It's no secret, most of us would like to stay in our own home as we age. Yet, sometimes our loved ones just need a little extra help to remain comfortable at home. That's where Always Best Care can help....we are dedicated to exceeding expectations....always.
They say that your golden years are the best years of your life. For most older Americans, that's how it should be - a time to relax, reflect, and live life in a familiar place. After all, senior citizens in the U.S. have worked tirelessly to build a better economy, serve their communities, and raise families.
However, as seniors grow older, completing daily tasks like showering and enjoying activities such as visiting Powell lake look out point in Lake Powell, UT gets harder without someone by their side. Unfortunately, many older Americans aren't able to rely on their adult children for help. The reality in today's world is that family members do not have the skills or time to dedicate to caring for their parents. That's where Always Best Care Senior Services comes in.
Our in-home care services are for people who prefer to stay at home as they grow older but need ongoing care that family or friends cannot provide. More and more older adults prefer to live far away from long-term, institutionalized facilities and closer to the place where they feel most comfortable - their home. Home care in Lake Powell, UT is a safe, effective way to give your loved ones the care they need when they need it the most.
Home Care Services
Service AreasSince 1996, Always Best Care has provided non-medical in-home care for seniors to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle as they get older. We are proud to have helped more than 25,000 seniors maintain higher levels of dignity and respect. We focus on providing seniors with the highest level of in-home care available so that they may live happily and independently.
Unlike some senior care companies, we genuinely want to be included in our clients' lives. We believe that personalized care is always the better option over a "one size fits all" approach. To make sure our senior clients receive the best care possible, we pair them with compassionate caregivers who understand their unique needs. That way, they may provide care accordingly without compromising their wellbeing.
The Always Best Care difference lies in life's little moments - where compassionate care and trustworthy experience come together to help seniors live a fruitful, healthy life. Whether you are an aging adult that can't quite keep up with life's daily tasks or the child of a senior who needs regular in-home services, Always Best Care is here to help.
“Best ever. Always very great service. Whitney is awesome.”
“Working for Always Best Care has been a wonderful experience. They genuinely care about”
“I've been a caregiver for ABC clients for just over 6 months. I absolutely love”
“Lea, Brent and the staff are great. Because I live in a different city, the”
“My experience with Always Best Care was hands down amazing! Their staff is super attentive”
“I cannot express enough how grateful I am for the exceptional care Siale provided for”
“Best ever. Always very great service. Whitney is awesome.”
“Working for Always Best Care has been a wonderful experience. They genuinely care about their clients and go above and beyond to make sure that the employees and the clients are valued and important. They are so great to focus on compassion, quality care, and teamwork.”
“I've been a caregiver for ABC clients for just over 6 months. I absolutely love what I do, I love all of the clients, I love the feedback I get from my team! I love my manager shelly!! she is so amazing with communication and so focused on how to help me succeed and grow with this company, and so attentive to our clients! I am so happy to be able to help our clients each day and have such an amazing team!”
“Lea, Brent and the staff are great. Because I live in a different city, the staff takes care of my father’s needs where he lives. Maria is wonderful with my dad. I’ve not personally met the staff, except Maria, but I’m very grateful for all they do for my dad and me. Appreciate them.”
“My experience with Always Best Care was hands down amazing! Their staff is super attentive and kind. I always felt like I was their first priority and that they really cared about me. 10/10 would recommend!!”
“I cannot express enough how grateful I am for the exceptional care Siale provided for my dad. He was committed to delivering the highest quality of care and truly valued my dad as a patient. Siale, he goes over and beyond to make a positive impact on the lives of his patients.”
Home is where the heart is. While that saying can sound a tad cliche, it is especially true for many seniors living in America. When given a choice, older adults most often prefer to grow older at home. An AARP study found that three out of four adults over the age of 50 want to stay in their homes and communities as they age.
When you begin to think about why, it makes sense. Home offers a sense of security, comfort, and familiarity.
The truth is, as we age, we begin to rely on others for help. When a family is too busy or lives too far away to fulfill this role, in-home senior care is often the best solution. Home care services allow seniors to enjoy personal independence while also receiving trustworthy assistance from a trained caregiver.
