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Show iThr April 14, 2004 Page 12 Yuba State Park open for business DWR ranked as one of the top five walleye fisheries in the na- tion five years ago. We hope to regain that ranking." says Rasmussen. ltah State Parks and The upgrade of Yuba Dam was completed la.-- t winter which will allow Yuba Reservoir to reopen for boating, and all other water recreation activities this season. The reservoir was emptied by late September last year to address several safety issues w ith the dam. la, 000 yards of soil and large rock were placed on the face of the dam to bring it up to current safety standards. The old concrete outlet structure was demolished and completely revamped. Cement throughout the outlet tunnel was also replaced after years of erosion had scoured out the original structure. "The dam really looks a lot more substantial now that the work is complete, says Jeff Rasmussen, who manages the State Park and campground facilities at Yuba Reservoir. l'tah State Parks and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (I)WR) partnered with local fishing organizations including Rocky Mountain Anglers and the ltah B.A.S.S. Federation to take advantage of the emptied reservoir and improve the fishery. Yuba Reservoir has minimal structure to provide good habitat for young developing fish. Its bottom consists of gravel, sand and clay and is relatively smooth. Arrangements were made with the dam fi.-hi-ng 1 construction contractor to make cuts into the reservoir bottom to allow for changes in its slope. Large boulders were also brought in to provide cover for newly developing perch. There are also plans to place artificial Christmas trees along the shoreline to provide even more fish habitat as the reservoir level rises. The past several years of levels is also working in our favor as dense patches of tamarisk are coming up along the reservoir bottom. This natural structure will provide excellent protection fur developing fish as the water levels rise. Earlier this fall 00,000 tw o to three inch and 800 seven to eight inch yellow perch were planted in Yuba Reservoir. The larger perch should spawn this spring. This was in addition to another 00,000 two to three inch and 6.000 nine to ten inch Rainbow-Trouthat were planted earlier to keep anglers busy while the perch population rebuilds. DWR has closed Yuba Reservoir to perch fishing while their population rebuilds. It the is critical to perch since the walleye rely so heavily on them as a food source. Once this population is established, the walleye should have no trouble coming back. Yuba Reservoir was low-wate- t POSTAL JOB INFO FOR SALE? If you see a job 'guarantee', contact the FTC. The Federal Trade Commission is America's consumer protection agency. www.ftc.govjobscams report that elevated manganese exxsure from fumes has been assoc lated with Parklaaoniacn (like Parklnaon'a dlacaae) and manganlam. Symptoms include ahakineaa, dia toned faciei expression, loan of equilibrium, decreased band agility, difficulty walking, Joint pain, loss of abort term memory, aiuriedalow speech, stiffness in muscles and tremors. If you have experienced any of these for a bee problems, call us today toll free at 1 consultation to evaluate your potential claim. We practice law only in Arizona, but associate with lawyers throughout the U.S. GOLDBERG IV OSBORNE cs ,, Scientists weldiMK rod . . t WWW r isootheeru'le com Nephi Western Credit Union 155 North Main Nephi, Utah 84648 (435) 623-189- 5 on all 2003 2004 CARS -- & 1 tables, firepits with BBQ grills, tent pads and water. A covered group campsite will also lie available with similar 4.9 tices lands supporting populations Gunof greater sage-grous- Columnison bian sharp-tailegrouse, other neotropical misage-grous- e, d at-ris- k gratory bird species, pygmy rabbit, l'tah white-taile- d prairie-dog- prairie-dogprairie-dog- ; , . or and The LIP is a voluntary program that provides technical and financial assistance, including habitat protection and restoration, to private landowners for the protection and management of habitat to benefit federally listed, proposed, candidate or other species on private lands. The Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) has identified two main focus areas for elevation and ascorridors riparian sociated wetlands supporting Columbia spotted frog, least chub, Bonneville cutthroat trout, Colorado River cutthroat trout, native populations of Yellowstone cutthroat trout, and yellow-billecuckoo. Southwestern willow flycatcher or other 2) Low-to-mi- neotropical species. at-ris- k migratory-bir- d Habitat restoration View strutting prac- - ill include: mechanical from willing sellers, to protect habitats in key areas. Applications received after April 30, 2001 will be held and considered for funding during the second round of review, if funds are still available. d d w treatment and seeding of decadent sagebrush stands; fuel