Lyle Bingham, Author at Wild About Utah

November 6, 2023December 25, 2023

Invasive Quagga Mussels-Help Needed

Quagga Mussels on Propeller Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer — Quagga Mussels on Propeller
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer

Quagga Mussels Exposed at Lake Powell
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Phil Tuttle, Photographer

Quagga Mussels Exposed at Lake Powell
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Phil Tuttle, Photographer

Watercraft Inspection Point
It is unlawful to drive past an open inspection station when carrying watercraft
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer

Technician Pressure Washing Watercraft with 140 F Water
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer

Entering Decontamination Dip Tank
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Michael Christensen, Photographer

Quagga Mussels Exposed at Lake Powell Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Phil Tuttle, Photographer — Quagga Mussels on Propeller
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer

Quagga Mussels Exposed at Lake Powell
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Phil Tuttle, Photographer

Quagga Mussels Exposed at Lake Powell
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Phil Tuttle, Photographer

Watercraft Inspection Point
It is unlawful to drive past an open inspection station when carrying watercraft
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer

Technician Pressure Washing Watercraft with 140 F Water
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, Photographer

Entering Decontamination Dip Tank
Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Michael Christensen, Photographer

Nature lovers need to be concerned about invasive aquatic species, especially the devastating potential of quagga mussels and their close relatives zebra mussels. Although these invertebrates don’t move much as adults, it is important to understand how they traveled here, the reasons these mussels are dangerous, and the ways their proliferation can be prevented.

Dan Egan in his Death and LIfe of the Great Lakes explains that quagga mussels and zebra mussels migrated from the waters of the Black and Caspian seas to the Great Lakes in the ballast tanks of ocean-going freighters. Since 1989, these mussels have hitch-hiked on boats across the Great Lakes and throughout the Mississippi River drainage. They traveled up the Missouri into Montana and across the continental divide to Lake Mead, down the Colorado to California, and upstream to Lake Powell. Currently, they cover much of the United States except for parts of Utah and the Northwest.

The threat from quickly spreading, voracious, mussels is real. Quaggas reproduce better than most freshwater mussels, each spawning as many as one million microscopic veligers per year. Since mussels filter plankton from freshwater so well, little is left to nourish fish and aquatic insects. Mussels also grow quickly where water moves: piling on top of each other, clogging pipes, and fouling propellers. Unfortunately, the damage is not limited to watercraft. Water delivery pipes and power generation structures also suffer. Even death doesn’t get rid of them. Shells make beaches dangerous for bare hands and feet. Where quagga mussels take hold, the mitigation costs to private citizens and municipalities multiply dramatically.

Utah is using education, licensing, and assistance to keep invasives from spreading to other waters. Everyone operating motorized watercraft of any kind in Utah is required to take and pass the informative, mussel-aware boater course every year; pay an invasive species fee; affix stickers to watercraft; and display documents in each launch vehicle. The education effort emphasizes why watercraft surfaces, piping, and enclosed spaces must be thoroughly cleaned to prevent new infections. Although not licensed, rafts, float tubes, waders, and fishing equipment also require attention.

Stopping proliferation is the emphasis of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Aquatic Invasive Species Lieutenant, Bruce Johnson, reminds everyone to “Clean, Drain, and Dry” all watercraft. Then he explains how the DWR can assist owners navigating the mandatory statewide inspection and cleanout stations. There, wildlife technicians inspect all watercraft and have the option to pressure wash visible and hidden recesses with 140-degree water. Alternatively, they can apply a seal, sequestering watercraft from relaunch until after a mandated 7-30 day drying period passes. But pressure washing a boat and trailer takes about 45 minutes and drying takes weeks. So recently, to improve treatment quality, enhance safety, and speed up the process, the DWR installed decontamination dip tanks. Dip tanks take about 10 minutes, and are much faster than a lengthy power wash. As officials add more dip tanks across the state, only the invasive species come up short.

The threat posed by invasive mussels requires everyone’s attention. Cleaning watercraft is the beachhead. Making sure mussels don’t get carried to new waters is the quest.

I’m Lyle Bingham for Bridgerland Audubon and I’m Wild About Utah and controlling invasive species.

