LOGAN — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking input on a proposed housing and recreation development. It’s a large development that would be located roughly west of Ifit and 10th West on the far southwest side of Logan.
One of the more controversial components of the development, would include filling-in about five acres of existing wetland. Willow Lakes would also include 123 single-family building lots, a slalom ski lake and a big wake tube lake.
On KVNU’s For the People program this past Wednesday, our guest was USU Wildland resource associate professor Dr Frank Howe. He is also the chairman of the Logan River Task Force and he expressed some concerns about the plans.
“You mentioned the wetland acres that would be impacted, and that’s certainly a big potential problem. The other one, though, is that this is in the Logan River Flood Plain, and the flood plain actually acts as a sponge, where when the river floods in the Spring, it absorbs that water, and the water runs out of the flood plain and a lot of the energy of that water is dissipated into the flood plain as well,” Dr. Howe explained.
He said taking that function away could lead to some pretty serious flood hazards as well as impacts to the wildlife habitat and the water quality of the river itself.
One of the partners of the proposed Willow Lakes development, Brett Nelson, said on KVNU’s For the People program on Friday that he’s concerned the whole picture is not being put forth and that the wetlands disturbed will actually be improved and increased.
“The process already requires that if a developer impacts, say…a single square foot of wetlands, it gets replaced at a multiple. So often, two and a half – three, three and a half – four to one. So in this case we’re impacting five-ish acres and we will be replacing or recreating in a higher quality and up-lifting at least 12, maybe as much as 15, maybe as much as 17 acres, right? And in a better location, at a higher quality than the ones we’re actually disturbing,” he said.
So Nelson said it’s actually a net benefit in this case to the ecology and to the wildlife.
Dr. Howe said his group will be submitting a request for an official public hearing on this before any development can proceed. And the public comment through the U.S. Corps of Engineers continues through Monday, April 18th.