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Senate committee declines to forward bill authorizing study of Gooseberry Narrows state park

Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Standing Committee · February 4, 2026

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Summary

After hours of testimony for and against Senate Bill 209 — including concerns about fisheries, trans‑basin water transfers and fiscal costs — the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee voted down the sponsor’s motion to favorably recommend the substitute bill authorizing State Parks to study Gooseberry Narrows.

Senate committee members heard hours of public testimony on Senate Bill 209 before voting not to forward the sponsor’s substitute. The bill would have authorized the Division of State Parks to study whether Gooseberry Narrows could join the state park system and to explore agreements with federal agencies and current landowners.

Sponsor Senator Owens said the substitute merely "gives authority for the park to look at it, do feasibility study and see if this, potentially a place to build a park," and emphasized the substitute does not itself authorize construction or large appropriations. He characterized the bill as an opportunity to evaluate whether the site could serve both recreational and water‑storage needs.

Opponents argued the proposal masks a water‑storage project for Sanpete County. Jeff Salt, secretary of the Utah Anglers Coalition, urged rejection and said he was "appalled at the fiscal note for $64,000,000" and worried state parks would be used "as the front for this project when it's actually a storage project for a water district." Herbert Lay, a longtime angler, described potential loss to fish habitat and recreational opportunities he and others value.

Supporters from Sanpete County said the region has pending water needs that justify study. Jay Olson, chair of the Sanpete Water Conservancy District, said the county has been "deprived of utilizing our water right for 80, 90 years" and urged lawmakers to allow study and planning. Nate Broadhurst, an attorney for the Sanpete County Water Conservancy District, said litigation over a 1984 settlement had been resolved and that water rights "remain in good standing." Representative Troy Shelly described the feeder stream as small and urged the committee to consider local needs.

Committee members substituted and amended the bill to clarify coordination between State Parks and the Division of Water Resources for a feasibility study, but after summation by the sponsor the motion to recommend the bill to the full Senate failed on the committee floor. The committee did not record a roll‑call tally for that final motion in the transcript beyond the chair calling the question and the announcement, "The bill fails."