GAOA Funding Supports Long Overdue Improvements to Northern Utah Recreation Area

June is Great Outdoors Month, meaning the summer recreation season is officially underway. Take advantage of any opportunity to get outside and explore our nation’s forests, grasslands, national parks, and wildlife refuges.

At Pineview Reservoir, located just east of Ogden Utah, many improvement projects have begun or are planned so visitors can have the best possible experience. The Ogden Ranger District has received $7.5 million in Great American Outdoors Act funding, known as GAOA, for deferred maintenance and improvement projects at the reservoir in the last several years.

Enacted in the summer of 2020, GAOA provides opportunities for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to deliver benefits to the American public through major investments in infrastructure, recreation facilities, and public lands access through 2025. Ageing roads, trails recreation sites and facilities are being repaired and updated to expand public access and use across the country.

“The GAOA funding came at a good time for us on the Ogden Ranger District because much of our infrastructure has become dilapidated and run down” said Sean Harwood, District Ranger for the Ogden Ranger District. “Pineview is a very popular spot and it’s worn out and well overdue for some rejuvenation.”

For example, the main boat ramp was built in the 1940s and some restroom facilities are at least 30 years old, he said.

Pineview Reservoir offers boating, paddleboarding, windsurfing, swimming, camping, fishing, beach areas and picnic sites. It is one of most popular recreation areas on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest with up to 1 million visitors during the summer months.

The Forest Service, working with public and private partners, is finding creative ways to deliver recreation experiences that better meet the needs of visitors and support local economies.

The Ogden Ranger District hopes to help support nearly $23 million in improvements to Pineview Reservoir by 2025 with the help of additional GAOA funding and contributions from community partners, including Huntsville City, Weber County, Utah’s Division of Natural Resources and Division of Wildlife Resources, according to Harwood.

Plans include upgrades to boat ramps, restrooms, parking lots, overlooks, camping areas, roads, picnic sites, trails, dumping sites and more. The renovations will also include improvements to ensure access for people with all levels of abilities.

“With the significant increases to local recreation during COVID, we really saw how Pineview was being ‘loved to death,’ and needed some major improvements” said Ash Thoman of the Weber County.

Engineering Department. “Our cooperative effort alongside the Forest Service supported the increased capacity and site development needed for this project and it has been a great partnership.”

Throughout the USDA Forest Service’s Intermountain Region, located in the heart of the west, about 120 GAOA projects are in various stages of development with 23 completed.

Many projects in the region include campground renovations, trail maintenance and improvements to water lines and roads.

In total, the USDA Forest Service has completed more than 122 deferred maintenance projects across 53 national forests in 25 states with more than 880 additional projects currently funded and in various stages of completion. Updates on GAOA projects and progress, can be found via the GAOA online dashboard.

For additional information select the GAOA and the USDA Forest Service.