Unidentified Speaker, a presenter with the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, summarized 17 years of planning and recent work on the Provo River Delta restoration, saying the project is intended to improve habitat for the endangered June sucker and reconnect the Provo River to Utah Lake.

The presenter said research identified a mile-long backwater in the lower Provo River that prevented larval June sucker from reaching Utah Lake, and the restoration was designed to recreate approximately 270 acres of delta north of Utah Lake State Park. “We’ve been working on this thing for 17 years,” the presenter said, and the team finalized a NEPA plan in 2015 after an extended public and stakeholder process.

Construction involved excavating channels and ponds, reusing excavated fill in partnership with Provo City for the Epic Sports Park site, and acquiring all land on a willing-seller basis, the presenter said. The Provo River was reconnected to the new delta in March 2023; the site was opened to the public in November 2024 with a wildlife viewing tower, a non-motorized boat launch and about 1.2 miles of trails.

The speaker acknowledged early controversy: public meetings in 2010 drew protests that prompted a pause in the NEPA process to conduct further stakeholder engagement and redesign alternatives. The presenter described those meetings as essential, noting the team repeated outreach to accommodate concerned recreation and landowner groups.

Remaining construction work focuses on recreational enhancements in the original channel and a downstream dam to stabilize water elevations. The speaker said the project had been delayed beyond an original completion target, with finishing work likely to extend past the end of the year into next year.

The Division of Wildlife Resources has been stocking sport fish in portions of the old channel as part of efforts to establish a community fishery, and project plans include three fishing platforms and two non-motorized boat launches in the old channel. The presenter also described an eight-year bird-monitoring data set established due to concerns about bird–aircraft strike risk and increased mosquito monitoring with funds available to Utah County for control measures if needed.

The presenter emphasized partnerships throughout the project and said the mitigation commission is currently managing the delta in cooperation with the Division of Wildlife Resources, with plans to transfer long-term ownership and maintenance of the property to the state of Utah. “We’ve done so many things with Provo City to make this a reality,” the presenter said.

No formal actions, votes or ordinance changes were recorded in this presentation; the speaker described past NEPA decisions and future implementation tasks but did not announce any new binding approvals.