Residents Sound Off On Future of Tickville Wash

The City of Eagle Mountain surveyed residents to see how they feel about the Tickville Wash that runs through Eagle Mountain. The survey had respondents between Oct 3rd to Oct 21st, 2022. There were a total of 687 respondents to the survey during that time frame. Cedar Valley Sentinel has requested and received the answers that respondents gave to the survey.

Wildlife Worldwide Is On The Decline

The Worldwide Wildlife Foundation released its “Living Planet Report for 2020 – Bending the curve of biodiversity loss.” The WWF Living Planet Index (LPI) is published by the WWF as an index of wildlife populations worldwide. “The Living Planet Index (LPI) now tracks the abundance of almost 21,000 populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians around the world. For two decades, it has used the trends to emerge as a measure of changes in biodiversity. The building blocks for this indicator are wildlife population datasets gathered from almost 4,000 sources.” The report shows that there has been a decline of 68% in the monitored populations between 1970 and 2016.

They report the threats to biodiversity as changes in land/sea use, species overexploitation, invasive species and disease, pollution, and Climate change. According to this report, 52.5% of the decrease is attributed to “Changes in land and sea use, including habitat loss and degradation.” This is where development and re-zoning of land would fit in.

How Does Eagle Mountain Measure Up

With of population of 43,623, Eagle Mountain makes it the 19th largest city in Utah. But by land area in 2020, it was the 4th largest. This gives Eagle Mountain a total of .02 miles per resident or 12.8 acres per resident. For comparison, Salt Lake City, which is the largest city in Utah by land area, only has .0005 miles per resident or .32 acres per resident.* Eagle Mountain has the opportunity to be different, to have a higher area of open land and space per resident than most large cities in Utah.

Survey Results

How do you see the current use and condition of the gulch?

This question was done on a scale from “poor condition and in need of better management” to “perfect and leave it as it is”. The highest number, or 35.29%, of the respondents were neutral.

Do you use the wash for any activities of any kind?

32.46% of respondents said they use the wash and 67.54% of the respondents indicated that they do not use the wash for any kind of activity.

What activities do you or anyone within your family do within the gulch?

Of the 223 residents that said that they do use the wash for activities, 48 of them identified the type of activities they use the wash for. 42 of the 48 selected two items, 41 of the 48 selected three items, and 10 of the 48 selected four items. The activities of flying a kite, picnicking, and running were not selected. Feeding birds, sightseeing (or in the survey site seeing), and wildlife observing were the most popular choices, with 48% of those who use the wash participating in those activities.

Who do you believe is currently responsible for the management of the wash?

The survey asked residents if they believe one of the following entities is responsible for the management of the wash: Bureau of Reclamation; Eagle Mountain City; Evans Ranch HOA; Silverlake Village HOA;

Eagle Mountain City took a huge lead over the others, with 84% of the respondents believing that Eagle Mountain City is responsible for the wash.

So I asked the city which entity really does have the responsibility to manage the wash. “The property owners are responsible for the management of the section of the wash within their property.  The Utah Division of Water Quality is the regulatory authority that can impose fines and penalties for mismanagement.  There are also regulations imposed by the EPA on the wash.”

Are you aware of any pollution or abusive activities of the wash, including illegal dumping?

30% of the respondents noted that they are aware of the wash having pollution or abusive activities done in the wash.

Please share what (pollution or abusive activities) you have observed.

This was a free-form field. Below are the 142 responses to this optional question. The answers are as they appeared in the survey. We have not made any changes to the responses (exact duplicates have been removed).

The City plans to turn the city-owned portion of the wash into a nature park to provide a recreation space for the local residents and to create a better space for the wildlife and vegetation within the wash. Would you support this idea?

78.6% of the 687 respondents that answered this question would support the idea of the city turning portions of the wash into a nature park. 21.4% of the respondents would not support this idea.

What future land use do you think is best for the gulch/wash?

This question was to gauge what types of nature park the residents want the city to create in the Tickville wash. 39.05% said that they feel the area should be Park space with suitable natural improvements (Vegetation, wash bank reinforcements, park furniture).

Please describe what your ideal vision for Tickville Gulch in the future is.

This question was also a free-form question. None of the answers have been modified.

Demographics Of Survey Respondents.

Data provided by the city

This is the actual document that was provided to Cedar Valley Sentinel in response to the request for the survey results.