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy & Copyright Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Faith Jolley, PIO
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Friend Weller, Utah Public Radio upr.org
Text: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Lyle Bingham’s Wild About Utah Postings

Hellstern, Ron, Invasive Species, Wild About Utah, September 24, 2018, https://wildaboututah.org/ron-describes-exotic-invasive-species/

Egan, Dan, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, W. W. Norton & Company, 2017, https://www.amazon.com/Death-Life-Great-Lakes/dp/0393246434

Egan, Dan, How invasive species changed the Great Lakes forever. Zebra mussels, quagga mussels have turned the lakes’ ecosystem upside down, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 2, 2021, https://www.jsonline.com/in-depth/archives/2021/09/02/how-zebra-mussels-and-quagga-mussels-changed-great-lakes-forever/7832198002/

Dan Egan, Leaping out of the lakes: Invasive mussels spread across America. Officials at Lake Powell fought for a decade to keep out quagga mussels. They lost the fight., Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 2, 2021, https://www.jsonline.com/in-depth/archives/2021/09/02/leaping-out-lakes-invasive-mussels-spread-across-america/5562151001/

Mull, Ann, Spears, Lori, Quagga Mussel (Dreissena bugensis) and Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), Extension, Utah State University, https://extension.usu.edu/pests/research/quagga-mussel-and-zebra-mussel

Mull, Ann, Spears, Lori, Quagga Mussel (Dreissena bugensis) and Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), Utah Pests, USU Extension, June 2021, https://extension.usu.edu/pests/research/quagga-mussel-and-zebra-mussel

Mull, Ann, Spears, Lori, Quagga Mussel and Zebra Mussel, Dreissena polymorpha Pallas and Dreissena bugensis Andrusov, Fact Sheet, USU Extension, https://extension.usu.edu/pests/factsheets/quagga-mussel-and-zebra-mussel1.pdf

Benson, Amy, Chronological history of zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissenidae) in North America, 1988-2010, USGS Ecosystems Mission Area, https://www.usgs.gov/publications/chronological-history-zebra-and-quagga-mussels-dreissenidae-north-america-1988-2010

Quagga Articles on USGS.gov https://www.usgs.gov/search?keywords=quagga

Quagga mussel – Water Education Foundation https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia-background/quagga-mussel

Zebra mussels: What they are, what they eat, and how they spread, Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams, Grace College, October 7, 2020, https://lakes.grace.edu/what-are-zebra-mussels/

Invasive mussels Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, August 14, 2023, https://wildlife.utah.gov/fishing/invasive-mussels.html

Quagga Mussels (AIS) | Utah State Parks https://stateparks.utah.gov/activities/boating/quagga-mussels-ais/

What are Aquatic Invasive Species, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://stdofthesea.utah.gov/ais/what-are-they/

New boat decontamination dip tank installed at Utah Lake; other locations announced, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, June 29, 2023, https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/1699-new-boat-decontamination-dip-tank-installed-at-utah-lake.html

Other Ways to Prevent Invasive Species:
Don’t ditch a fish!, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://wildlife.utah.gov/dont-ditch.html

Don’t Let it Loose, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://www.dontletitloose.com/rehoming-a-pet/utah/

August 7, 2023March 23, 2024

Salty Connections

The Great Salt Lake Courtesy Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/utah-great-salt-lake-water-95570/ — Drying Beds Surrounding the Great Salt Lake
Fall 2016
Courtesy NASA Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center

The Great Salt Lake
Courtesy Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/photos/utah-great-salt-lake-water-95570/

Salt with a Wooden Spoon, Courtesy Pixabay

Sevier Lake
Courtesy & Copyright 2013
Holly Strand, Photographer

Kyle Bosshardt Explains the Origins of the Redmond Minerals Mine
June 2018
Courtesy & © Lyle Bingham

Kyle Bosshardt Explains Redmond Salt Mineral Composition to a Tour
June 2013
Courtesy & © Lyle Bingham

Here in Utah, early explorers and native peoples knew of saline deposits, springs and lakes long before the pioneers arrived in 1847. For example, more than 1300 years ago,
the Fremont traded salt, found near Redmond, Utah, to the cliff-dwelling Anasazi of Mesa Verde. Necessary for life, salt is found across the State of Utah, where it is harvested, mined, processed and traded worldwide for various applications.

In a geologic recycling story that crosses many epochs, different salt compounds are often mixed and then move in water or under pressure. Normal table salt, the mineral halite, is chemically described as sodium chloride. Often found together in different concentrations are the bitter salts of potassium and magnesium. All these salts leach from rocks and soil, then wash downstream to oceans and land-locked lakes, such as Sevier Lake and the Great Salt Lake. In many cases, an ancient inland sea or lake deposited a layer of salt followed by layers of clay, sediment or lava. Then geologic forces uplifted the layers to repeat the cycle and make the salt accessible.

Lehi Hintze, in Utah’s Spectacular Geology, wrote, “Rock salt has two characteristics that promote upward movement. First, it is soft and flows plastically like ice does in a glacier. Second, it is less dense than other rocks and tends to migrate upward through the denser surrounding rocks….”

When the pioneers moved to Utah, salt rendering became one of the first industries established for external trade. They boiled Great Salt Lake water over wood fires until only salt remained. However, this lake salt tasted bitter due to impurities in the water. Fortunately, it could be sold to mines in Montana where salt was used to refine silver. Today, salt from the Great Salt Lake continues to be harvested mostly for industrial purposes including metal extraction, water softening and road de-icing.

