I'm curious as to see what people on here think about the proposed man made islands and dredging on Utah Lake. To me, it seems many people think the lake is broken, but in reality it is a great resource as it is currently. Sure there's phragmites, carp, etc. but that's being dealt with. IMO certainly not in need of billion dollar "restoration" in the form of artificial islands. News article concerning the islands
(02-03-2022, 05:38 AM)Envenomation09 Wrote: I'm curious as to see what people on here think about the proposed man made islands and dredging on Utah Lake. To me, it seems many people think the lake is broken, but in reality it is a great resource as it is currently. Sure there's phragmites, carp, etc. but that's being dealt with. IMO certainly not in need of billion dollar "restoration" in the form of artificial islands. News article concerning the islands
What are your thoughts?
Islands= a scam from the public that will be private property.
(02-03-2022, 05:38 AM)Envenomation09 Wrote: I'm curious as to see what people on here think about the proposed man made islands and dredging on Utah Lake. To me, it seems many people think the lake is broken, but in reality it is a great resource as it is currently. Sure there's phragmites, carp, etc. but that's being dealt with. IMO certainly not in need of billion dollar "restoration" in the form of artificial islands. News article concerning the islands
What are your thoughts?
Islands= a scam from the public that will be private property.
That's it exactly, a scam. Wasn't there a proposal at one time to build the islands, then put houses on them? Then of couse they would need a road going to the islands, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM
The group that is proposing the "islands" is definitely a private entity seeking a way to make a lot of money at the expense of the public...and of Utah Lake. They would be funding it entirely with "OPM"...other people's money. And in the end they would make all of the profits and maintain total control. There have been lots of meetings with the Utah Lake Commission and other agencies. And the general consensus is that there is far more to lose and less to gain by going forward with such a wild scheme.
Here are some articles that have appeared on the subject.
I agree with TD. They appear to be making lots of scientific claims about how it will benefit the lake. Yet, they don't have anyone with scientific credentials on their advisory board. One more bait and switch, more and more this sounds like the "Utah Way". Let's hope the legislature doesn't get involved.
From reports I’ve read, the finances of it are a bit murky. The conglomerate of people have not been able to show where the money will come from or how will be financed. I think they just have a rough ballpark of how much is needed and funding will come from private resources. Honestly it seems like a waste of time and money but who knows. I agree with many others it will be considered private land in the end.
The scientist seem to think that it would clear up the murky waters but I’m not sure island spread throughout the lake or whatever is the best solution. It’s really a tough thing for me to get my mind right now.
Welp if'n they did it, you can be sure it will put a ton more folks in the neighborhood... not only those that live on the islands, but those that suddenly will think it's the place to pleasure boat ride... So I expect it will not be great for the critters that live in the lake, or those that like to fish it... As far as giving the land way for them doing the dredging, I think that's not a very fair deal for the Utah tax payers that will stand to lose the resource so some risk takers can get rich at our expense... I know it seems like a cool thing to do with ultra high real-estate values and all, but once that area is gone to the public it's never coming back and I don't see that the state will get anything for it... Just my thoughts... Later J
When things get stressful think I'll go fish'en and worry about it tomorrow!
This is a load of BOVINE SCATOLOGY!!! The problem is how are they going to anchor the islands so that the wave action and soft muck bottom don't destroy them. IF you get a copy of the "Utah Lake Monograph"( if still available) you will find that Utah lake at one time was a fairly deep body of water that has silted in over time. The bottom is primarily muck except for places like Bird Island that are volcanic upshoots. You try and put pilings down or just dump rock base, the rock sinks into the muck or the pilings have to be several hundred feet long to hit any stable substrate. The muck also prevents any real dredging to occur. Look at Provo boat harbor. The channel from the inner harbor to the lake has to be dredged every 8-10 years to keep it open, other wise the muck flows from the main lake into the harbor and fills the channel. Like TD said, they are going to use other people's money, OURS, to provide NOTHING for the public. Utah Lake is Utah Lake and it will not change because someone wants it to be something else !!
02-03-2022, 04:38 PM (This post was last modified: 02-03-2022, 04:39 PM by BYUHunter.)
It's a bunch of nonsense, to put it nicely.
Build islands out on Utah lake for people to build fancy houses on? Seems like the kind of idea I would have had for a 2nd grade class project, before I understood the realities of civil engineering and municipal taxes.
But be careful what you say, because they're trying to drag a BYU professor of ecology through the mud for "defamation", despite the fact that he is literally an expert on the subject. https://www.ksl.com/article/50339801/byu...developers
The developers claim they're not trying to "silence the opposition", but that's exactly what they're doing. Dumb idea, dumb people. I have other thoughts, but they're not family friendly. I'll leave it at that.
(02-03-2022, 04:38 PM)BYUHunter Wrote: It's a bunch of nonsense, to put it nicely.
Build islands out on Utah lake for people to build fancy houses on? Seems like the kind of idea I would have had for a 2nd grade class project, before I understood the realities of civil engineering and municipal taxes.
But be careful what you say, because they're trying to drag a BYU professor of ecology through the mud for "defamation", despite the fact that he is literally an expert on the subject. https://www.ksl.com/article/50339801/byu...developers
The developers claim they're not trying to "silence the opposition", but that's exactly what they're doing. Dumb idea, dumb people. I have other thoughts, but they're not family friendly. I'll leave it at that.
I think this shows exactly what type of company is planning on developing Utah Lake. Dishonest and despicable.
My take on this is with the lake level at 50% or so, dredging it to make it deeper. Where is the water coming from to fill it up? With the snowpacks we are having each year, we can barely maintain 6-7 feet depth during the summer.
