llr Save and Restore the North Branch of the Logan River (Little Logan River-LLR)
Petition Text:
The Logan River and its North and South Branches enhance 18 riverside parks and provide wellbeing to all of Cache County, its visitors, and wildlife.
Unfortunately, the North Branch is under threat.

We oppose further destruction of the North Branch of the Logan River (Little Logan River). Proposed destruction includes cutting it off from its source, diminishing flows, piping, pumping, lining, further diverting, covering, or replacing it with a trail, lawn or an artificial water feature.

We oppose managing this natural river as a canal. Its geology, historic maps,US Geological Survey maps, property deeds and plat maps verify it is a river.

Diverting waters at the end of each irrigation season destroyed the once thriving trout stream. Year-round meaningful flows to the North Branch must be restored.

We support irrigation upgrades that do not harm the North Branch of the Logan River.

We ask that all parties work together to protect and recognize equally the North and South Branches of the Logan River.

Cooperation can result in a win-win solution.  

llr Save and Restore the North Branch of the Logan River (Little Logan River-LLR)

Page Contents:

Petition Text

Sign the Petition Online

Download the Petition Flyer PDF in a new tab/window

Is the Little Logan River a Canal or a Natural Flowing River?

Background

The Proposal to Sever the Little Logan River from the Logan River

EPA NEPA Comments on the proposed EIS

A Historical Look at Logan Water Rights

Timeline

1922 Kimball Decree

Southwest Field Irrigation

The Crockett Diversion

History of Land Surveying in Cache County Storymap

See also-Additional useful references

 

 
Is the North Branch of the Logan River a Canal or a Natural Flowing River?

0. It is a river which feeds the Crockett Canals:
1. The 1856 survey of Cache County shows only the North Branch of the Logan River. This was three years before the City of Logan was founded on the banks of the North Branch of the Logan River, ten years before the City of Logan was incorporated.
2. The U.S. Geological Survey shows the Little Logan River as a river, and the canals it feeds as canals.
3. Plat maps show the North Branch of the Logan River (LLR).
4. Property titles list the North Branch of the Logan River (LLR).
5. The canals have been excavated from the banks of the river – there is no overlap.
6. The Crockett Canal is not on the list of major canals 1856-1956, but it does list the canals excavated from the banks of the river, including Logan Hyde Park, Logan Northfield, Logan Northwest Field (formerly Logan & Benson).
   See: The History of a Valley: Cache Valley Utah-Idaho, Cache Valley Centennial Commission, 1856.
7. The Crockett Diversion weir in the Logan River was added about half a century after the canals were excavated from the banks of the North Branch of the Logan River.

0. It is not a canal:
1. A canal is man-made. The Little Logan River is an historic natural river channel.
2. A canal has a diversion point. The Crockett Canal has no diversion point with the Utah Division of Water Rights. It is a distribution company which manages the water rights for ten canal companies.
3. A canal has water rights. The Crockett Canal has no water rights.
4. A canal has a service area. The Crockett Canal has no service area.
5. The Kimball Decree (1922) lists the canal companies organized under the Crockett Avenue Irrigation & Distribution System, but does not list a Crockett Canal.
6. The Cache County ArcGIS Canal Maps recognize the dual function of the “Crockett Canal/North Branch of Logan River”

 
llr Save and Restore the North Branch of the Logan River (Little Logan River-LLR)
Background:

The proposal to sever the Little Logan River from the Logan River
As currently proposed, the Crockett Avenue Distribution Company Pipeline will be enclosed in the riverbed of the Little Logan River (LLR) at River Hollow Park:

The main stem of the Little Logan River will be dried out all along the south bank of River Hollow Park, forever cutting off the Little Logan River from the Logan River.

The Little Logan River Greenbelt of parks will be dependent upon the release of piped and pressurized secondary water West of Crockett Avenue, with no water East of Crockett Avenue, no water for River Hollow Park.

There will be no more wading and tubing at River Hollow Park.

The historic Little Logan River will never again receive the very snowmelt which inspired the first white settlers to establish the City of Logan, and to farm the fertile Island between the Logan River and the Little Logan River.

