Willard Bay is a man-made fresh water

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

in the Great Salt Lake, in northern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. The bay was separated from the Great Salt Lake in 1964, and has since served as a source of irrigation water and recreation for the northern

Wasatch Front The Wasatch Front is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of contiguous cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Provo in the south to Logan in the nort ...

metro area.

Geography

Willard Bay is a freshwater reservoir located in eastern Box Elder County, Utah, north-west of the city of Ogden, on the north-eastern

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

s of the Great Salt Lake. The reservoir is operated by the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District and recreation activities are administered by Utah State Parks and Recreation.

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

in Willard Bay include black crappie,

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

, wiper, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, bluegill, and

gizzard shad ''Dorosoma'' is a genus that contains five species of shads, within the herring family Clupeidae. The five species are native to the North and/or Central America, and are known from both fresh water and the waters of estuaries and bays. The Am ...

(which are unlawful to possess). At an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

of about , the area around Willard Bay features cottonwood and other high desert trees. In winter, the area is a

wildlife area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

for watching nesting

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

s. 250px, left

History

In 1949, U.S. Senator

Arthur Vivian Watkins Arthur Vivian Watkins (December 18, 1886September 1, 1973) was a Republican U.S. Senator from Utah, serving two terms from 1947 to 1959. He was influential as a proponent of terminating federal recognition of American Indian tribes, in the b ...

, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

from Utah who served from 1946 to 1959, passed through

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

the Weber Basin Project. This project called for the creation of a reservoir to store surplus water from the Ogden and Weber rivers that could later be accessed for use on

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bo ...

. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation designed and constructed a -high earth-filled

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

to create the enclosure. The dike, which impounds of water, was completed in 1964 by the W.W. Clyde Company, and was named the Arthur V. Watkins Dam. The resulting reservoir was then drained of salt water and refilled with fresh, directly from the

Weber River The Weber River ( ) is a long river of northern Utah, United States. It begins in the northwest of the Uinta Mountains and empties into the Great Salt Lake. The Weber River was named for American fur trapper John Henry Weber. The Weber River ...

. The bay was named after the nearby town of Willard, which itself was named after the

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations * LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, US Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within t ...

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

Willard Richards Willard Richards (June 24, 1804 – March 11, 1854) was a physician and midwife/nurse trainer and an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served as second counselor to church president Brigham Young in the First Presidency of th ...

. A

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

in Congress, H.R. 839 and S. 512, The Arthur V. Watkins Dam Enlargement Act, was introduced in the 2007 session to authorize a

feasibility study A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats pr ...

to enlarge the dam. While the bill passed the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, it was suspended in the Senate and never became law. 250px

Willard Bay State Park

Willard Bay State Park is located on the eastern shore of Willard Bay. It features two state-owned facilities. The north marina is north of Ogden. It has 62

campsite A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...

restrooms A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...

, showers, full RV hook-ups, and seasonal/transient boat slip rentals. The south marina is north of Ogden. It is only open April through October, and features 30 campsites with restrooms, 24 of which have full hookups.Utah State Parks » Parks » Willard Bay State Park
/ref>

References

External links

Willard Bay State Park Website

{{authority control State parks of Utah Reservoirs in Utah Dams in Utah United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Dams completed in 1964 Buildings and structures in Box Elder County, Utah Lakes of Box Elder County, Utah Protected areas of Box Elder County, Utah