We've been talking about this in my classes for the last few years. Anyone with any real science background knows this island idea is not good for the ecology of the area. The developers claim the islands and dredging will be good for the ecology. The real problem is they have no APPLICABLE evidence. Just baseless claims.
In my classes, we also talk about how screwed up Utah lake is and how hard it is to fix. If we really want to stop the algal blooms and make better fish habitat we should start with the 7 wastewater treatment plants that feed into the lake in addition to invasive species removal (phrag and carp) and not complicate things further with private islands.
Be boundless, Bryce (Fisheries and Aquatic Science, USU)
Would love to see UL dredged several feet deeper, especially the Lincoln Beach launch channel and a good perimeter around Bird Island.
But don't believe building islands on the lake will benefit the majority of lake users. I remember several years ago when developers started putting in all those high cost homes on the west side. Messed up several places where bank fishing was possible.
"OCD = Obsessive Catfish Disorder " Or so it says on my license plate holder
Stupidest thing I have ever heard of. Dredge the lake and make islands with the toxic mud, to "restore" it. Private business wants to this, but not because of possible profits, no, it's to restore the lake. ROLMAO They must think we are easy to scam, and we are. Legislature is already on board. Development? They hear the word and light up like Newman seeing a lasagna.
Dredging, no matter how done is ugly. Dredges ripping up the bottom with big suction pumps vacuuming up the sludge and pumping itto coffered islands and the excess fluid leeching back into the lake, supposedly "filtered". Phragmites filter too, and absorb nutrients. Hey, Quaggas are filter cleaners, maybe that would be a better idea to clean the water.
Environmentally Utah lake is . Biologically it is thriving. Man, as he often does waited to long to realise what an asset it was and destroyed it with our waste and chemicals.
Better to just leave it alone, it will not heal, it can't. Man has choked off most of the water that used to go into it. Deer Creek, Jordanelle, CUP, and dozens of canals siphon it off. So, I guess it is what it is, a eutrophic lake.
Stupid. Never have I ever seen development open up more land to public access. Perhaps the fishing might get better, but for who? Definitely not those without access to a boat and who will be squeezed out by less access.
The "it will be better for the ecology if the lake" argument is a bunch of BS. Islands have to have roads which will alter the natural ebb and flow of the lake. They'll be complicating the ecology NOT the other way around.
Hope there are enough legislators on the hill that realize this priposal belongs in File 13. Hogwash!!
Hey Tin Can, your desire to have the channel at Lincoln Beach is doable, but dredging around Bird Island is a pipe dream. Bird Island is the result of Volcanic activity on the south end of the lake. If you look at the structure of the south end, you will see that the lake bed is a series of steps, about 200-400yds in width and 12-18 inches high. These occurred when magma was pushed out and flowed till it cooled, then another layer was pushed out, one on top of another. You have about 6 of these "layers" till you hit the basin of the lake where the muck begins. Then you have muck till you get to the base of Bird Island, which is a trapezoidal feature of the lake that has extended "arms" off each corner of the island. The Northwest arm is the shortest, less than 50 ft. Northeast is about 150ft, Southeast is the longest, about 400+ft, and the Southwest is about 100ft. To get a visual, draw a rectangle, then push it to one side from the left to the right. Add fingers off each of the corners, with the upper left the shortest, the upper right longer, the lower right the longest, and the lower left between the two on the right. That is the structure of Bird Island. It composed of volcanic rock, like the whole south end of Utah Lake that extends up from the basin muck. It covers less than a square mile without the arms. One of the deepest pockets of the lake is off the Northwest corner, a pocket that is up to 16ft deep depending on the lake level. The island slopes pretty quickly from a high point of about 3-5 ft in low water, down to the basin, which is about 4-6 ft depending on general lake level. The basin then slopes down to about 6-8ft deep and runs to the South shore of the lake where you hit the "ledges/steps" that start in 6-8 FOW and go up from there to the shoreline. Those "arms" of Bird Island are about 3-4 ft in width along their length. That Southeast arm has eaten more props and lower units than I care to count. Again, try and find a copy of the "Utah Lake Monograph", published by BYU Press in the late 60's early 70's. Will show and tell you alot about Utah Lake, it's geology, and other things !!!
While putting together my writeups on Utah Lake, I collected quite a few past articles and papers written by REAL experts on Utah Lake. One of these was the attached PDF file, written by Dr. LaVere Merritt...a PhD and professor at BYU. It does a pretty good job of bring the past and present together on "Golden Pond". And he also expresses his ideas on potential development for the lake. This was written in 2014...well before the current proposal to make islands and highways across the lake. But he addresses those issues on pages 10-11.
LaVere B. Merritt, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE
Dr. Merritt is a professor emeritus of civil & environmental engineering, Brigham Young University.
His research and public service activities have included many multidisciplinary studies and evaluations of Utah
Lake. He is the developer of the LKSIM model; this computer model simulates the water and salt balances for
Utah Lake. He served as member and then chair of the Provo Metropolitan Water Board for many years. He is a consultant to both public and private entities on Utah Lake matters.
I like the idea of dredging parts of the lake and creating islands - that are destinations for sailboats and kayakers. I want destination Islands, but I don't want people living on them - I don't trust the developers. I like the idea of creating deep holes and habit for large mouth bass. Turning the lake into a large mouth bass destination. Where I can win $1,000 of dollars in prizes. I like what they have done with the Provo River Delta - and other access projects. I am all for lake improvements for Wildlife, fish & Fowl.
. Biologically it is thriving. Man, as he often does waited to long to realise what an asset it was and destroyed it with our waste and chemicals. 