At Always Best Care, we offer a comprehensive range of home care services to help seniors stay healthy while they get the help they need to remain independent. As your senior loved one gets older, giving them the gift of senior care is one of the best ways to show your love, even if you live far away.
To give our senior clients the best care possible, we offer a full spectrum of in-home care services:
If your senior loved one has specific care needs, our personal care services are a great choice to consider. Personal care includes the standard caregiving duties associated with companion care and includes help with tasks such as dressing and grooming. Personal care can also help individuals with chronic conditions like diabetes.
Common personal care services include assistance with:
Sometimes, seniors need helpful reminders to maintain a high quality of life at home. If you or your senior has trouble with everyday tasks like cooking, our home helper services will be very beneficial.
Common home helper care services include assistance with:
Using this kind of care is a fantastic way to make life easier for you or your senior loved one. At Always Best Care, our talented caregivers often fill the role of a companion for seniors. That way, older adults can enjoy their favorite local activities, such as visiting Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park in Lake Powell, UT with friends while also receiving the care they need daily or weekly.
Common companionship services include:
According to AARP, more than 53 million adults living in the U.S. provide care to someone over 50 years old. Unfortunately, these caregivers experience stress, exhaustion, and even depression. Our respite care services help family caregivers address urgent obligations, spend time with their children, and enjoy nearby activities. Perhaps more importantly, respite care gives family members time to recharge and regroup. Taking personal time to de-stress reduces the risk of caregiver burnout. So, if you've always wanted to eat at the local Prickly Pear Kitchen or visit Defiance House, don't feel bad. Doing so is great for both you and your loved one.
At the end of the day, our goal is to become a valuable part of your senior's daily routine. That way, we may help give them the highest quality of life possible. We know that staying at home is important for your loved one, and we are here to help make sure that is possible.
If you have been on the fence about non-medical home care, there has never been a better time than now to give your senior the care, assistance, and companionship they deserve.
Always Best Care in-home services are for older adults who prefer to stay at home but need ongoing care that friends and family cannot provide. In-home care is a safe, effective way for seniors to age gracefully in a familiar place and live independent, non-institutionalized lives. The benefits of non-medical home care are numerous. Here are just a few reasons to consider senior care services from Always Best Care:
According to AARP, 9 out of 10 seniors prefer to age in place within the comfort of their own home. With in-home care, seniors have a way to stay at home, receive the care they need, and maintain a sense of independence, improving overall wellness.
If you or a member of your family have assumed the role of caregiver for your senior loved one, you know how stressful the job can be. Between caregiver burnout and constant worry, being a family caregiver is hard. In-home care relieves your burden and gives you peace of mind knowing that your older family member is in expert hands.
Unlike nursing homes, where the staff and residents rotate frequently, seniors can foster new friendships and build bonds with their caregiver. Seniors who socialize on a regular basis are often happier, which fosters positivity and leads to increased wellbeing.
No two seniors need the same kind of in-home care assistance. That is why each of our Care Plans is tailored to meet our client's individual needs. We offer plans that cover everything from light housekeeping to more involved duties like transportation to doctor's appointments. Our Care Coordinators will work closely with you to develop a personalized plan to ensure your senior's needs are exceeded.
Always Best Care offers a full array of care options for patients at all levels of health. With our trusted elderly care services, your loved one will receive the level of care necessary for them to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.
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While it's true that some seniors have complicated medical needs that prevent them from staying at home, aging in place is often the best arrangement for seniors and their families. With a trusted caregiver, seniors have the opportunity to live with a sense of dignity and do so as they see fit - something that is unavailable to many older people today.
In-home care makes it possible for millions of seniors to age in place every year. Rather than moving to a strange nursing home, seniors have the chance to stay at home where they feel the happiest and most comfortable.
How much does a senior's home truly mean to them?
A study published by the American Society on Aging found that more than half of seniors say their home's emotional value means more than how much their home is worth in monetary value. It stands to reason, then, that a senior's home is where they want to grow old.
