Big sandwash boat ramp access road and parking area

The U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service awarded the State of Utah, Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) a $415,363 Formula Grant under the Sport Fish Restoration program (CFDA 15.605) to fund the construction of an access road and parking area at the Big Sandwash Reservoir. The project aims to accommodate the increasing angler and boater usage at the reservoir, which has led to potential user conflicts and erosion issues in the existing unpaved parking lot. The grant will support paving and striping the parking lot to better organize and manage vehicle traffic, while also helping to minimize erosion on top of the dam where the parking area is located. This federal grant award, with a performance period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, represents UDWR's ongoing efforts to improve recreational fishing access and infrastructure across Utah's waterways through the Sport Fish Restoration program.

Angler use, especially boat angling, has increased at big sandwash reservoir over the last 10 years. The increase in usage has increased the potential for user conflicts. One of these areas for potential conflict is actually just in the parking lot. The parking lot is full on many weekends in the summer and without any striping, IT is pretty much a free-for-all . In fact, IT is astounding the number of trucks and trailers that fit in the parking lot without any striping. What s more astounding is that there have not been any incidents reported to the local dispatch over vehicles getting blocked in. In an effort to allow the parking lot to accommodate all users (boaters and non-boaters) without any issues into the future, we are proposing to pave and stripe the parking lot. In addition to potential issues with people blocking vehicles in the parking lot, that much usage increases wear and erosion in the dirt parking lot, which in this instance is on top of the DAM. Minimizing erosion on top of the DAM will help in preserving the parking area into the future.