Logan River Watershed Project, Natural Resources Conservation Service (US NRCS), US Department of Agriculture, https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/natural-resource-concerns/watersheds/logan-river-watershed-project

We submit that the Little Logan River is a river, that the management of the water course is the duty of the City of Logan, not of the canal company, and that the tri-city secondary water Ag to Lawns Project has not been required to apply for a change of use permit. Thus, the State Engineer’s process for the Division of Water Rights has failed to evaluate for “the highest beneficial use,” and find the in-stream flows of the Logan River and the Little Logan River for environmental and recreational benefits as the highest beneficial use above and beyond lawns and ski lakes (The Willow Lakes wake lane alone has a surface area of 25 acres, is 20′ deep, and relies upon Logan culinary water). How can we be sacrificing the historic Little Logan River with the Ag to Lawns project right on the heels of establishing the Willow Ski Lakes projects? Why not work with the Division of Wildlife Resources on the need and the ability to lease or sell Crockett Water Rights for in-stream flows for the Logan River System, including the historic North Branch of the Logan River known as the Little Logan River, which is a tremendous recreational resource and wildlife habitat corridor from River Hollow Park to the confluence with the Logan River downstream from Trapper Park?

The 1922 Kimball Decree assigns most of the Crockett canal water as from the Logan River at a location near River Hollow Park. One example is water for the Southwest Field Irrigation Company. See page 49 https://bearrivercommission.org/docs/Kimball%20Decree.pdf#page=49
 

235. Southwest Field Irrigation Co.
(a) 1860-May 1 11 c.f.s. [[[[Note: this reference to the Logan River is in fact the Little Logan River, referenced here as “part of the Logan River”- it is all one river system with a north and south branch that reunite at the west edge of Logan – i.e. the entire Little Logan River is within the municipal boundaries of the City of Logan, which is refusing to acknowledge this river, stating that instead that it is a canal, which is no more true than the main stem of the Logan River is a canal due to the fact that it has three dams and feeds the major Highline diversion about a mile and a half up Logan Canyon]]]

Said Water to be diverted from Logan River at a point 600 feet Southeasterly from the Southeast corner of Block 6, Plat 4, Park Addition, Logan City Survey, and used for the irrigation of 880 acres of land in the West half of Sections 4 and 5, Town- ship 11 North, Range 1 East, S. L. M

(b) 1865-May 1 1 c.f.s.

Said water to be diverted from North branch of Little Logan River, a part of Logan River at a point near what is known as the South Slough and used for the supplemental irrigation of the lands last above described.

On the ArcGIS Canal Maps it is clear that the Southwest Field Irr. Co water is from the Little Logan River, which the Kimball Decree describes as the Logan River. The real challenge is getting Logan City to acknowledge their responsibility for the management of the Little Logan River(LLR) riparian area. River corridor protections apply for the North Branch of the Logan River just as for the South Branch. However, for unknown reasons, the City will not acknowledge the [smaller northern] river, and it is imperiled by the Logan River Watershed Project(LRWP)/The Langdon Group a.k.a. J-U-B ENGINEERS, Inc.(JUB) consideration of potential piping of the river, lining of the natural river channel, placing a pumphouse and paved trail within the natural river channel, and diversion of the perennial flows.

We contend that the waters of the Little Logan River were incorrectly asserted to be under the control of the several canal companies, the Crockett Canal Company speaking for most. Thus, the waters of the Little Logan River were errantly controlled at the diversion point shown above. Waters in the the Little Bear River should continue to flow during non-irrigation periods to allow replenishment of the ground water and nurturing of the trees and wildlife both in and along the river.

Crockett Diversion

“The Crockett Diversion was originally constructed in the early 1900’s and is named after Alvin Crockett, Logan City’s first mayor. Originally built to support agriculture, the structure diverts water from the Logan River to the Little Logan River to ensure the delivery of the water rights established in the Kimball Decree. Today, the approximately 15,000 acres that can be irrigated by the Crockett Diversion’s waters include residential and commercial developments, parks, and agriculture fields. Crops irrigated by the Crockett Diversion’s waters include; corn, oats, alfalfa, hay, barley, wheat, and residential gardens. The Crockett Canal can safely pass 125 cubic feet per second of water. Cubic feet per second is a commonly used term to measure the flow of a stream and is equivalent to 7.5 gallons passing by every second.”
 
