An evening at Willard

[Kent]

As promised I did some research about the island -- and it is definitely not made of tires; however, there are several sunken tires in Willard. Below is a response that I just received from Tom Pettengill: "I don't have any good information on what it actually is. Some one with the Bureau of Reclamation in SLC may be able to check their files and see for sure. It isn't made of tires. I can remember one year when the top was out of water and we did some electrofishing around it in the spring to see if the walleyes were using it for spawning but we didn't find any. The south side was quite jagged rock and it drops off more rapidly on the south side. I have heard that some of the humps and ridges in Willard were built as test dike sections to see how they would hold up and/or settle into the ground in the area but I don't know for sure if that is the case with the island. It did appear to have some pretty big rocks on that south shore (if my old memory is still accurate). We have put in some artificial reefs made of tires, cable and Christmas trees. About all that is left of the old ones is the tires and cable. One of those is in the area called "Mud Bay" south of the North Marina in some deep water behind that submerged island.. Another is down near the SE corner off Nerva Lane. Another that I have gotten snagged on in close to shore in the SW dogleg corner between the South Marina and the West Dike. Also out off the light pole is a bunch of tires and cables that you can lose lots of tackle on. I hope this helps. I'd be interested in the real history of the island if you find out about it. I did just check the file on Willard to see if we had any old documents and I found a small copy of an old map showing they did some ground penetration studies out near where the island is but it didn't show any test sites for dike sections or rock piles, etc. I couldn't see any obvious natural humps in the area either."

Thomas D. Pettengill
Sport Fisheries and Aquatic Education Coordinator
State of Utah
Department of Natural Resources
Division of Wildlife Resources
1594 W. North Temple, Suite 2110
P.O. Box 146301
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-6301
801-538-4814
801-538-4745 (Fax)
[url "mailto:tompettengill@utah.gov"][#014ea2]tompettengill@utah.gov[/#014ea2][/url]
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