The Logan River is the heart of our valley.  The current 100-foot Riparian Zone setback has protected clean water, wildlife, and safe floodplains throughout Logan’s riparian corridors.

Now, proposed changes to Ordinance 25-11 seek to shrink that buffer to just 25 feet.

This change would allow development right up to riverbanks and stream edges across the city—destroying habitat, polluting our water, and increasing flood risk for our community.

Our waterways are more than scenery. They are home to fish, birds, and pollinators. They are classrooms for our kids, places of healing for families, and safeguards for the valley’s future.

We cannot let short-term development erase protections that generations before us had the wisdom to keep. Once these riparian zones are gone, we can’t get them back.

Join us in calling on the Logan City Council and Planning Commission to reject the redlined changes in Ordinance 25-11 and KEEP the 100-foot setback. Together, we can protect our rivers, streams, wildlife, and community for generations to come.

Why Cities Use a 100-Foot River Setback

A setback is basically a buffer zone between development and a riverbank. It isn’t just an arbitrary number — 100 feet is based on science, safety, and long-term planning.

Flood Safety

Rivers rise and fall with snowmelt, storms, and seasonal changes.
A 100-foot buffer gives the river room to swell without homes/businesses flooding.
Without it, developers build too close, and then taxpayers often end up footing the bill for flood damage.
 
Water Quality

The strip of land between development and the river is called a riparian zone.
Plants and soils in that zone filter out fertilizers, pesticides, and pollutants before they reach the water.
100 feet is wide enough to actually work as a filter. A 25-foot strip is usually too narrow.
 
Wildlife Habitat

Birds, fish, insects, pollinators, and mammals use river corridors as habitat and migration routes.
A 100-foot setback helps keep that habitat intact, which is especially important for threatened species.
 
Erosion Control

Natural banks need deep-rooted vegetation to stay stable.
Development too close (like concrete or lawns right up to the edge) causes banks to collapse and erode, leading to costly fixes.
 
Community Value

A 100-foot setback protects the “green ribbon” that makes river corridors and wetlands beautiful and accessible, while protecting their ecosystem functions. 

It’s part of what makes Logan a thriving ecological hotspot and a community treasure — a place of belonging, renewal, and eco-tourism value, not just leftover space between developments.

  Sign and share today. Tell your friends and neighbors — this proposed change affects every river and wetland in Cache Valley.