The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has announced a milestone in the Provo River Delta Restoration project. The June sucker has been moved from the "endangered" list to "threatened," as efforts are made to restore the ecosystem.
"Accelerated by historic investments from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are able to celebrate a major milestone for the Central Utah Project Completion Act," Tanya Trujillo, assistant secretary for Water and Science, said in a recent DOI press release. "The reconnection of the Provo River to the delta will help to safeguard the threatened June sucker, expand recreational opportunities for community residents and accelerate efforts underway to expand access to clean, reliable water throughout the region.”
Construction began in 2020, and the Delta project area is expected to be fully complete and open to the public by 2024, the release stated.
“Turning the Provo River into the re-created delta is a huge step forward in the effort to recover the threatened June sucker,” Gene Shawcroft, Central Water Conservancy District general manager, said in the release. “The Delta project has been a long time coming and when completed will open the bottle neck that has been holding the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program back from the final steps of successfully reestablishing all June sucker life cycles. The Delta will provide the opportunity for successful spawning, rearing and recruiting of new June suckers. The Central Utah Water Conservancy District has been a leader in the June sucker program from its inception and continues to serve as a program partner and a Joint Lead Agency in the Provo River Delta Project.”
The June sucker had been endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and officials credit the efforts of the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program (JSRIP) for its recovery. The fish was put on the endangered species list in 1986 after its numbers had dropped to approximately 300 spawning fish.
“The release of water into the Provo River Delta Restoration Project area represents a significant milestone in both the project and the recovery of June sucker,” Mike Mills, Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission executive director, said in the release. “While a great deal of work remains before the delta is finished, we are now even closer to providing essential habitat for June sucker and creating a unique natural area that will benefit all who use Utah Lake.”
