H.B. 93 Goshen Bay Waterfowl Management Area: transcript

Thank you Mr. Chair. I, before I get started, I was kind of curious if Representative Owens and Chew learned about drinking downstream from livestock? From experience or wisdom? You can't tell. We can't tell. You learned the hard way. You learned the hard way. Depends on how thirsty he is. Fair, fair point. Uh, well, I'm excited to be before you today. Um, I've got it. Uh, bill, HB 93 is, uh, the, the Goshen Bay Waterfowl Management area. Um, this is a area that I, I used to represent. I actually am just outside of that. We're redistricting, but it's, it's part of my area. And, and, uh, I was having conversations with, um, uh, the Utah Lake Authority and, and, uh, DWR and DNR about a couple of other issues. And they said, Hey, we've got this area down here that, um, it's, it's beautiful right now, it's pristine, but we wanna make sure it stays that way. We have probably 14,000 entitled units between, uh, Goshen and, and SA and Payson. And there's just a lot of growth that's starting to come in. And so it would be a wise idea to make sure that this is taken care of. And this land is, is protected for, um, uh, outdoor recreation, uh, preservation. And so, uh, what this does is, is it just proposes to put this land in a, in a waterfall management area. Um, there are, uh, one of the questions I got asked offline was, are there any overlapping rights? There is one, uh, person who has grazing rights that will continue on, and that's the only overlap. We don't have trails running through it or anything else that has caused some difficulties in other WMAs that, uh, we've run into. And, uh, so this is just a great move to protect what we have, uh, while we can, as prior to growth coming in where you have those, those impacts of, of growth and development is to just make sure that this is a, a place that all Utahans can enjoy for, for years. So, uh, this is, I'll let him introduce himself. This is, well, this is Luke, and he'll introduce himself with the Utah Lake Authority and, and I asked him to come in as well. Yeah.

Luke Peterson, executive director of the Utah Lake Authority. Good to be with you. Go ahead with your comments, if you've got any. Yeah. Um, I just wanted to add that, uh, this is something we're, we're really excited about. This came outta conversations between Utah Lake Authority, uh, DNR in FFSL and DWR. And, uh, and then obviously with Representative Walton. Um, this area we see is really critical, uh, to sportsmen. There have been a lot of efforts over a lot of years to preserve this space. Uh, if you're acquainted with the Utah Reclamation Mitigation Conservation Commission, uh, it's the, uh, federal mitigation arm of the Central Utah project. They have about 20,000 acres that they've purchased in this area, uh, for conservation that will one day be turned over to the state of Utah. So we see this as critical for part of that strategy. And then more immediately, uh, the US house just passed last night, the appropriations bill that contains, uh, some funds $2.5 million that Burges Owens, uh, was able to secure that, um, is dedicated to recreation access improvement around Utah Lake. So with this in place, it'll be easier for us to, uh, use those funds strategically for the benefit of sportsmen, hunters, et cetera.

Yes. Yes. There's a, a, a map that I shared with, uh, Charlie, if she wants to share it, if anybody's curious to where exactly the Goshen Bay is so you can see it. So it's that area in pink.

It's on the south end. Yeah. So to the right of it is Genola and probably to the, the bottom left is, uh, Goshen area.

Yes. Okay. Very good.

Sorry, just a quick question. Thank you for the map. I was gonna ask for that. How big is the area out of just outta curiosity? Do you acres or how are you measuring that? Do you remember? I, I love reading all the range and checks, fines and all that.

It doesn't make any sense, Give you a guesstimate by looking at it, but it's, it's a fairly large area and, and it consists of, um, sovereign land. So it's really the portion that is, um, under the jurisdiction of FFSL Because it is state land.

Because it is state land. State land, it looks like it's surrounded by all the BLM land. Right?

Yeah. So this is kind of the fun thing if you, Utah Lake is sometimes it's water and sometimes it's land, right? So it's, it's that portion that, um, is frequently lake, but can also be, um, more swamper marsh areas.

Yeah. I got a question. Uh, is this only for a waterfowl? Is there fish in the area? So could I go fishing? Mm-hmm.

On in that area? Yeah. Yeah, you could certainly go fishing. There's, there's fishing, there's, there's waterfowl, there's, yeah.

That's all. I can hunt ducks, I can fish any of those things. Correct. Okay. As long as it's in season, right? Yes. As long as long as it's in season.

I've got one more question Representative. Is it, is it Frank Mighty's?

Uh, I'm gonna refer Yeah. To, Yeah, this has Frag mighty, um, so around Utah Lake, we've, we've reduced the frag mighty by about 85%. Um, this is a treated area, so, uh, we've treated it, they've been dramatically reduced, but I'm confident if you walk out there, you're gonna, you're gonna find some.

Is there any grazing allowed on it?

No. Uh, this area is gonna be outside of that because it's sovereign land.

Good afternoon. My name's Justin Shannon and I work with the Utah Division Wildlife Resources. Um, just wanted to thank the sponsor for bringing forth this bill. We have several, um, WMAs that have been created in conjunction with forestry, fire and state lands over the last several years, all on the Great Salt Lake. And it's been a really strong partnership, and it's been good. There's been a lot of resources and attention put to these areas to improve wildlife and their habitats. And, um, I don't see this one being any different. I see it being a really, really good thing. And, um, just wanted to thank the sponsor for reaching out to us, so Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you Chair. I'd like to make a motion to pass out HB 93 Goshen Bay Waterfowl Management area with a favorable recommendation. Thank you.

I'll Waive. Okay. Uh, back to the sponsor.

