Utah has neither snapping turtles nor snapping shrimp, but we do have snapping grasshoppers. Their loud crackling sound punctuates summer hikes along open canyon slopes and rocky mountain ridges. (recording of a snapping grasshopper) Like other band-winged grasshoppers, they are named for the arcs of muted color across their hind wings.
But it is the male’s insistent racket that draws our attention. A snap results when a stout vein of their hind wings is flexed between two positions. That flexure alternately stretches and relaxes the membrane between the veins, something like an umbrella being popped open and then folded. The vein flexure generates an audible snap, like a dog’s training clicker. (recording of dog clicker) The grasshopper’s loopy flight generates a train of snaps. (recording of snapping grasshopper)
Crepitating cicadas have a similar means of sound production. They click from a perch on a plant stem. (recording of cicada) Their clicking has filled the air of northern Utah this summer.
As with cicadas, it is the male band-winged grasshopper that snaps to woo a mate. He displays solitarily during flight, the longer advertisement the better, apparently. Hopefully, an attracted female will meet him in the air. Sadly for the male, most of the time no female responds and he lands unrequited. There the previously conspicuous male seems to silently vanish, so perfectly does his mottled tan camouflage match bare ground. After resting a bit, he launches again to resume his crackling display.
Species of band-winged grasshopper differ in their snapping displays, which a female no doubt appreciates. But for you and I, it is enough to know that we are hearing snapping grasshoppers on a warm day’s hike.
Otte, Daniel. 1970. A Comparative Study of Communicative Behavior in Grasshoppers.
Miscellaneous Publications Museum of Zoology, University Of Michigan, No. 141 https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/56385/MP141.pdf?sequence=1
Cranes of the Swaner Nature Preserve by Michael Flaherty, Nesting cycle of Sandhills Cranes, Swaner Nature Preserve, Park City, UTHi, this is Mark Larese-Casanova from the Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.
The grace of sandhill cranes draws our attention when we see them in the marshes, meadows, and fields across northern Utah. As one of the tallest birds in the state, the sandhill crane is hard to miss. They’ll glide low over farm fields, with their large slate-grey bodies and red caps making them difficult to mistake with any other bird.
Northern Utah is near the lower end of the sandhill crane’s breeding range, so we’re fortunate to see them. They’ll arrive to Utah beginning in March, and stay for the summer breeding season.
Sandhill cranes develop pair bonds for life, and their choice in mates is influenced by elaborate courtship dances. Crane dances are like awkward avian ballet, with an assortment of bows, flapping wings, and leaps into the air with wings outstretched. At times, sticks or plants are grasped with their long, dagger-like bills and tossed into the air. At up to four feet tall with a wingspan of five feet, the sandhill crane as it dances is quite a sight to see!
Sandhill cranes are often heard before they’re seen. Their loud, rolling trumpets fill the air, even for a couple miles. Males and females call in unison, as a loud duet that helps reinforce their pair bond.
Once a suitable nest location is found on the ground or on shallow water, both the male and female toss plant material over their shoulders to build their large nest. As spring now fades to summer, sandhill cranes can be seen strolling through farm fields with their young colts, encouraging them to feed, and protecting them from predators. While the dance of the sandhill cranes has mostly ended, their elegance hangs in our memory until next year.
As Aldo Leopold wrote in A Sand County Almanac, “our appreciation of the crane grows with the slow unraveling of earthly history… And so they live and have their being- these cranes- not in the constricted present, but in the wider reaches of… time. A crane marsh holds a paleontological patent of nobility, won in the march of aeons.”
Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson Leaping Lulu
Images: YouTube video Courtesy and Copyright Michael Flaherty, Park City. UT
Audio: Copyright Kevin Colver
Text & Voice: Mark Larese-Casanova, Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.
Dust Storm Milford Flats 4 March 2009 US Geological Survey photo by Mark Miller
Hi, I’m Holly Strand of the Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University.
American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews was a frequent visitor to the Gobi Desert. This is how he described being caught in a Gobi desert dust storm: “Seemingly a raging devil stood beside my head with buckets of sand, ready to dash them into my face…” “…after each raging attack it would draw off for a few moments’ rest. Then suddenly the storm devil was on us again, clawing, striking, ripping, seeming to roar in fury that any of the tents still stood.”
Andrews didn’t have to go so far to feel the rage of a dust storm. He could have come to western Utah. While we don’t have the monstrous storms of the Sahara and the Gobi/Manchurian deserts, the eastern Great Basin–which is essentially western Utah–sits secure on any global list of dust storm hotspots.
Let’s consider why this is so…
First and foremost, western Utah has the dust. In scientific terms, dust is any particle—organic or inorganic—that is less than .63 microns or smaller in diameter. .63 microns is about half the width of a single human hair. In geological terms think silt or clay particles. A grain of sand is much larger. If you are the size of a dust particle, then a relatively small puff of wind will release you into the air. And you’ll stay there until it’s completely calm or rain forces you down.
A great place to find geologic dust is in desert playas. For runoff sediments collect in these dry lake depressions. Western Utah has several of these desert dust bins. And satellite data have confirmed that playas such as Sevier Dry Lake, Tule Dry Lake, and Great Salt Lake Desert are major sources of dust plumes. The alluvial fans of the Great Basin mountains provide an additional source of dust.
To get this dust airborne you need wind which is also plentiful in western Utah. This region typically experiences strong south and southerwesterly winds called “hatu winds.” That’s Utah spelled backwards. The name was coined by colorful Utah meteorologist Mark Eubank. These hatu winds blow south to north or to the northwest. They pick up speed and dust as they race along the north-south trending Great Basin ridges. They can reach speeds of over 90 miles per hour.
