Porcupine Reservoir Destroyed

Everyone was excited. The kokanee fishery was finally coming on strong. The rainbow and cutthroat in the reservoir were growing well and even a few big browns cruised the shoreline. This icefishing season should have been one of the best in years for the reservoir.

Then I got a call from an angler that fishes Porcupine all the time. "How come the water level is so low in the reservoir," he asked? "The kokanee are having a hard time getting out of the reservoir across a big mud flat and into the stream." "Can’t something be done?"

A few weeks later he called again. "The reservoir is almost drained and the fishery is being destroyed. Can’t something be done."

The answer to his question can be summed up in one word, "NO."

I checked to find out what was going on and this is what I found. Back in 1997 the dam started to leak. The Utah Division of Water Rights scheduled repairs on the dam for some time in 2000. However, several other projects fell behind schedule and so repairs to the dam at Porcupine moved to the top of the list.

Unfortunately, the Utah Division of Water Rights didn’t bother to tell anyone about the changes. The engineering firm (Psomas) hired to manage the project didn’t bother to tell anyone either, even though the firm is headed by Dee Hansen, former Natural Resources Department director.

As a matter of fact, the Division of Wildlife Resources learned about the decision to drain the reservoir only one day before the work started.

Had the DWR known about the change in schedule, they could have given input as to the timing of the project so the kokanee spawn wouldn’t be effected. Limits could have been liberalized so the fish could have been harvested and maybe some of the fish could have been salvaged and transplanted to other waters.

Now most of the fish will die or already have died. If the reservoir isn’t refilled by late winter the reservoir will be a total loss.

I am completely baffled why different government agencies can’t or won’t work together. Why didn’t the Water Rights people call up the DWR and tell them what was going on? Why couldn’t both agencies sit down and work out a schedule so the fishery wouldn’t be so adversely impacted.

I am also astounded that Dee Hansen and his engineering firm didn’t bother to consider the impact on the fishery as they planned the project. They have no excuse. Dee Hansen, shame on you! It’s obvious that you have more concern for a fast buck than for Utah’s fisheries. You should have known better and you should have done better.

The State (you and me) is paying between 80 and 90 percent of the cost for the dam repairs. The total bill will be almost five million dollars. It’s our money being spent and it’s our fishery that’s being destroyed.

I can’t imagine that there is a single person in the state of Utah that wouldn’t want the fishery protected during the dam repairs (except maybe Dee Hansen and the people working for the Division of Water Rights).

It’s time the various government agencies start to work together. If the Water Rights people can’t or won’t work with the DWR they should be fired. Let’s hire some people that actually care and who might actually spend our money the way we would want it spent.

Sam Webb

UFO General Manager