Uh, thank you for your time. I, this is good for you to, Okay. Uh, I'll place the motion that we pass out favorably, HB 0 0 9 3 Goshen Bay Waterfowl Management area by Representative Welton.

Time of yours. Thank You, Mr. Chair. And I can probably super brief. I think the previous, uh, presentation kind of teed off on a lot of what this is. Um, what this bill does simply is it creates in, in the south part of Utah Lake, uh, there's the Goshen Bay area and it just creates a, uh, wild foul management area down there. Uh, this was brought to me by, uh, Utah Lake Commission, uh, and talking, we're actually talking about other areas of the lake and, and, and they've pointed this out. And so this area right here, it's, it's an area that is, uh, sometimes covered in water and sometimes it's not covered in water, which qualifies as, uh, sovereign land. And it's also, uh, a great place for fishing, hunting, birding, all of those things like that. So as development comes into the area, we just think that this is a place that needs to be identified to be protected for, uh, outdoor recreation for our sportsmen, uh, for our, our, our bird watchers. There are no conflicting uses that I'm aware of. And, uh, so that's what it does. It's pretty straightforward.

Yeah. Uh, my name is Sam Brager, deputy Director of the Utah Lake Authority. Um, our executive director, Luke, uh, Peterson passes his, uh, wishes to be here, but wasn't able to make it. Um, we just wanna thank Representative Welton for his efforts in preparing this bill and also working collaboratively across several, uh, agencies. Um, we were a part of conversations with the division of Forestry, fire and State lands, the Division of Wildlife Resources, and there's been a lot of great outreach and, and input on this idea. Um, we're in favor of this. Um, we appreciate the opportunity it provides to preserve and protect a section of the lake that is one of the few that doesn't have development, uh, right up next to it. Uh, we think that has a lot of value for sportsmen and other recreation use.

It does. Thank You. Thank you, representative.

I'll be brief, succinct. Thank you. Chelsea Duke, assistant Chief of Habitat for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Um, we want to give our support for this bill. This would be the fourth waterfall management area that we would be managing in conjunction with forestry, fire and state lands, um, on sovereign lands. And we have a great relationship with our sister agency and, uh, look forward to working on another waterfall management area. Thank you.

Anderson, director of the Utah Sportsman's Caucus representing hunters, fishers, and trappers across the state. We love this bill as a duck hunter. More places to have a duck hunt is all right with me. Thanks.

Thank you. I'd like to move, uh, house Bill 93, Goshen Bay Waterfield management area with a federal recommendation,

Uh, this is a great, great opportunity and I appreciate the sponsor working in his, uh, that this is your area that you represent and it's, it's a great opportunity for us to be wise stewards. Stewardship and being wise in what we do is, is, is what we need to continually promote. So I I appreciate that. And maybe when there's not any water there, once in a while we'll find a few turkeys down there too. So there we go.

Uh, thank you for your time. This is a, a great, uh, I think Senator Stratton said it well, and I also appreciate the Senate for adding a slight change to it that made it even better. So thank you.

Is original. We took care of that in previous, uh, rule.

And this, uh, for the committee's knowledge that just meant, uh, added in there, that remains also multiple use.

House Bill 93, Goshen Bay Waterfowl Management area by Representative Welton. This bill was heard in Natural Resources, agriculture and Environment with the vote 10 0 4

You Mr. Speaker. This bill creates the Goshen Bay Waterfowl Management area, the WMA, we've talked about those earlier today. Uh, this is the south end of Utah Lake. Um, this was brought to me by the Utah Lake Authority and DNR, uh, as an area that they wanted to identify to protect for, uh, outdoor recreationists hunting, fishing, uh, wildlife preservation, birdwatching. Um, there are no, uh, hiking trails or biking trails at this point in time. So, uh, I think my good representative from Davis County will be all right with that. Um, this is an area that is, uh, currently sovereign land. It's an area that is, uh, sometimes underwater. Sometimes it's marshy. And so there's no real impact, uh, to anything else that's going on there. So this is great. Uh, as Utah grows and as South Utah County in particular grows, we have, uh, encroachment onto our open space. And this is a beautiful area that has a lot of, uh, wildlife that needs to be protected before the encroachment gets there. And so, um, that's what this bill does.

Vote, my good colleague from Richfield. It's a good bill. Thank you.

Thank you. Sorry. President Pro Tem House Bill 93 is, uh, street forward simple Bill. This, uh, provides the creation of the Goshen Bay Waterfowl management area at the southern end of the Utah Lake. It'd be, it would become one of four waterfowl management areas in the state. Uh, increase activity for sportsmen, save Goshen Bay waterfowl area from future development and, uh, being important for maintaining open spaces and use of this, uh, beautiful area at the southern end of Utah Lake. With that, I'd be open to questions To the bill.

Thank you Mr. Bn pro tem With that, then I would move that house. Bill 93. Be read a third time. The motion is shall house bill 93 be read A third time roll call vote.

Thank you Mr. President pro tem, uh, motion to encircle, um, house bill First substitute house bill 20. Motion to Uncer for substitute house Bill 20.

Thank you. This is a bill that, uh, creates a corrections facility expansion restricted account. Uh, what I understand is this would, uh, uh, allow, um, put some infrastructure in place financially to allow, um, the, uh, the state prison to build out, um, their,

Thank you Mr. President. This bill provides the, the creation of the Goshen Bay Waterfowl Management area at the southern end of Utah Lake. It would become the fourth water file management area in the state. Um, and that's what the bill does, creates a path forward for this to become that management area. Be open to any questions.

Okay. I, uh, move that we pat that house. Bill 93 pass.

Yeah. This just adds a simple, uh, amendment that allows for flexible use as, uh, needs change.