Utah’s hatu winds peak in the spring months with a secondary peak in August-September. In spring these windy freight trains full of dust can hit the populated Wasatch Front wreaking havoc with air quality and human health.
Sometimes raindrops capture dust in the airstream and splat them onto our windshields and windows. These mud rains are most common in spring when the hatus are at their peak. And this is why saavy Utahns never bother washing their home windows until June.
While dust storms can be considered natural events, the fact that they are increasing in number and severity is definitely unnatural. The increase is caused by human-related activities that remove vegetation or break the biological soil crusts that help stabilize dust and soil. Overgrazing, water withdrawals, military operations, farming on marginal lands, off-road vehicle riding, fires, even restoration activities all release dust to be carried off by the next significant wind.
Thanks to Atmospheric Scientist Maura Hahnenberger for her help with this Wild About Utah story.
For Wild About Utah, and the Quinney College of Natural Resources, I’m Holly Strand.
Credits:
Images: Courtesy USGS.gov and NRCS.gov
Sound: Wind sound effect from Sound Bible.com Recorded by Mark DiAngelo https://soundbible.com/1810-Wind.html
Text: Holly Strand
Sources & Additional Reading
Hahnenberger, M. and K. Nicoll. Geomorphic and land use characteristics of dust sources in the eastern Great Basin of Utah, U.S.A. Accepted Geomorphology.
Hahnenberger, M. and K. Nicoll, 2012. Meteorological characteristics of dust storm events in the eastern Great Basin of Utah, U.S.A. Atmospheric Environment, 60, 601-612.
Jason P Field, Jayne Belnap, David D Breshears, Jason C Neff, Gregory S Okin, Jeffrey J Whicker, Thomas H Painter, Sujith Ravi, Marith C Reheis, and Richard L Reynolds The ecology of dust Front Ecol Environ 2010; 8(8): 423–430, doi:10.1890/090050 (published online 12 Oct 2009)https://www.esajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1890/090050
Neff, J. C., A. P. Ballantyne, G. L. Farmer, N. M. Mahowald, J. L. Conroy, C. C. Landry, J. T. Overpeck, T. H. Painter, C. R. Lawrence, and R. L. Reynolds, 2008: Increasing eolian dust deposition in the western United States linked to human activity. Nature, 1, 189-195
Warner, Thomas T. 2004. Desert Meteorology. NY: Cambridge University Press
Washington, R., M. Todd, N. J. Middleton and A. S. Goudie, 2003. Dust-storm source areas determined by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer and Surface Observations, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 93(2), 297-313.
Miller, M. E., et al. (2012). “Post-fire land treatments and wind erosion – Lessons from the Milford Flat Fire, UT, USA.” Aeolian Research 7: 29-44.
Steenburgh, W. J., et al. (2012). “Episodic Dust Events of Utah’s Wasatch Front and Adjoining Region.” Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 51(9): 1654-1669.
Sipapu Natural Bridge Natural Bridges National Monument Courtesy & Copyright Anna Bengston
Delicate Arch Arches National Park Courtesy & Copyright Anna Bengston Established in 1916 the National Park Service manages all properties included in the National Park System. This system includes over 400 areas that encompass more than 84 million acres of land. These areas can go by one of 31 different titles. Within this system, Utah boasts 1 national historic site, 2 national recreation areas, 7 national monuments, and 5 national parks. While the reason for some of these titles is self-explanatory, the reason for others is less clear. National Park or National Monument?
For example, what makes one area a “national park” and another a “national monument?” Most people – including myself – would probably guess that the difference is in size. And while this is sometimes true, the primary difference is the reason for which each is established, because these two designations grew from historically separate concepts. The notion of the national park, which was simply the idea of large-scale natural preservation for public enjoyment, grew in popularity throughout the 1800s. As a result you can typically think of a national park as a spectacular scenic feature or natural phenomena preserved for inspirational, educational, and recreational value.
On the other hand, the idea of the national monument arose as a result of the need and desire to also protect prehistoric cliff dwellings, pueblo remains, and other historic ruins found by explorers of the American West and Southwest. Efforts to protect these sites resulted in the passing of the Antiquities Act of 1906. Therefore a national monument is usually designated to preserve objects of prehistoric, historic, cultural, and/or scientific interest. However, the Antiquities Act has been used more widely to preserve natural features as well, meaning the content of national monuments can be quite varied from wilderness areas to military sites to buildings and ruins.
There are also a couple of legal differences between these two designations. National parks are established through acts of Congress, whereas national monuments are established by Presidential proclamation. Administratively, the National Park Service manages all national parks. While national monuments, depending on their location and content, can fall under not only under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, but also that of the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Defense, or the Bureau of Land Management.
So, it’s not just size that makes the difference, its intent, content, process of establishment, and administration. The next time you visit one of Utah’s national parks or monuments, will you be able to tell the difference?
For Wild About Utah, I’m Anna Bengtson of Park City.
Righter, Robert. “National Monuments to National Parks:
The Use of the Antiquities Act of 1906”, National Park Service History: National Monuments to National Parks. N.p., Aug. 1989. Web. 8 June 2014. https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/hisnps/npshistory/righter.htm.
United States. National Park Service. “Frequently Asked Questions.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 28 May 2014. Web. 8 June 2014. https://www.nps.gov/faqs.htm.
