The U.S. Depart,enmt of Interior, Central Utah Project Completion Act Office, has released its final Environmental Assessment (FEA) and finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the proposed Hobble Creek Resotration Project. The project is planned in cooperation with the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program (JSRIP) and is designed to improve spawning and rearing conditions in Hobble Creek for the endangered June sucker fish.

A copy of the final document may be requested from Interior of viewed at JSRIP website at www.junesickerrecovery.org.

The proposed project would relocate lower Hobble Creek (west of I-15) to the south onto property owned by the State of Utah. The new stream reach would provide access by adult June sucker, which occur in Utah Lake, to suitable habitat in Hobble Creek, and provide protected nursery habitat for newly hatched fish.

Adjacent wetlands, to be constructed on the property in cooperation with the Utah Transit Authority, would offset wetland impacts in Utah County resulting from the new Frontrunner South commuter rail line and would also provide additional protected habitat for young-of-year June sucker.

Construction is expected to begin in September and all work should be completed by the end of November. The flows of Hobble Creek will enter onto the property just west of I-15 and be conveyed to Utah Lake via a new sinuous channel.

During high flows, water would be expected to leave the new channel but will be contained on the property by means of dikes to be constructed on the property boundaries. In future years, the Utah Lake System of the Central Utah Project, being constructed by the Department of Interior and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, will direct additional water to Hobble Creek to improve habitat conditions for June sucker in the creek.

The June sucker, a native fish found only in Utah Lake, was federally listed as an endangered species with Critical Habitat in 1986. Factors contributing to its federal listing include localized distribution, failure to recruit individuals to the adult life stage and completion with introduced predator fish in Utah Lake.

Currently the June sucker spawns naturally only in the lower Provo River, the main Utah Lake tributary. Establishing a second, natural spawning tributary is part of the approved species Recovery Plan and will help speed the removal of the June sucker from the Federal Endangered Species List.

The JSRIP has determined that Hobble Creek is the best Utah Lake tributary for this project.

The JSRIP is made up of federal, state and local agencies working to complete the approved Recovery Plan for the species. Participating agencies, in addition to Interior, include: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Utah Department of Natural Resources, Central Utah Water Conservancy District, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, Provo River Water Users Assoc., Provo Reservoir Water Users Company and outdoor interests, which include both angling and environmental groups.

For more information about the proposed project, or the JSRIP, or to request a copy of the FEA ad FONSI, call Ralph Swanson, 801-379-1254, or visit www.junesuckerrecovery.org.