For early salt entrepreneurs, boiling proved expensive. In time, the sun was put to work and evaporation ponds were built on the shores of the lake. At first the ponds filled when the wind blew, sometimes resulting in wall collapses. These failures led to better walls and brine pumps to repeatedly fill the ponds. Anyone flying west from Salt Lake City has seen these multicolored drying beds. Harvested mountains of dried salt, seen at the Morton and Cargill sites when driving I-80 towards Nevada, are loaded on trucks and rail cars for nationwide distribution.

More recently developed, is the salt mine west of Redmond, Utah, near Salina. The Redmond salt deposit predates the Great Salt Lake, which came from the drying of Lake Bonneville. Redmond Minerals is mining the first 800 feet of a 5000-foot diapir, an extruded mound forced up from salt beds deposited by the Jurassic Sundance Sea. In digging more than 18 miles of tunnels, Redmond has identified several grades of salt. Their culinary salt is sold worldwide as Real Salt, but the majority of their production is for agriculture, animal health and de-icing.

Salt production in Utah is possible because of the geologic and historic past. Just as the Fremont gathered and traded salt anciently, modern methods of harvesting and mining allow companies to distribute products worldwide. As such, salt continues to contribute to Utah’s role as the Crossroads of the West.

This is Lyle Bingham and I’m Wild About Utah and its 15 years on Utah Public Radio.

Credits:
Photos: Great Salt Lake Photos Courtesy NASA Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center
Great Salt Lake and Salt with a Wooden Spoon, Photos Courtesy Pixabay
Redmond Photos Courtesy & Copyright Lyle Bingham, Photographer
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Text: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Lyle Bingham’s Wild About Utah Postings

Strand, Holly, Utah is Worth its Salt, Wild About Utah, November 21, 2013, https://wildaboututah.org/utah-is-worth-its-salt/

The Great Salt Lake, Hassibe, W.R. & Keck, W.G., USGS, US Department of the Interior, https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/70039229/report.pdf

Cabrero, Alex, Redmond salt mine supplies Utah’s roads and chef’s kitchens, KSL TV, December 18, 2022, https://www.ksl.com/article/50540322/redmond-salt-mine-supplies-utahs-roads-and-chefs-kitchens

The Mineral Industry of Utah, National Minerals Information Center, USGS, US Department of the Interior, https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mineral-industry-utah

Salt Providers in Utah:

Other Salt-related mineral extractors in Utah:

Above lists may not be complete. Please send recommendations to wildaboututah@gmail.com

The Great Salt Lake, Utah Division of Water Resources, Utah Department of Natural Resources, https://water.utah.gov/great-salt-lake/

Great Salt Lake Plans, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands, Utah Department of Natural Resources, https://ffsl.utah.gov/state-lands/great-salt-lake/great-salt-lake-plans/

Clark, John L., History of Utah’s Salt Industry 1847-1970, August 1971, Thesis, BYU Dept of History, https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5602&context=etd

Coloring the Great Salt Lake, The Earth Observatory, EOS Project Science Office, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147355/coloring-the-great-salt-lake

Hintze, Lehi F, Utah’s Spectacular Geology and How It Came to Be, Department of Geology, Brigham Young University, 2005, https://archive.org/details/utahsspectacular0000hint/mode/2up

Follow-up:
Winslow, Ben, Compass Minerals to abandon lithium extraction on Great Salt Lake, Great Salt Lake Collaborative, Fox13, Scripps Media, Inc, https://www.fox13now.com/news/great-salt-lake-collaborative/compass-minerals-to-abandon-lithium-extraction-on-great-salt-lake

July 3, 2023March 30, 2024

Escape: Wildlife vs. Traffic

Deer and other wildlife have been migrating across our state much longer than humans. When people drove horse-drawn wagons and slower vehicles, wildlife could easily pass without a problem. However, with the introduction of fenced highways and their increased speed and traffic, problems quickly arose. In this case, the problem is mostly with mule deer, because they comprise 90% of the animals migrating in Utah. Robert Frost wrote that “Good fences make good neighbors.” But neighbors need to cooperate to maintain a fence, and even with fences in place, what if the neighbors are animals? The problem is how to keep migrating deer from jumping fences and causing accidents.

Animal/vehicle encounters cause over 5,000 animal deaths in Utah each year. Beyond the loss of life, it is also an economic problem, not only for wildlife management but also for vehicle owners. Some estimate the deer are worth more than $2,500 each. Joshua Coursey wrote in the Deseret News, that the “estimated cost of collisions with mule deer in Utah reached close to $50 million in 2021.” That’s why the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) have worked for decades to reduce wildlife/vehicle encounters. As noted, fencing alone does not work; consequently, highway managers have had to find ways to get trapped deer across and away from fenced roads.

