WEBER COUNTY — One of the Ogden area’s go-to places for aquatic recreation is among several water bodies across the state set to receive upgrades aimed at improving boater access.

Per a July announcement from the Utah Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife Resources, or DWR, the construction of a boat ramp at Weber County’s Causey Reservoir was one of seven projects officially approved for funding through Utah’s Boating Access Grant Program, which is administered through the DWR.

Sean Harwood, Ogden District ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, told the Standard-Examiner that two projects are currently happening at Causey Reservoir. A facilities upgrade with two parking lots and the boat ramp will be funded via the boating access grant. Additionally, Harwood says a federally funded road overhaul is in the works.

“Increases in user population and plainly increased use has spurred this development,” Harwood said, via text message. “We need to develop the Causey area to protect the natural resource.”

Harwood noted that Causey Reservoir operates “at capacity” during summer weekends, and he further added that paddleboarding, kayaking and canoeing are “the big draws for recreation.” Fishing (including spearfishing) and cliff diving also occur at the reservoir.

Regarding construction of the ramp and parking lots, DWR Assistant Chief of Fisheries Craig Walker told the Standard-Examiner that work could be finished “within a 12-month period.”

“We’re looking at hopefully completing it within the 2024 to 2025 timeframe, wrapping it up before July 1 of 2025,” Walker said.

Three-fourths of the project funds comprising the boating access grant are provided to the DWR by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. Walker said the DWR gets an annual apportionment of “about a million dollars a year” to use over a five-year period, adding that unused funds roll over each year.

As a result, approximately $2.6 million in funding was made available for projects statewide this year.

Those projects include: the Causey Reservoir boat ramp construction, Big Sand Wash Reservoir parking lot improvements, Lucerne Valley Marina fish-cleaning station updates, a Cedar Marina floating trail, Utah Lake American Fork Marina parking, aquatic invasive species prevention station installations, and the development of a new Boat Utah app.