Blue Ribbon council moves Pine View Reservoir to potential' list as Ogden City plans major drawdown

At its June 18 meeting the Blue Ribbon Fisheries Advisory Council voted to move Pine View Reservoir to the council's "potential" list rather than evaluate it for Blue Ribbon status this year, after managers said an Ogden City pipeline replacement will force a deep drawdown that could persist through a multi‑year rebuilding period.

The decision came after DWR staff detailed the work: the pipeline replacement will require drawing Pine View down to a small fraction of its normal volume so contractors can access the pipe beneath the reservoir. That drawdown will concentrate fish and is likely to flush panfish downstream and reduce survival of juvenile fish, staff said.

Clint Brunson, a DWR staff member involved in Pine View planning, told the council the city has the water rights to draw the reservoir and is moving forward now because of the low snowpack: "Ogden City is going to get their pipeline, culinary water fixed," Brunson said, noting that the division expects to be able to install habitat work during the dry period and may be able to accelerate some projects while the lake is low. He added that DWR has submitted emergency regulation changes to allow higher harvest limits on some species during the drawdown.

Council members debated whether to proceed with a full re-evaluation this year or move Pine View to the potential list and hold future assessment until the system stabilizes. Several members said a formal suspension would be more honest for anglers who might otherwise rely on Blue Ribbon designation when planning trips.

After discussion, the council voted to move Pine View to the potential list. Trina Hedrickk, the division's cold-water sportfish coordinator, explained that moving Pine View to the potential list means the water would be removed from immediate Blue Ribbon search results but remain eligible for project funding; the move was intended to avoid sending anglers to a reservoir undergoing an unusual and temporary management action.

DWR staff said they will coordinate communications and press notices with Ogden City and the Forest Service, post alerts on the Fish Utah site to inform anglers of the drawdown, and pursue habitat work and funding opportunities while Pine View is at low elevation. The council asked to revisit the lake's status in the following year based on post-drawdown conditions and any monitoring data.

The motion carried by voice and raised hands.