With the help of elderly care in Lake Powell, UT, seniors don't have to age in a sterilized care facility. Instead, they can age gracefully in the place they want to be most: their home. In contrast, seniors who move to a long-term care facility must adapt to new environments, new people, and new systems that the facility implements. At this stage in life, this kind of drastic change can be more harmful than helpful.
Institutional care facilities like nursing homes often put large groups of people together to live in one location. On any given day, dozens of staff members and caregivers run in and out of these facilities. Being around so many new people in a relatively small living environment can be dangerous for a seniors' health and wellbeing. When you consider that thousands of seniors passed away in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, opting for in-home care is often a safer, healthier choice for seniors.
Aging in place has been shown to improve seniors' quality of life, which helps boost physical health and also helps insulate them from viral and bacterial risks found in elderly living facilities.
For many seniors, the ability to live independently with assistance from a caregiver is a priceless option. With in-home care, seniors experience a higher level of independence and freedom - much more so than in other settings like a nursing home. When a senior has the chance to age in place, they get to live life on their own terms, inside the house that they helped make into a home. More independence means more control over their personal lives, too, which leads to increased levels of fulfillment, happiness, and personal gratification. Over time, these positive feelings can manifest into a healthier, longer life.
More independence, a healthier life, and increased comfort are only a few benefits of aging in place. You have to take into consideration the role of cost and convenience. Simply put, it's usually easier and more affordable to help seniors age in place than it is to move them into an institutional care facility. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, seniors who age in the comfort of their homes can save thousands of dollars per month.
In-home care services from Always Best Care, for instance, are often less expensive than long-term solutions, which can cost upwards of six figures per year. To make matters worse, many residential care facilities are reluctant to accept long-term care insurance and other types of payment assistance.
With Always Best Care's home care services, seniors and their families have a greater level of control over their care plans. In-home care gives seniors the chance to form a bond with a trusted caregiver and also receive unmatched care that is catered to their needs. In long-term care facilities, seniors and their loved ones have much less control over their care plan and have less of a say in who provides their care.
In-home care is a valuable resource that empowers seniors to age in place on their own terms. However, a big concern for many families and their loved ones is how much in-home care costs. If you're worried that in-home care is too expensive, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn that it is one of the most affordable senior care arrangements available.
Typically, hiring an Always Best Care in-home caregiver for a few hours a week is more affordable than sending your loved one to a long-term care facility. This is true even for seniors with more complex care needs.
At Always Best Care, we will work closely with you and your family to develop a Care Plan that not only meets your care needs, but your budget requirements, too. Once we discover the level of care that you or your senior need, we develop an in-home care plan that you can afford.
In addition to our flexible care options, families should also consider the following resources to help offset potential home care costs:
When you or your senior loved one needs assistance managing daily tasks at home, finding a qualified caregiver can be challenging. It takes a special kind of person to provide reliable care for your senior loved one. However, a caregiver's role involves more than meal preparation and medication reminders. Many seniors rely on their caregivers for companionship, too.
Our companion care services give seniors the chance to socialize in a safe environment and engage in activities at home. These important efforts boost morale and provide much-needed relief from repetitive daily routines. A one-on-one, engaging conversation can sharpen seniors' minds and give them something in which to be excited.
At Always Best Care, we only hire care providers that we would trust to care for our own loved ones. Our senior caregivers in Lake Powell, UT understand how important it is to listen and communicate with their seniors. A seemingly small interaction, like a short hug goodbye, can make a major difference in a senior's day. Instead of battling against feelings of isolation, seniors begin to look forward to seeing their caregiver each week.
Understanding the nuances of senior care is just one of the reasons why our care providers are so great at their job.
Unlike some senior care companies, our caregivers must undergo extensive training before they work for Always Best Care. In addition, our caregivers receive ongoing training throughout the year. This training ensures that their standard of care matches up to the high standards we've come to expect. During this training, they will brush up on their communication skills, safety awareness, and symptom spotting. That way, your loved one receives the highest level of non-medical home care from day one.