USGS Logan Floodplains Storymaps–Crockett Diversion: Map shows the Little Logan River from the source at River Hollow Park to the confluence west of Willow Lakes Subdivision and downstream from Trapper Park. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4c022c3979344da5b01f6c52893b7a11
 

The following three annotated USGS maps show both the Logan River and the upper Little Logan River on USGS maps. These rivers define the Island district where Logan was originally founded. Annotations show where canals pull water from the Little Logan River. https://apps.nationalmap.gov/viewer/

 
LRWP Environmental Impact Statement(EIS) Notice of Intent (NOI) Public Comments: EPA NEPA Division
Comments from the EPA NEPA Denver office: “Our comments are focused on the following topics: purpose and need; range of alternatives; surface and groundwater resources; direct, indirect and cumulative effects; the Great Salt Lake; wildlife impacts; air resources; and climate change.” https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/25-official-comments-from-LRWP-april-2021.pdf

  
A Historical Look at Logan Water Rights
llr Save and Restore the North Branch of the Logan River (Little Logan River-LLR)
A Timeline: Logan Water Rights — A Work in Progress

Logan Utah Water Rights Timeline

Pre-settlement Cache County, located in the northern part of the state, is bordered by the Wasatch Mountains on the east and a spur of the Wasatch, the Wellsville Mountains, on the west. The Bear River flows through the northwestern corner of the county where the Little Bear, Blacksmith Fork, and Logan rivers add their waters to it. Cache County was formed in 1856 by the territorial legislature and its boundaries were redefined in 1864 when part of Cache became Richland (Rich) County.

Northern Utah was part of the Plains Culture area and, later, Shoshoni territory. Between 1824 and 1855 Cache Valley was repeatedly visited by trappers and explorers. Among the early trappers in the area were James Weber and Jim Bridger in 1824 and Peter Skene Ogden and James Beckwourth in 1825. ¹

1859 Settlement On 6 June 1859 a small group of Mormon settlers sent to Cache Valley by Brigham Young surveyed a fort site near the banks of the Logan River and began harvesting logs for houses. By the middle of the month, the first drawing for parcels of land took place. A second group plowed land and planted three acres of wheat on 10 June on an area called “the island.” ²

1859 Water-powered Industry built along the Little Logan River “Though not the first white settlement in Cache Valley, Logan became the principal city because of its central location and its abundant water supply for mills and irrigation.” ^{2 3}

1860 Logan-Hyde Park Canal Created³

1864 Logan Northern Canal Created³

1864 Logan North Field Canal Created³

1864 Logan Northwest Field Canal Created³

1864 Logan Providence Canal Created (South Branch Logan River)³ “The builders only possessed crude tools and equipment,
and some steep and rocky routes made the use of oxen and draft animals impossible.
Consequently, errors were made—a canal out of the Logan River’south side intended for use east of River Heights and Providence ran uphill, and it took nearly two decades to completely re-do the canal and get the water running downhill.” ⁶ p59

1865 Logan Richmond Canal Created⁵

1881 Logan, Hyde Park & Smithfield Canal Created³

1896 Utah Statehood, January 4

Electricity generated at the mouth of Logan Canyon reduces the need for Water-Powered Industry

1912 Hydrographic Study ⁴p81

Barber-Swendsen Report ⁴p74

1906 The Logan River Water Users’ Association formed ⁴p80

The Call Decree ⁴p86

1922 The Kimball Decree ⁴p95
“Earlier, in 1921, Cache County irrigators and Utah Power and Light Company went to court over control of the tributary streams to the Bear River. The resulting Kimball Decree of 1922 set the basic tenets pertaining to water rights throughout the county.” ⁶ p327

1926 Amended Decree ⁴p99

Apr 2, 1961 Commissioner Appointed by the State Engineer to enforce division per water rights ⁴p

1963 Amended Decree- Judgement in Logan City vs Water Users and subsequent agreement to supplement water users from city wells ⁴p126

1960-Present Canal Companies consolidate and change as cities develop and croplands are changed to homes and gardens.

1973 Central Milling switches from water to electric power

Crockett Diversion restricts annual flow from the Logan River

2024 Proposed encapsulation of the waters of the Little Logan River for pressurized irrigation at the Crockett Diversion.
We propose that the Little Logan River should be allowed to naturally flow through the city and be pumped for pressurized irrigation on the west side of Logan.

