The Mitigation Commission is directly involved, with numerous federal, state and local entities, in measures to recover the June sucker (Chasmistes liorus), a fish endemic to Utah that naturally occurs only in Utah Lake and spawns only in the lower Provo River. Human settlement, development and use of water for irrigation, municipal and industrial purposes resulted in hydrological and habitat changes in Utah Lake and its tributaries. These, in addition to the more than twenty non-native species introduced into Utah Lake, contributed to the decline of June sucker. Small populations of June sucker have been established in a few other locations, such as Red Butte Reservoir above Salt Lake City, as temporary refuge to guard against a catastrophic loss in Utah Lake.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the June sucker as endangered with critical habitat in 1986. The species had a documented wild population of fewer than 1,000 individuals at the time of listing. In 1987, the wild spawning population was estimated to be between 311 and 515 individuals.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized the June Sucker Recovery Plan in 1999. The Mitigation Commission and several other agencies and groups committed to work cooperatively to develop a Recovery Implementation Program for June sucker. A final environmental assessment on agency participation in the June sucker recovery implementation program has been published. The Mitigation Commission's participation in the program was formalized on April 17, 2002. The program establishes a multi-agency cooperative effort to implement the June Sucker Recovery Plan by funding, coordinating and facilitating June sucker recovery, while balancing and accommodating water resource needs. [Click here to link to the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program web site.]

Included in the Mitigation Commission's projects aiding June sucker recovery are: developing a comprehensive Utah Lake Fish Management Plan that will help clarify how to best manage Utah lake to improve sport fishery opportunities while achieving recovery of June sucker; acquiring lower Provo River instream flows and investigating strategies to lower high flow releases; and, developing a native species fish hatchery that will produce June sucker, least chub, leatherside chub, roundtail chub and flannelmouth sucker.