While it's true that many seniors prefer to age at home, sometimes in-home care isn't the best fit. For those seniors and their families, choosing an assisted living facility makes more sense. Unfortunately, finding the optimal care facility is easier said than done in today's day and age. That's when Always Best Care's assisted living referral services begin to make a lot of sense.
Assisted living is a form of housing intended for seniors who require varying degrees of medical and personal attention. Accommodations may include single rooms, apartments, or shared living arrangements. Assisted living communities are typically designed to resemble a home-like environment and are physically constructed to encourage the independence of residents.
At assisted living communities, seniors receive help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and eating. They may also benefit from coordination of services with outside healthcare providers, and monitoring of resident activities to ensure their health, safety, and well-being. Caregivers who work at assisted living communities can also provide medication administration and personal care services for older adults.
Other services offered within assisted living communities can include some or all of the following:
At Always Best Care, our representatives can match your senior's emotional, physical, and financial needs with viable assisted living communities nearby. Results are based on comparative data, so you can select the best choice for you or your loved one.
Always Best Care works closely with local senior living communities to gain valuable knowledge that we then use to help seniors and their loved ones make informed decisions. This information can include basic care and rent, resident availability, and services provided. Because Always Best Care is compensated by these communities, we provide senior living referral services at no extra cost to you.
Some of the most popular assisted living communities to consider in our area include the following:
For many seniors, moving into a senior living community revolves around how and when they want to make a transition to more involved care. Some seniors are more proactive about transitioning to independent living. Others choose to remain home until their care needs or other requirements are satisfied. Remember - our staff is here to help. Contact our office today to learn more about assisted living communities and how we can find a facility that exceeds your expectations.
The first step in getting quality in-home care starts with a personal consultation with an experienced Always Best Care Care Coordinator. This initial consultation is crucial for our team to learn more about you or your elderly loved one to discover the level of care required. Topics of this consultation typically include:
A discussion of your needs and how our trained caregivers can offer assistance in the most effective way
A draft of your care plan, which includes highly detailed notes and a framework for the care that you or your senior will receive
Discuss payment options and help coordinate billing with your insurance provider
Our caregivers are trained to spot changes that clients exhibit, like mental and physical decline. As your trusted senior care company, we will constantly assess and update your Care Plan to meet any new emotional, intellectual, physical, and emotional needs.
If you have never considered in-home care before, we understand that you and your family may have concerns about your Care Plan and its Care Coordinator. To help give you peace of mind, know that every team member and caregiver must undergo comprehensive training before being assigned to a Care Plan.
At the end of the day, we only hire the best of the best at Always Best Care. Whether you need home care in Lake Powell, UT 24-hours a day or only need a respite for a couple of hours, we are here to serve you.
When you're ready, we encourage you to contact your local Always Best Care representative to set up a Care Consultation. Our Care Coordinators would be happy to meet with you in person to get to know you better, discuss your needs, and help put together a personalized Care Plan specific to your needs.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A long-awaited environmental report on the Colorado River has spared Utah from some of the harshest cuts to its water use – and outlines how Lake Powell and Lake Mead should be managed over the next 10 years. But Utah’s Colorado River Commissioner says this is only one piece of a much larger decision.The Bureau of Reclamation released a final environmental report today establishing a 10-year management framework for Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The Final Environmental Im...
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A long-awaited environmental report on the Colorado River has spared Utah from some of the harshest cuts to its water use – and outlines how Lake Powell and Lake Mead should be managed over the next 10 years. But Utah’s Colorado River Commissioner says this is only one piece of a much larger decision.
The Bureau of Reclamation released a final environmental report today establishing a 10-year management framework for Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The Final Environmental Impact Statement is designed to ensure reliable operations for seven states and agricultural communities that sustain 5.5 million acres of farmland, even as water use has consistently exceeded system inflow since 2000.
The report outlines that the lower basin states – California, Arizona, and Nevada will do the bulk of the cutting, but also asks Utah to conserve even more if it can – to the tune of 200,000 acre-feet of water over the next two years.
The framework establishes specific operational sideboards, which are key thresholds and ranges for system management. These include annual releases from Lake Powell between 5.0 million acre-feet and 12.0 million acre-feet.