breaks to control the spread of wildfires; stream channel restoration: and riparian plantings. The LIP also provides for the acquisition of conservation easements, up- Gunnison's at-ris- k For more information, landowners should contact the regional habitat manager at the nearest DWR regional office or their local Natural Resources Conservation Service office or L'SDA Service Center. grouse April 17th View Rocky Mountain Today! Introducing a New follow-DW- state. Division of Wildlife Resources wildlife biologists will present recommendations to decrease the number of antlerless permits for many of Utahs deer and elk herds at an April 20 public meeting. The meeting will originate in Salt Lake City and will be broadcast to locations across the state. the interacAfter view-intive presentation, those in attendance can ask DWR officials questions. After the question and answer TeleSTROKE Program period, citizen Regional at Central Valley Medical Center Advisory Council representatives at each location will Using state of the art teleconferencing equipment, our physicians can instantly connect with the University of Utah Stroke Center for expert consultation on stroke treatment. experience a sudden onset of numbness, weakness, slurred speech or inability to walk If you CALL 911 and request transport to Central Valley Medical Center EVERY SECOND COUNTS! For more information call 4 the LIP in l'tah: 1) Sagebrush steppe 2001. amenities. This is something we have been looking forward to for years, said Rasmussen, it's exciting to see it all coming into place." With Yuba Reservoirs' close proximity to the populated Wasatch Front, this new facility should help take some of the pressure off of the busy reservoirs located to the north. Yuba Reservoir has a total of 11,000 surface acres The Division of Wildlife of water which, to put into perspective, is three to four Resources is offering an optimes the size of Jordanelle portunity for the public to Reservoir. We have plenty of view strutting sage grouse at a strutting ground north of room for all boating activities Price. The public viewing is and hope people will take adscheduled for Saturday, April vantage of this opportunity. Yuba Reservoir has a cur17, from 6:30 a.m. until 8 rent average depth of thirty a.m. The best viewing opporfeet which should increase tunities occur at the break of significantly as spring ap- dawn. By sunrise, many birds will either stop strutting or proaches. leave the ground, so plan to come early. The strutting ground is along the Emma Park Road. For those driving through Carbon County, drive up Price Canyon. Turn right at the Castle Gate Power Plant. Travel U.S. 191 to the Bamberger Monument and signs to the strutting ground. From the Wasatch Front, travel east on U.S. Highway Now that the weather is 6 until you arrive at the top of coming around, it's time to Price Canyon. Turn left onto get outside and see something Emma Park Road, which is wild! marked. Follow DWR signs Rocky Mountain goats will to the strutting ground. be the featured species during The event is free to the a field trip to watch and enjoy public. Dress warmly, and if their surefooted antics at the you have a pair of binoculars, mouth of Little Cottonwood please bring them. Binoculars Canyon, in Salt Lake County, and spotting scopes will be on Saturday, April 17. provided for people who don't The field trip is free and no have their own. is required. During March and April Goat watching will begin at every year, sage grouse conthe Park and Ride lot at the gregate at strutting grounds mouth of the canyon at 9 a.m. (called leks) to perform the and continue until 3 p.m. species mating ritual. Male Powerful scopes and binor cock sage grouse advertise oculars w ill be available at the their suitability as mates by Park and Ride lot to enhance putting on an elaborate show. the views of this remarkable They fan their poipted tail animal, said Bob Walters. feathers, puff out their white Watchable Wildlife program chest feathers and inflate coordinator for the Division gular sacs, which look like of Wildlife Resources. Rocky Mountain goat fact cards and posters will be distributed to everyone in attendance. The field trip, which will not require leaving the Park and Ride lot area, is sponsored by the Division of WildEfforts to increase the life Resources Watchable number of deer and elk in Wildlife program. Utah will continue this year For more information, call through a reduction in the Walters at (801) number of antlerless hunting permits available in the Subscribe 1998 -- 2004 4 WHEELERS, TRAILERS, BOATS. Interest rate for new loans only Must have a credit score of 680 or higher. Randy Allinson The Division of Wildlife Resources is accepting applications from landowners to participate in a new program that will improve habitat conditions for sensitive wildlife species on their property. Applications for the Landow ner Incentive Program (LIPj will be