The Cutler Project (P-2420) Dam is located in Box Elder County, Utah, approximately 13 miles northwest of the town of Logan, in Cache County, Utah, although the vast majority of the project lands are located in Cache County. The project lands take up much of the western portion of the Cache Valley.
Finished in 1924, Cutler is the lowest PacifiCorp hydroelectric facility on the Bear River.
The Cutler project receives summer water from the Bear Lake Irrigation Project that pumps water from Bear Lake into the river during the irrigation season. Two irrigation canals divert water from the east and west sides of Cutler Dam during the irrigation season, which reduces or eliminates power generation during the summer months.
The historic Cutler powerhouse is a three story steel framed brick building. It is located on the north bank of the river below the dam. The powerhouse contains two generating units with a total of 30 megawatts of renewable, emission-free energy.
There are approximately 9,200 acres of project-land habitat around the reservoir. This vast emergent marsh wetland and adjacent uplands area supports abundant water fowl, shorebirds, and other wildlife. In consideration of the importance of this habitat, water fluctuations of the reservoir are maintained within specific guidelines. Every five years PacifiCorp reports to federal, state and non-governmental partners the monitoring results of its license implementation activities related to the management of these habitat lands.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a 30-year license for the Cutler Project on April 29, 1994 (FERC License No. 2420). The license requires the provision of a Cutler Resource Management Plan and specifies recreational enhancements, shoreline buffers, bank stabilization, fencing, fish habitat structures, wildlife habitat and water quality enhancements, improvements to agricultural leases, mitigation for impacts on wetlands, and the preparation of a cultural resource plan.