The plan also allows for Lower Basin shortages of up to 3.0 million acre-feet and provides the ability to store up to 8.0 million acre-feet and 3.0 million acre-feet of conserved water in Lake Powell and Lake Mead, respectively.
Utah officials say this document is a bridge and not a destination. Gene Shawcroft, Chair of the Colorado River Commissioner of Utah, said, “I’m grateful that the department has and will consider a hydrologic solution to the problem, not just simply a demand solution, which has been in play for the 2007 guidelines.”
Shawcroft also spoke about the record-low snowpack, which caused record-low volumes of runoff, leading to extremely low levels of water in Lake Powell, Mead, and now Flaming Gorge, Blue Mesa, and Navajo reservoir.
“We get cuts from Mother Nature every year. We don’t know what those cuts are. We have to live within what Mother Nature provides us,” Shawcroft said.
Development of these guidelines followed a 25-year drought that has strained the river’s resources. The combined water levels of Lake Powell and Lake Mead are at their lowest point since before the Glen Canyon Dam began filling in 1963.
While the Colorado River Compact originally apportioned water based on an estimated average inflow of 18 million acre-feet, actual inflows between 2000 and 2024 have averaged only 12.9 million acre-feet. As of July 2026, the unregulated inflow into Lake Powell for the year is estimated at 3.5 million acre-feet.
The report outlines cuts to the lower basin states and gives the federal government the ability to make a range of new water releases from Lakes Powell and Mead to prop up power generation for the next 10 years. There will also be new storage pools for conserved water.
Between 2020 and 2024, the average consumptive water use in the Colorado River basin reached 13.1 million acre-feet. Lower Basin use accounted for 49% of that total, followed by 29% for the Upper Basin. Deliveries to Mexico and evaporation each accounted for 11% of the total use. The new framework will be used to issue specific operating guidelines at anticipated two-year intervals.
“Utah is anxious to be part of the solution, even though Mother Nature reduces our ability to use water significantly every year, we believe there are things that we can do in the upper basin that would help solve the demand issue, the water supply issue, and we intend to do that. These programs are extremely complex, and what we have said is as a target.” Shawcroft continued, “If there’s sufficient hydrology, the upper basin over the next several years would develop a program within each state that would add to a reduction of about 200,000 acre-feet.”
The release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement concludes a National Environmental Policy Act process that began in June 2023. During this period, the Bureau of Reclamation received more than 18,000 comments from the public, tribes, states and federal agencies. Reclamation officials stated that public input helped shape the final version of the preferred alternative.
The current environmental report addresses only domestic river operations. A separate binational process regarding water deliveries to Mexico is nearing completion. The Department of the Interior will conduct further discussions regarding post-2026 operations and the implementation of the 1944 Water Treaty through the International Boundary and Water Commission in consultation with the Department of State.
While the lower basin states aren’t in love with the new plan, Utah’s water officials are satisfied that the new system appears based on the water available, not how much each state is using. They are still reviewing the massive report and waiting for two other documents to get a full picture of the impact.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by ABC4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by ABC4 staff before being published.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah and other Upper Colorado Basin states may voluntarily cut up to 200,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water under a new 10-year deal to handle how to allocate the river's water.That's according to the final draft of the Bureau of Reclamation's long-awaited post-2026 plan for Lake Powell and Lake Mead, released on Friday. However, Utah's top Colorado River official insists that it could change, as the seven states that rely on the river continue to seek a consensus agreement, while the state also awaits additi...
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah and other Upper Colorado Basin states may voluntarily cut up to 200,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water under a new 10-year deal to handle how to allocate the river's water.
That's according to the final draft of the Bureau of Reclamation's long-awaited post-2026 plan for Lake Powell and Lake Mead, released on Friday. However, Utah's top Colorado River official insists that it could change, as the seven states that rely on the river continue to seek a consensus agreement, while the state also awaits additional documents tied to the plan.
"(It's) a bridge, not a destination," said Gene Shawcroft, chairman of the Colorado River Authority of Utah. "We have a lot of other things that will have to be released in order for us to understand how all the puzzle pieces fit together."
