2005 Targeted Watersheds  Grants:
                             Upper Sevier River
                                             Utah
    WHY IS THIS WATERSHED SPECIAL?
    Located in south-central Utah this undeveloped, scenic 1.3 million acre watershed is
    predominantly public lands. About 85 percent of the land is owned by the Bureau of Land
    Management or the U.S. Forest Service. Areas of private land are predominantly rural and
    utilized for hay production and grazing. Portions of the Upper Sevier River are designated as
    Blue Ribbon Fisheries by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, indicating the importance of and
    the potential for improvement in this trout fishery.

    ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
    The Targeted Watersheds Grant will focus on the following environmental problems:

    •  Intensive grazing and irrigation runoff contribute to habitat impairment and provide excess
       sediment and phosphorus to the river.

    •  Lack of riparian vegetation and stream shading cause high stream temperatures and limit the
       coldwater fishery.
East Fork of the Upper Sevier River.
 RESTORATION ACTIVITIES
 The Utah Department of Environmental Quality will use the
 Targeted Watersheds Grant funds to address the major causes of
 impairment identified in the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). A
 TMDL is a watershed management plan identifying the maximum
 amount of pollutants that a waterbody can receive and still meet
 water quality standards.

        •   Undertaking stream restoration activities in river
           reaches likely to provide benefits to the fishery.
        •   Stabilizing severely eroding stream banks and
	      reestablishing riparian vegetation to reduce sediment
           and phosphorus loads.

        •   Conducting irrigation  efficiency studies, soil moisture
           monitoring  and generation of real-time
           evapotranspiration data to increase water use
           efficiency and reduce runoff on agricultural land.
Riparian restoration site along the Upper Sevier River.
    EPA840-F-07-001I
                                 www.epa.gov/twg

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A STRONG PARTNERSHIP FOR CHANGE
To meet the goals of the TMDL, the Utah Department
of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality
has coordinated with several local and state partners
including:


•   Upper Sevier River Community Watershed
    Project

•   Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

•   Natural Resources Conservation Service

•   Upper Sevier Soil Conservation District

•   Utah State University

•   Local land owners
      EPA's Targeted Watersheds
                  Grants

  EPA's Targeted Watersheds Grants program is
  a competitive grant program designed to
  encourage collaborative, community-driven
  approaches to meet clean water goals.
                                                                     For More Information
                                                                     Contact:

                                                                     James Harris
                                                                     Utah  Department of
                                                                     Environmental Quality
                                                                     iamesharris@utah.gov
                                                                     (801) 538-6825

                                                                     www.waterquality.utah.gov

                                                                     Funding: $603,925
                         Along the East Fork of the Upper Sevier River.
                       2005 Targeted Watersheds Grants - Upper Sevier River

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