accepted through April 30, 538-477- TRUCKS ACT QUICKLY Landowner Incentive Program Strutting Sage Grouse yellowish balls (half-- spheres) protruding from their chests. Cocks emit a blooping or bubbling" sound as they prance around, trying to attract mates and frighten rivals. The most dominant males occupy the best real estate on the strutting ground, which is the center of the activity. Turf wars break out frequently, as one male struts too closely to another. Competing males will batter each other with a flurry of wing beats and foot kicks, until one of the two retreats. This activity goes on for about a month but peaks in early April, when most hens seem ready for breeding. Hens generally appear They spend their time feeding on the spring green-uand appear to ignore all the fanfare put on in their behalf. As hens walk around the lek, strutting males will sometimes follow them in an attempt to attract their attention. When an individual hen senses she is ready, she will posture in front of a male. She submits to copulation only once with a single male. After mating, she flies from the strutting ground to build a nest. Unless the nest fails, she wont return to the strutting ground until the following spring. p For more information about the April 17 event, contact Brent Stettler at (435) , 636-026- around the edge of the strutting ground in late March. Reductions in antlerless elk and deer permits will be recommended at April 20 public meeting Spring Time Loan Special 4 dam construction this past summer. A new campground is currently under construction near the shore of Yuba Lake at Painted Rocks. This facility will offer 4 overnight campsites with covered picnic announces signup for 17th have to pay for information about federal or postal jobs. You NEVER reau of Iand Management officials also took advantage of the down time created by the goats April CAOTOON Bu- Nephi, Utah limrs-Nclo- s (435)623-327- 9 take public input. They'll present that input to the Utah Wildlife Board when it meets April 29 in Salt Lake City to approve Utah's 2004 Antlerless Addendum. The April 20 RAC meeting begins at 6 p.m. People may participate and provide their input at any location. The Central Region meeting will be held at the Skaggs Pharmacy Building, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. The Southeastern Region will meet at Carbon High School, 750 East 400 North, Price. The Southern Region meeting will be held at Snow College South, 800 West 200 South, Richfield. Cow Elk Permits The biggest reduction the Division of Wildlife Resources is proposing is in cow- elk permits. The DWR is recommending 6,587 cow elk permits for this fall, down more than 4,300 from the 10,952 available in 2003. Were about 10,000 ani- mals under our statewide objective of 68,400 elk, said Jim Karpowitz, big game coordinator for the DWR. We want to do all we can to slowly bring the statewide elk population closer to that objective. Doe Deer Permits Biologists will also recommend a reduction in doe deer permits. The DWR will recommend 2,105 doe deer permits for this fall, down 1,500 from the 3,605 available in 2003. The number of fawns produced last spring was the highest weve seen in three years, but the total number of deer counted after last falls hunting seasons was down from the previous fall, Karpowitz said. Were recommending the reduction to take fewer does and help build the hdrds. Most of the doe deer permits the DWR will recommend are for areas where there is agricultural dep- redation or rangeland concerns. Doe Pronghorn Permits The DWR will also propose 222 doe pronghorn permits for this fall. Most of those permits would be two-dopermits that allow the holders to take two doe pronghorn off the Plateau unit in south-centrUtah. e The pronghorn herds on the unit are doing so well that theyre now above the objective for the unit, he said. Increased doe hunting and transplanting animals from the unit to other pronghorn units are two ways to bring the herds within objective. Cow Moose Permits The total number of cow moose permits would remain at 23, the same number offered in 2003. .Condition of Utahs Big Game Herds . It appears that Utahs deer, elk, pronghorn antelope and moose herds made it through the winter in good shape. Were still doing our spring deer classification and mortality surveys, but it doesn't appear that there was any major winter loss, Karpowitz said. The winter was fairly severe from Salt Lake City to Brigham City, but it was pretty mild everywhere else. Spring and summer are crucial times for big game animals as they give birth to and care for fawns and calves. Karpowitz is hoping for good rainfall over the next few months. Good precipitation during the spring and summer is important in providing the animals the forage they need, he said. For more information about the meetings, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWRs Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-470- |