The main framework of the massive plan relies on "sideboards," essentially allowing the federal government to adjust Lake Powell and Lake Mead operations depending on the conditions every other year through 2036, beginning next year. Under this, annual releases from Lake Powell, at the Utah-Arizona border, are to be between 5 million and 12 million acre-feet.
The Lower Basin's usage could be cut by as much as 3 million acre-feet, but states can store between 3 million acre-feet and 8 million acre-feet of conserved water within both Lake Powell and Lake Mead for future use. The Upper Basin's voluntary cuts are subject to hydrology, the agency noted.
It replaces an agreement that has been in place since 2007, but states have struggled to reach a full allocation because of poor hydrologic conditions.
"This framework provides the flexibility to respond to changing hydrologic conditions while preserving the opportunity for the basin states to continue working toward durable, consensus-based solutions," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.
Shawcroft was still sifting through the 2,600-page document Friday afternoon, but, preliminarily, he said it appears that the federal government's preferred course aligns with the best outcome for Utah, among other options that could have been implemented.
The Colorado River accounts for a little more than a quarter of Utah's water supply, but approximately one-third of the state's drinking water also comes from it, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources. It estimates 60% of the state benefits from it altogether.
The new agreement, he explained, seems to side with the reality that the river's declining hydrology needs to be addressed, not the demands by each state, which the outgoing agreement did.
"I'm grateful that the statement recognizes, clearly, the need to develop a system that's based on what water is available, not what water is demanded," Shawcroft said.
Between 2020 and 2024, the Lower Basin used 6.5 million acre-feet of its water annually, nearly half of the 13.1 million acre-feet production. The Upper Basin's 3.8 million acre-feet accounted for another 29%, while the rest either made it to Mexico or was lost to evaporation, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
Discussions over a new operational plan began in 2023, but the federal government's decision was handed down months after Utah and the six other Colorado River Basin states failed to agree on how to divvy up the river's water by the final deadline for a new water management plan.
Lower Basin states like Arizona, California and Nevada argued that Utah and the other Upper Basin states weren't doing enough to conserve water, while the Upper Basin states argued that it deals with more instability year after year because of diminishing snowpacks during the long-standing "megadrought."
This year, for instance, produced the worst natural inflows Lake Powell has ever received since it was established, forcing an emergency release of as much as 1 million acre-feet of water from Flaming Gorge over the year to help stabilize Lake Powell.
More than 18,000 comments, including almost 800 unique submissions from the public, tribes, states, federal agencies, were considered in the document, federal officials noted. The new operational plan is slated to begin in 2027.
Many of those same talking points reemerged on Friday.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said the document still holds "unacceptable options" by "forcing Arizona to take the majority of draconian water cutbacks." She urged a plan that spreads cuts more evenly across the board.
But the Upper Basin's cuts are decided by Mother Nature, Shawcroft contends. He points out that that year's natural inflows into Lake Powell were just a quarter of the average of the previous few years.
When poor snowpack years happen, which have been more frequent over the past two decades, water rights holders aren't able to get their full share, in terms of water volume, Upper Basin states have said.
"We are anxious to be part of the solution, even though Mother Nature reduces our ability to use water significantly every year," Shawcroft said, adding he believes Upper Basin states can still carry out projects to reduce reliance on the river.
The two sides could also reach an agreement down the road, which may make the plan temporary. The seven basin states aren't done negotiating a potential agreement over the river's vital water, said JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California.
In a statement, he called Friday's decision an "important milestone," but also "not the finish line," adding that the Lower Basin states remain "actively engaged" in carrying out their proposal to conserve 3.2 million acre-feet through 2028 in the meantime.
Utah leaders agree, as they hope to find something that works without resorting to litigation. The state expects the federal plan will likely dictate initial operations in 2027, but if the states reach a consensus soon enough, their agreement could replace the federal plan soon after.
Shawcroft believes now having the federal government's decision will change the conversations between the two sides because it offers a definitive outcome for the states without an agreement among each other.
