June suckers going into Utah Lake

PROVO — More than 14,000 June suckers were released into Utah Lake on Monday, part of a plan to increase the endangered species population as well as to restore the lake habitat to its former health.

Reed Harris, a recovery programs director for the state Department of Natural Resources, said he understands most people wouldn't be upset over the absence of a "trash" fish in Utah Lake. But the June sucker population is an indicator of the health and vibrance of its environment, he said.

"As the lake has deteriorated over the years so has the June sucker population," he said. "The only way to get the lake back to any semblance of health is to increase the fish population."

Over the past century, the population of June suckers has steadily declined, Harris said, because people used Utah Lake as a dumping site for waste and also drained the water level. Eventually, the June sucker population dwindled to about 1,000, earning the fish a spot on the Endangered Species List in 1986.

The June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program, a multi-agency cooperative, this week will take a large step toward revitalizing the natural fish population.

By Wednesday, workers for the program will release 43,000 June suckers into Utah Lake. Harris said the fish they deposit this week will restore the sucker population to the estimated number in the early 1900s.

"Saving Utah Lake is worth any price," he said. "If we save this fish we save the ecosystem."

The recovery program also has started plans to restore the lake's natural habitat, Harris said. Researchers are studying methods to modify Provo River to recreate a delta that existed there previously. The delta would provide a wetland that's conducive to the young fish population.

"Fish don't have much of an opportunity to hide," he said. "That's one of the big problems with what's happened. The lake's been channelized."

The recovery program is also exploring means to decrease the number of carp in the lake. Kris Buelow, program coordinator for local recovery implementation, said the exotic species was introduced in the 1800s as a food source.

Now the intruders number 7.5 to 8 million and account for 90 percent of the biomass in the lake.

Decreasing the carp population will make room for a flourishing June sucker population. "We gotta get a new fish community," he said.

Buelow said the June sucker is unique among similar species. Not only is it unique to Utah Lake, it's mouth is positioned to the front of the snout instead of at the bottom.

"They're a beautiful fish," he said. "It's truly a Utah original."

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