Rich Civic Times
GARDEN CITY, Utah. September 27, 2019. Matt Coombs of The Utah Department of Natural
Resource, Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL), said they are
updating the 2009 management plan for state owned sovereign lands portions of
Bear Lake, especially the area in Rich County, to more reflect the changes in
the area and in technology in the last ten years. Changes in state laws and regulations need to
be incorporated also. Https: //ffsl.utah.gov/
The area below the high water mark of 5923.65 feet above sea
level is sovereign land. The FFSL has to administer their lands using
multiple use and sustained yield principals for also all uses on beneath or
above the lake bed.
Over 20 people attended the public meeting and the reasons
were varied. One participant wanted to
protest tax increases, and was told that was not in FFSL purview. Others complained about the weeds and muck as
well as the garbage that visitors leave behind. Coombs said that there are thirty
miles of beach and that they have one employee to manage it. The agency is understaffed and underfunded so
it is not able to do as much beach cleanup as needed.
Deer flies are not easy to kill. Combs said. The county does mosquito abatement. FFSL allows some mowing of weeds to mitigate
the fly and mosquito habitat. Another mentioned
that Bark Beetles are a problem, which is not a lake problem; he was advised to
talk to the state forester.
They are now scoping the plan and getting input until mid-December.
You can submit a comment online as well as attending the meetings. The earlier
you put the comments in in the process the more
weight it will have. When the plan draft Is done in July 2020 there will
be a forty five day formal comment period.
There should be a formalized plan in June of 2021.
FFSL manages protect existing resource development uses such
as the marina. They also protect
existing resource preservation such as the Swan Creek inflow and the east shore
spawning habitat.
FFSL also manages wetlands. In the new plan they will state
what is used in each classification, after the classifications are determined,
to streamline the permitting processes.
Right now, the permitting is cumbersome because each property must be
studied before a permit is issued. It will be more user friendly under the new
plan.
Shorelines and management are different at different lake
levels. Resources also change. The four endemic fish species spawning are
affected by low lake levels for example. Two or three years ago there was a LIDAR
of the lake taken which has given FFSL new data on the fisheries.
Best management practices for water quality management are
important. “For example, boat ramps,” Coombs said. “We have some good ones and some really
terrible ones. We would like to
standardize them.”
They are also doing boundary settlements to establish
property. There are some very old deeds up here and some are complicated. If
you have a deed after statehood the boundary line is the established high water
mark.
At the annual meeting in spring, they will talk about best
practice for the lake based on that year’s
lake level.
Parking difficulties were mentioned. UDOT takes care of the beach above the water line, FFSL manages parking below the water line.
The
current Comprehensive Plan is on their website. http://bit.ly/bearlakeplan
No comments:
Post a Comment