Strawberry Reservoir is a large

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 control ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 its ...

. It is Utah's most popular

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place (a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, ...

, receiving over 1.5 million

angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...

hours annually and is part of the Blue Ribbon Fisheries program.

Game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercia ...

in the reservoir include sterilized

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

bear lake cutthroat trout The Bonneville cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii utah'') is a subspecies of cutthroat trout native to tributaries of the Great Salt Lake and Sevier Lake. Most of the fish's current and historic range is in Utah, but they are also found in ...

kokanee salmon The kokanee salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also known as the kokanee trout, little redfish, silver trout, kikanning, Kennerly's salmon, Kennerly's trout, or Walla, is the non-anadromous form of the sockeye salmon (meaning that they do not migrat ...

and

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, ...

. It is located southeast of

Heber, Utah Heber City is a city and county seat of Wasatch County, Utah, United States. The population was 11,362 at the time of the 2010 census. It is located 43 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. History Heber City was first settled in 1859 by Robe ...

on U.S. Route 40. The reservoir is situated in Strawberry Valley. This valley is normally part of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

drainage. The dam was constructed to divert water into

Utah Valley 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 its ...

. Strawberry Reservoir was the 2006 recipient of the American Fisheries Society's outstanding sport fish development/restoration Project of the Year award.

Soldier Creek Dam

Soldier Creek Dam is an earthen dam, tall and long at its crest, completed in 1972 as an irrigation project of the

United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

, a major element of the extensive Central Utah Project. The original Strawberry Dam was constructed by the Bureau in 1913, about eight miles upstream of the current location, then deliberately breached in 1985. The 1972 Soldier Creek Dam expanded the capacity of Strawberry Reservoir from to a maximum capacity of and a total surface area of some .

History

Strawberry Reservoir was poisoned (chemically treated) in 1990 to kill all aquatic life in the lake in attempt to get rid of

trash fish Rough fish (or the slang trash fish or dirt fish) is a term used by some United States state agencies and anglers to describe fish that are less desirable to sport anglers within a defined region. The term usually refers to larger game fish species ...

, specifically the

Utah chub The Utah chub (''Gila atraria'') is a cyprinid fish native to western North America, where it is abundant in the upper Snake River and throughout the Lake Bonneville basin. This chub generally follows the cyprinid body plan. Its dorsal fin lies ...

. Shortly after replanting the fish, Utah Chub began to appear. The DWR ( Division of Wildlife Resources) found that the Bonneville Cutthroat trout (Bear Lake Strain) was a very aggressive chub-eating fish. The DWR has used the Cutthroat trout to keep the number of Chub down in the lake. The fishing and angling regulations for Strawberry are very strict regarding the possession, release and quantity of Native Cutthroat an angler is allowed to keep. As of 2008 all Cutthroat between to in length are required to be released back into the water, regardless of the health of the fish. However, anglers are continually encouraged to voluntarily release all cutthroat trout, regardless of size. Additionally, the 2021 DWR regulations for the waterbody indicate that ''"Any trout with cutthroat characteristics (not necessarily jaw slashing) is considered to be a cutthroat trout."'' Clearing of the banks of the reservoir's major tributary, the Strawberry River, over the course of the 20th century for grazing purposes has caused naturally occurring

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

to become washed into the river and deposited in levels unhealthy to wildlife in the reservoir. An extensive restoration program to re-plant grasses and trees along the banks of the entire river was expected to be completed in 2010. However, the project did not reach completion until 2019. The USFS will continue to monitor the area for weeds and weed treatments will continue, as needed. To improve sage grouse nesting and brood-rearing habitats, these areas will be accessed and treatments will be proposed where appropriate. Grazing will still be allowed where it is currently in place.

Major fishing areas

Strawberry Reservoir contains four major fishing areas. The largest, at 64 percent of the reservoir's volume, is the Strawberry Basin, which includes the original Reservoir. The Meadows, located at the southern end of the reservoir south of the Indian Creek Dike, fills a valley of the lower Indian Creek Drainage. Soldier Creek Basin, the deepest fishing area, includes the old Soldier Creek Reservoir, and contains Stinking Springs and Soldier Creek Bay. The Narrows lies between Strawberry and Soldier Creek and includes the drainage channels of the Strawberry River and Indian Creek.Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
/ref>

Aquatic life

* Bonneville cutthroat trout (Bear Lake Strain) - ''Oncorhynchus clarki utah'' *

Rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

- ''Oncorhynchus mykiss'' *

Kokanee salmon The kokanee salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also known as the kokanee trout, little redfish, silver trout, kikanning, Kennerly's salmon, Kennerly's trout, or Walla, is the non-anadromous form of the sockeye salmon (meaning that they do not migrat ...

- ''Oncorhynchus nerka'' *

Crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, ...

(commonly called Crawdads) *

- ''Gila atraria''

References

External links

Strawberry Reservoir
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Utah Division of Wildlife Resources The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is part of the Utah Department of Natural Resources for the state of Utah in the United States. The mission of the Division of Wildlife Resources is to serve the people of Utah as trustee and guardian of ...

Utah Outdoor ActivitiesStrawberry Fishing Info
{{authority control Reservoirs in Utah Lakes of Wasatch County, Utah Buildings and structures in Wasatch County, Utah Tourist attractions in Wasatch County, Utah Wasatch Range 1913 establishments in Utah