Some fish living in Strawberry River are finding themselves in hot water.

Uinta National Forest is proposing to restore about 3 miles of Strawberry River over the next several years, and is looking for public comment on the plan.

As it is now, there is very little vegetation along the stream bank, and "summer daytime water temperatures often reach sub-lethal levels for trout," according to a summary of the restoration proposal. Restoring the stream bank and willows will provide shade for the fish and end the erosion smothering eggs.

For decades, the river has been maimed by artificial channeling and eradication of native willows, and the stream bank now needs to be stabilized in 35 places, using logs, boulders and the 'root wads' of old trees to do the job, according to forest officials.

Rising water temperatures, due at least in part to the loss of willows and other stream bank vegetation to shade the water, seem to be linked to the falling number of fish being born in the stream.

In addition, bank erosion is smothering fish eggs in gravel beds.

"You have to have nice clean gravel for them to spawn or eggs get smothered," said Julie King of Uinta National Forest.

Oxbow ponds, necessary as homes for amphibians, fish, waterfowl, bugs, beaver, muskrat and other animals, need to be restored or built from scratch.

The work will also require the construction of a 1-mile temporary road. Road construction is tentatively scheduled to begin by July 1, 2008. Topsoil will be saved to use in reclaiming the area disturbed by construction.

Strawberry Reservoir and its tributaries are the "premier flatwater fishery in the western U.S.," King said. "It is a very important river and fishery."

The area is heavily used by fishers and recreationists, and the water quality is also important because it supplies water to the Wasatch Front, she said.

The restoration work now proposed, which is the third phase of a four-phase restoration project along the river, is intended to restore the river "to a naturally functioning watershed," she said.

Willows in the area were sprayed with poison to kill them "because once upon a time it was thought they drank too much water, and now we know they hold the system together, and now when we have a storm, it washes away the stream bank," she said.

With this third phase of the project, about $240,000 total will have been spent in restoring segments of the river, said Alan Ward of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The money comes from state tax dollars, through the governor's Blue Ribbon Fisheries Advisory Council, and through the $2 million collected annually from state license fees by the Utah Habitat Council when anglers, hunters or wildlife watchers buy a license, permit, stamp or certificate of registration.

The stream segments proposed for restoration are between the Bull Springs Road in Wasatch County and approximately half-mile upstream of U.S. Highway 40. Additionally, approximately one-fourth-mile of Hobble Creek and one mile of Spring Creek will be included. This section is situated on National Forest lands.

Once restored, state officials expect to see a spike in the number of cutthroat trout and kokanee salmon being born in the river and moving into Strawberry Reservoir. Other wildlife will also benefit from returning the river to a more natural condition.

Habitat surveys conducted on adjacent stream segments during 1997 indicate that increasing the amount of stream cover by 20 percent could yield a 13-pound-per-acre increase in trout in this section of stream, according to a proposal summary.

Public comments on the proposal will be accepted for about two more weeks.

Those interested are asked to send written comments to: Julie King, District Ranger, Heber Ranger District, P.O. Box 190, Heber City, UT 84032; or call (435) 654-0470; or fax to (435) 654-5772; or e-mail comments-intermtn-uinta-heber@fs.fed.us.