WikiPortallus: Willard Bay State Park.html

Geography

Willard Bay is a 9,900-acre (40 km²) freshwater reservoir located in Box Elder County, Utah, north-west of the city of Ogden, on the north-eastern floodplains of the Great Salt Lake. The reservoir is operated by the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District and recreation activities are administered by Utah State Parks and Recreation. Fish in Willard Bay include black crappie, walleye, wiper, smallmouth bass, channel catfish, bluegill, and gizzard shad (which are unlawful to possess).¹ At an elevation of about 4,200 feet (1,300 m), the area around Willard Bay features cottonwood and other high desert trees. In winter, the area is a wildlife area for watching nesting eagles.

History

In 1949, U.S. Senator Arthur Vivian Watkins, a Republican from Utah who served from 1946 to 1959, passed through Congress the Weber Basin Project. This project called for the creation of a reservoir to store surplus water from the Ogden and Weber rivers that could later be accessed for use on farmland.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation designed and constructed a 36-foot (11 m)-high earth-filled dike to create the 26.4-square-mile (68 km²) enclosure. The dike was completed in 1964 by the W.W. Clyde Company, and was named the Arthur V. Watkins dam. The resulting bay was named after the nearby town of Willard.

There is currently a bill in Congress, H.R. 839 and S. 512, The Arthur V. Watkins Dam Enlargement Act, to authorize a feasibility study to enlarge the dam.²

Willard Bay State Park

Willard Bay State Park is located on the eastern shore of Willard Bay. It features two state-owned facilities. The north marina is 15 miles (24 km) north of Ogden. It has 62 campsites, restrooms, showers, full RV hook-ups, and seasonal boat slip rentals. The south marina is 8 miles (13 km) north of Ogden. It is only open April through October, and features 30 campsites with restrooms.³