OCR Text |
Show occur about once every 10 years. During periods of normal flow patterns, the area would be dry and vegetated. The Springville and Provo Bay Bypasses would be open lined canals and would not have any fishery value. The vegetation developing around the canals and the canals themselves could develop into useful habitat for pheasants as well as for other birds and animals. No locations for borrow areas have been outlined at the present time. Some embankment materials are known to be present in the vicinity of the damsite. Because of the gently sloping land contours of the bypass alinements, no particularly difficult construction and restoration problems should develop. The nature of the esthetic impacts that this system would create are questionable since structures of this type are already existing in the locality,, Bear Creek Dike, Diversion Dam, and Canal The Beer Creek system would generate agricultural benefits by preventing periodic flooding of the lower Beer Creek area near Utah Lake and by making more acreage suitable for cultivation through drainage. These improvements would not be derived without a cost to the present environment. The irrigated fields of Spanish Fork area that surround the Beer Creek area provide important spring, summer, and fall habitat as well as winter feeding ground for some of the pheasant population of Utah County. The drainage of Benjamin Slough would change about 1,600 acres of marsh or wet land habitat, not presently irrigated, to irrigated crop land. This change would ultimately have an adverse impact on local pheasant production because the loss of some winter habitat would not be replaced by the creation of irrigated farm lands. The drainage of Benjamin Slough would also alter the present environment of shore birds and marsh animals, such as sand snipes, muskrats, amphibians, and some reptiles and would cause loss of waterfowl hatitat. The construction of approximately 11 miles of open drain channels would create some new wildlife habitat which would partially offset the loss of habitat caused by drainage of the slough. Return flows in the drains should improve the water quality of Beer Creek over existing conditions. 269 |