When USU researchers studied escape mechanisms in Sardine canyon, they found earthen escape mounds were superior to one-way, metal gates. Climbing a hill is more natural to deer than pushing through a metal gate. These mounds enable a one-way jump to safety. However, escape alone does not solve the driving force of migration.

A more effective way to handle migrating animals is to guide them above or below the road. UDOT explains: “Studies have shown there is a 90% reduction in wildlife/vehicle collisions when there is a crossing structure and fence in the area.” Since 1975, when UDOT built its first wildlife overpass near Beaver, Utah, deer, moose and elk, along with bear and mountain lions have begun to use wildlife underpasses and overpasses. More recently, a larger overpass was built in Parley’s Canyon on I-80. Videos show a variety of animals who successfully traverse that overpass.

But escape ramps and overpasses aren’t the only tools available. Passage is also possible using creek beds or culverts crossing under roads. Tall fences are effective in guiding animals toward structures and preventing roadway access. Then, to encourage faster adoption, contractors have found they can walk a herd of cattle through the structure, overpowering human scents

When on I-15, I-80, I-70, or in our canyons, watch for overpasses, underpasses, one-way gates and exit ramps. They demonstrate a few ways the DWR and UDOT are working together to preserve human and animal lives.

This is Lyle Bingham, and I’m Wild About Utah and our 15 years on Utah Public Radio.

Credits:
Videos: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources https://wildlife.utah.gov
Photos: Courtesy & Copyright Lyle Bingham, Photographer
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Friend Weller, Utah Public Radio upr.org
Text: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Lyle Bingham’ Wild About Utah Postings

USU-Connected Researchers Mitigating Wildlife Migration Issues:
John Bissonette, Patricia Cramer and Mary Hammer

Bissonette, J. A. and M. Hammer. 2000. Effectiveness or earthen return ramps in reducing big game highway mortality in Utah. UTCFWRU Report Series 2000 (1): 1-29.https://escholarship.org/content/qt2f1080nm/qt2f1080nm.pdf

Buford, Daniel, Cramer, Patricia, and Simpson, Nova, Integrating Wildlife Connectivity and Safety Concerns into Transportation Planning Processes, Federal Highway Administration, US Department of Transportation, Winter 2023, https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads/winter-2023/04

Wildlife Connectivity Institute, https://www.wildlifeconnectivity.org/

“A dynamic part of a National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored research project titled; ‘Evaluation of the Use and Effectiveness of Wildlife Crossings.'”, https://www.wildlifeandroads.org/

Muffoletto, Mary-Ann, USU Ecologist [Patricia Cramer] Honored for Wildlife Highway Crossing Research, Utah State Today, Utah State University, April 16, 2015, https://www.usu.edu/today/story/usu-ecologist-honored-for-wildlife-highway-crossing-research

Muffoletto, Mary-Ann, USU Ecologist Leading Efforts to Stop Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions, Utah State Today, Utah State University, September 2, 2010, https://www.usu.edu/today/story/usu-ecologist-leading-efforts-to-stop-wildlife-vehicle-collisions

DWR: “It’s the video seen around the world! This compilation of footage shows various animals using the wildlife crossing constructed in 2018 over Interstate 80 near Parleys Summit. What’s especially notable with this crossing is how many animals are already using it; usually it takes several years for wildlife crossings to become widely used.

This video went viral near the end of 2020, and was celebrated as great progress in the problem of wildlife-vehicle collisions. Special thanks to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Department of Transportation and Summit County for the footage.” https://wildlifemigration.utah.gov/stories/parleys-summit-wildlife-crossing/

UDOT: Baker Canyon Wildlife Crossing Installation

DWR: “Utah’s highways are vital to the health of the state. They can present a significant barrier for wildlife migration. In order to prevent automobile/wildlife collisions and to increase habitat availability for animals, Wildlife biologists and the Utah Department of Transportation have designed and installed several overpasses and underpasses to allow wild animals to safely cross the highway.”

Green, Ashley, Highway wildlife crossings, Connections between habitats are important for wildlife. Wildlife Blog, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Department of Natural Resources, https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/wildlife-blog/675-highway-wildlife-crossings.html

Kenley Fry, Rachel, Safe passage: Sardine Canyon wildlife crossings improved, The Herald Journal, October 21, 2012 Updated May 4, 2015 https://www.hjnews.com/allaccess/safe-passage-sardine-canyon-wildlife-crossings-improved/article_2d38f7f4-1b1d-11e2-a588-0019bb2963f4.html

Mapping Migration Corridors, Wildlife Migration, Utah Wildlife Migration Initiative, Division of Wildlife Resources, Department of Natural Resources, State of Utah, https://wildlifemigration.utah.gov/land-animals/corridors/