The Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, the Department of the Interior Central Utah Project Completion Act Office and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District are preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the potential impacts of restoring the Provo River delta back to a more naturally functioning delta ecosystem. (study area map)

Each spring in the lower Provo River, adult June sucker (Chasmistes liorus) are observed spawning, and significant numbers of recently hatched larvae are subsequently monitored drifting downstream.  But post-larval survival rates of the June sucker have been found to be low to zero since the species was listed as endangered in 1986 (and before).  Monitoring efforts have not documented the successful recruitment of wild June sucker from Provo River and research has shown that larval fish generally do not survive longer than about 20 days after hatching.  It is believed that the larval fish die because of a lack of suitable “nursery” or rearing habitat and are therefore unable to recruit to the adult population.  The project is needed to facilitate recovery of June sucker by implementing requirements of the June Sucker Recovery Plan to restore naturally functioning habitat conditions in the Provo River/Utah Lake interface that are essential for spawning, hatching, larval transport, survival, rearing and recruitment of June sucker.(learn more)