369K) and Construction Report, dated March 2010 (pdf 1,383K)]

• Moon Lake Outlet Works Modifications. Minor modifications were made to the Moon Lake Dam outlet works to facilitate release of instream flows. (Under the previous operation, no water was released from Moon Lake Dam from October to April.)

• Habitat Mitigation and Monitoring. The Mitigation Commission is responsible for wetlands mitigation and long-term maintenance and monitoring of the mitigation site. Wetlands mitigation for the project was implemented at the Montes Creek Wildlife Management Area through riparian wetland enhancement by Russian olive tree removal and controlling noxious and invasive weeds; wetland restoration by filling drainage ditches; and, new emergent wetland development by converting existing upland to emergent wetland. Montes Creek Mitigation Site As-Built Report, August 2010 summarizes activities completed at the mitigation site.