"Having this document, understanding what it is, understanding what it does (and) understanding what it doesn't do, along with the other documents we haven't yet seen, that will give us a better idea to know the specific things that we may have to ... negotiate," he said.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
Anglers will be allowed to bowfish for striped bass and use setlines at Lake Powell under fishing regulations the Utah Wildlife Board approved Sept. 17.A setline is anchored to a stationary object rather than attached to a fishing pole. Existing Utah rules also require a setline permit in addition to a fishing license.The fishing changes for 2027-28 affect waters across the state, including several in southern Utah. The board also approved elk hunting changes and new fees, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources....
Anglers will be allowed to bowfish for striped bass and use setlines at Lake Powell under fishing regulations the Utah Wildlife Board approved Sept. 17.
A setline is anchored to a stationary object rather than attached to a fishing pole. Existing Utah rules also require a setline permit in addition to a fishing license.
The fishing changes for 2027-28 affect waters across the state, including several in southern Utah. The board also approved elk hunting changes and new fees, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
At Navajo Lake, anglers will be allowed to keep one tiger muskie of any size per day. The daily brook trout limit at Donkey Lake will fall from 16 fish to eight.
The board set a daily limit of 40 northern pike, no more than two of them over 36 inches, at DMAD Reservoir, Gunnison Bend Reservoir, Redmond Lake and the Sevier River. It also approved spearfishing and bowfishing for northern pike at Redmond Lake.
Eleven Boulder Mountain waters in Garfield and Wayne counties will open for seven additional weeks of fishing each year, DWR said. Their revised closures will run from Jan. 1 until 6 a.m. April 1 and from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31. The waters are Beaver Dam Reservoir, Bulberry Lakes, Fish Creek Reservoir, Honeymoon Lake, Long Willow Bottom Reservoir, McGath Lake, Pacer Lake, Pine Creek Reservoir, Round Willow Bottom Reservoir, Scout Lake and Solitaire Lake.
The board reduced the daily limit for roundtail chub from two fish to zero and removed a special regulation for the species in McElmo Creek. It also reclassified 14 native fish species as game fish with zero-fish daily limits. They include bluehead, desert and flannelmouth suckers and Virgin spinedace. Anglers may catch and release these fish but may not keep them. White sturgeon will also have a zero-fish limit.
A related rule clarification bars underwater spearfishers from targeting game fish with zero-fish daily limits. The board also removed several species from the list of dead fish anglers may use as bait, including mountain sucker, longnose dace and speckled dace.
Other changes expand the methods allowed to take common carp, fathead minnows and redside shiners in waters open to fishing. Similar methods will be allowed for Utah chub, Utah sucker and white sucker, except in the Weber River, Utah Lake and its tributaries. Spearfishing affected by seasonal spawning closures will reopen at 6 a.m. on the fourth Saturday in June.
DWR said an angler survey showed broad statewide support for its proposed fishing changes.
For the 2027 hunting season, the board removed the 15,000-permit cap on general-season any-bull elk permits. It restored a multiseason any-bull permit, capped at 5,000, that will allow holders to participate in the general-season archery, muzzleloader and any-legal-weapon any-bull hunts.
The board also combined the early and late any-legal-weapon any-bull hunts into one 14-day hunt, added the Paunsaugunt unit to the general archery season and removed the 4,500-permit cap on multiseason spike elk permits. The overall 15,000-permit cap on spike elk permits remains.
The aquatic invasive species decal for motorized boats will rise from $20 to $25 for Utah residents and from $25 to $50 for nonresidents. DWR cited higher operating costs and reduced federal funding. The board also lowered the cost of a spot-and-stalk black bear permit from $93 to $50 for residents and from $889 to $480 for nonresidents.
Among its other decisions, the board approved changes to rules governing amphibians and reptiles, hunting permit relief after natural disasters and license rates for nonresident active-duty military personnel. It approved annual audit reports for its conservation and expo permit programs and shifted one 2027 Book Cliffs cow elk expo permit from the Bitter Creek hunt to the Little Creek/South hunt.
-Andrew Christiansen
385-444-7026
