OCR Text |
Show t C10 Wednesday, July 9, 2008 Vernal Express u 1 x h V..,l i Campgrounds were full as were the parking lots last Saturday at Steiniker and Red Fleet reservoirs which forced park officials to limit entry into the parks. Although entry has been stopped at Steiniker three different times this year, this was the first time both were closed this year. Moose Pond partnership project enhances recreational opportunities Moose Pond on the Flaming Gorge Ranger District located near mile marker 10 on Utah Highway 44 along the Flaming Gorge-Uintas National Scenic Byway will be drained during the week of July 6 to increase the depth of the pond, install a trail along the ponds edge and install fishing points adjacent to the deeper portions of the pond. "Without a combined partnership partner-ship effort, this project would not have been possible, " said District Ranger Jeff Schramm. "This project will improve the safety of Moose Pond visitors and a portion por-tion of the trail and two fishing points will be universally accessible acces-sible to wheelchairs. In addition, the improvements will enhance opportunities for fishing, hiking and sightseeing, while improving aquatic habitat." The partners in this effort include the USDA Forest Service, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Re-sources, and the FHWA National Scenic Byway Grant Program. Initially the pond will be drained and allowed to dry so construction activities can begin around the middle of August. Construction activities will include in-clude dredging portions of the pond, creating an improved trail around the pond, and installing four fishing points along the trail. A portion of the trail and two fishing points will be universally accessible to wheelchairs. Additional Ad-ditional activities will include highway signing, interpretive trail signing, and the construction construc-tion of trail benches and picnic tables. Once construction activities are completed, the pond will be refilled with water this fall. The pond will then be restocked with fish by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources the following spring in time for the State of Utah annual free fishing day and Moose Pond Fishing Derby. A dedication of the new Moose Pond facilities will be held on that day. Changes set for youth football Organizers of the Uintah Basin Youth Football Conference announced this week there will be adjustments to the format of youth football this year. Changes will affect the age divisions, registration fees and locations for games. With the organization of the Uintah Basin Youth Football Conference, third and fourth graders will play in the same league together. Fifth graders will play with sixth graders, while seventh graders will play with eighth graders. Fifth through eighth graders will now play both home and away games in Vernal, Roosevelt, Altamont and Duchesne. Registration for the Uintah Basin Youth Football Conference Confer-ence will be July 7-9, 14-15, 17 and 28-31 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Vernal City Offices at 447 E. Main Street in Vernal. The cost to register is $100 with an additional ad-ditional $25 refundable uniform deposit. Parents must be present at registration. The draft for the Uintah Basin Youth Football Conference will be Aug. 9 and practices for teams will begin as early as Aug. 11. Youth watercraft, ATV courses set Utah State Parks and Recreation Recre-ation will offer courses this week in Uintah County for youth who plan to use personal watercraft or all terrain vehicles. Two youth personal water-craft water-craft courses will be Thursday, July 10. PWC are JetSki and WaveRunner-type boats. Students Stu-dents must pre-register for this class. Youth age 12 to 1 7 are required by state law to take a safety class and be certified prior to operating a PWC on Utah waters. To pre-register pre-register or for more information about Utah boating programs, call 1-800-743-3792 (1-800-RIDE-PWC). On Saturday, July 12, Utah State Parks and Recreation will offer a Know Before You Go! all-terrain all-terrain vehicle education course. Students must pre-register for this class, and will be notified of the time and location of the course at that time. Children age eight to 16 are required by state law to take a safety class prior to operating snowmobiles or ATVs on public lands or trails. To pre-register or for more information about Utah off-highway vehicle programs, please call 1-800-648-7433 (1-800-OHV-RIDE). By Kevin Ashby Express Publisher Boating, fishing and camping interest is picking up for the local lakes and campgrounds to the point that people are being turned away on the very busy days. "It's a parking problem for us," explained Mike Murray, Steiniker State Park Manager. "Once we are full there is no place to put them." Murray explained that parking park-ing capacity also limits the number of boats on the lake to acceptable levels and so at this pointintimethereareno plans to enlarge existing parking lots. Murray stated that people have been turned away three different times this year on very busy Saturdays at Steiniker, but last weekend was the first that people were turned away from both Steinker and Red Fleet reservoirs. On Saturday, July 5, parking lots were full at about 1 p.m. and boaters were told to go to Red Fleet. Red Fleet was filled at about 2:30 p.m. and recreation-ists recreation-ists were deterred until about 5 p.m. at both lakes. At this time some of the day use visitors visi-tors started going home which opened parking spots for those waiting. "We are getting more and more people using our facilities," explained Murray. He also stated that they have sold a lot more season passes that encourages more and more people to return to the lakes. Murray explained that there is space to park about 65 to 70 boat trailers and trucks at each park. This also is about the same number of boats estimated to be on the lakes at the same time and still have room to maneuver safely. "Most everyone is pretty cordial when they are told they can't get on the lake," explained Johnson. "But some are not happy and they let us know about it." "This is a great place to come and cool down from the summer heat and we have been having some perfect days here this summer," sum-mer," concluded Murray. - ' ! J .'''ft . J. . i t V - I V T - - I J" H J J. I ' -,'. i ' ? " . J & ... J Jf - ' ifftr'f' ' " " ' ' - ' ,'. v - 1 7 VCv V-a, GREAT FISHING AT STEINIKER Aloma Lofthouse and Tom Aldridge were busy at the fish cleaning station as they cleaned more than 60 fish comprising blue gill, trout and bass. They almost limited out when adding in Tom's nephew and his wife, Steve and Tammy Ward from Louisiana, who were also visiting. Tom explained he shares the catches with his friends. He said that fishing is a wonderful way to meet people who like to eat fish. "But you do your own cleaning when I have to share with you," said Tom. Yfii ni( 'innn'nn'.'iRtS' LV- VaJ Lxk-W CSfcl irlli n h i.J liijt-'iu Xf",.r, . x 4 i. , f . 1 I . I A ... J L W 4 J 17-10 Diilsli lusoiie s, i;l r', . J & r - lit .'''.' ' !'""'" 1 '( TT ' t-irf X i J yjs h !,.f ..... M ii :M XfeaMiZIS'" "" n" J 1 " J V 7 . .4 ii if- c;::;u,c:3f:;::s i J jJ V, Satisfied see ' Customersis DEFA0LRER Our 1 Goalh details S-st cSovcraf;o Is rlplo overage porJxiG MOTORSPORTS Open Monday - Friday 8 am to 6 pm, Saturday 9 am to Noon, Service Department Closed. Main Office 722-5107, Budget Lot 722-1600, Used Cars & Trucks 722-4100 ononis pm UUUVUUUUZnAli 100,000-MILE 5YEAR POWERTRAIN LIMITED WARRANTY 1 00,000-MILE THE BEST 5YEARS OF COURTESY TRANSPORTATION COVERAGE . nn nnn IN AMERICA. 1 OU,000-MILE 2007 Model & on. 5YEARS OF ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE fj nn uuu Calvin Murray Leon Nielsen Rob Reynolds Doug Murray |