Timeline Credits:
¹ Thatcher, Linda, Cache County, Utah History Encyclopedia, (University of Utah Press), https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CACHE_COUNTY.shtml
² Audrey M. Godfrey, History to Go, Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994, https://historytogo.utah.gov/logan/
³ Major Irrigation Canals Constructed in Cache Valley, Sons of the Utah Pioneers, Temple Fork Chapter, Marker 184, https://wchsutah.org/miscellaneous/markers4.pdf#page=91
See also Barlow, Jacob, Major Irrigation Canals Constructed in Cache Valley, https://jacobbarlow.com/2022/12/08/major-irrigation-canals-constructed-in-cache-valley/
⁴ Haws, Frank, A Critical Analysis of Water Rights and Institutional Factors and their Effect on the Development of Logan River, Theses and Dissertations, Utah State University, 1965,
https://digital.lib.usu.edu/digital/collection/Bear/id/6305/rec/85
 
⁵ Local History Timeline, Logan City Library, https://library.loganutah.gov/research___learn/local_history_timeline.php
⁶ Peterson, F. Ross, A History of Cache County Utah, Utah State Historical Society, Cache County Council, 1997, http://www.riversimulator.org/Resources/History/UtahCounties/HistoryOfCacheCounty1996Peterson.pdf
⁷ Culberson, James S., “The Functional and Aesthetic Uses of Two Cache Valley, Utah, Canals” (1975). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 2102.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/2102 

See also:

Survey Map 1891:
https://cms9files.revize.com/loganutlibrary/quickimages/Research%20_Learn/LocalHistory/Maps/Surveyors_map_full.jpg

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/10109000/#parameterCode=00065&period=P7D&showMedian=false

1922 Kimball Decree, https://bearrivercommission.org/docs/Kimball%20Decree.pdf

History of Land Surveying in Cache County Storymap https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/76d1d5d4c52c44efac0df9df2f3ad07b

Note that River Hollow Park is classified as wetlands along the river (it’s even in the floodplain at least for the Logan River frontage – the Little Logan River does not appear to be part of the floodplain mapping, perhaps because it has been kept closed off since the concrete sides were added to prevent erosion after a big flood in the mid-to-late 1990s. Cutting off the perennial flows was a mistake, and it is a reversible mistake until and unless the natural river channel is lined and obstructed with a pump house in the river channel, which is the current plan.
Updated Wetlands Mapping in Cache County https://ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/circular/c-133.pdf

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Wetlands Inventory: River Hollow Park: Classification: Rp1FO (decode)
Wetland Type: Forested/Shrub Wetland
Acres: 0.30
Image Date(s): xx/16
Project Metadata: click here
https://fwsprimary.wim.usgs.gov/wetlands/apps/wetlands-mapper/

Logan River Water Users Association Canal System, Date Not Listed, Waterrights, Department of Natural Resources, State of Utah, https://waterrights.utah.gov/docImport/0545/05455978.pdf

Map of the Deltas formed in Lake Bonneville by the Logan River, U.S. Geological Survey, ca. 1890, Held in the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives
https://digital.lib.usu.edu/digital/collection/Bear/id/109/

Cache County Township Plats, Page 59 of 107, 1880-1899, Cache County Records, Held by the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives,
https://digital.lib.usu.edu/digital/collection/Bear/id/1981/rec/1

Mitigating Flood Risk: Replacing the Crockett Diversion Structure and Restoring the Logan River, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Utah State University, 2022, https://engineering.usu.edu/cee/students/senior-projects/fall2021-spring2022/crockett-diversion-structure

Daylighting Piped Rivers and Streams:

How ‘Daylighting’ Buried Waterways Is Revitalizing Cities Across America,
Urban centers are exhuming creeks and streams once covered up to control floodwater—and bringing life back in the process, Smithsonian Magazine, America’s Waterways: The Past, Present and Future, Innovation, March 15, 2023, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-daylighting-buried-waterways-is-revitalizing-cities-across-america-180981793/

Hardesty, Bill, Stream Daylighting brings waterways above ground for all to enjoy, The City Journals, Apr 05, 2021 12:13PM, https://www.valleyjournals.com/2021/04/05/352606/stream-daylighting-brings-waterways-above-ground-for-all-to-enjoy

Ron Love, Daylighting Salt Lake’s City Creek: An Urban River Unentombed, 35 Golden Gate U. L. Rev. (2005).
http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/ggulrev/vol35/iss3/4

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