Category: Vertebrates

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Forests

Forest Courtesy Pixabay, "Tom" a.k.a. Analogicus, Contributor
Forest
Courtesy Pixabay, “Tom” a.k.a. Analogicus, Contributor
Forests are beyond amazing! As a field ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service, and chairing the Smithfield City Tree Committee, their branches and roots have penetrated deep into my heartwood!

A community of trees has much in common with human communities. Trees nurture and protect one another through an intricate web of roots and mycelium. When one member of the community is suffering, other members will send resources to ward off attacks, and send water and nutrients to help the stressed tree recover.

By third grade you’ve probably learned they produce oxygen and absorb green house gases, cool the earth, filter the air, provide wildlife habitat. By fifth grade add protect watersheds, provide safe drinking water, protect communities from floods and landslides. Additionally, Older trees absorb and store more carbon dioxide than younger trees, helping us fight climate change. Many species of life are found only in mature old growth forests, adding to biodiversity. They provide banks of knowledge for complex ecosystems and blueprints for natural forest processes.

As a Wilderness Ranger and recreationist, I’ve trapsed through many of Utah’s Old Growth Forests. Thanks to our National Parks, Monuments, and other public lands, we have preserved remnants of Old Growth. Magnificent ponderosa pine yet exist in Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks. I’ve found pockets of Engleman spruce in the remote parts of our national forests, along with blue spruce on Cedar Mountain and south slope of the Uintahs along river corridors. Most of old growth Douglas fir was logged off in the late 1800s.

For myself, entering an old growth forest is a spiritual experience. I stand in awe while their majesty, deep history and resilience reach deep into my core. Silence sweeps over me, interrupted by bird song, squirrel chatter, and a whisp of wind in upper branches.

For Native American cultures that developed with, and in many cases shaped the old-growth forests, they harvested medicinal plants, berries, game, or old trees and bark for ceremonial or practical use. They would tend the forest to improve ecosystem services, occasionally burning forests to complementing its utilitarian value.

Thus my alarm sounded when the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation that would fast-track logging projects on federal lands, and the U.S. Forest Service has proposed opening hundreds of thousands of acres of mature (old growth) forests to commercial logging. R oads built through it will take centuries to recover. Our old growth forests are worth far more standing- economically, and for ecosystem services they provide.

Logging is warranted in younger forests, and for fire breaks near human development, while protecting water and airsheds, and sensitive species, but please, please allow Old Growth forests to continue on for the centuries it took to create them!

Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I’m Wild about Utah’s Old Growth Forests!

Credits:

Picture: Forest, Courtesy Pixabay, "Tom" a.k.a. Analogicus, Contributor
Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle W Bingham, Webmaster, and Jack Greene, Author, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Jack Greene’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

Popkin, Gabriel, How much U.S. forest is old growth? It depends who you ask, Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 26 Apr 2023, https://www.science.org/content/article/how-much-u-s-forest-old-growth-it-depends-who-you-ask

Franklin, Marcy, “The benefits of public wildlands, explained,” Vox, October 9, 2017. https://act.environmentamerica.org/go/6644?t=4&akid=6407%2E1385290%2EtS_2YB
Original: https://www.vox.com/ad/16447278/wildlands-benefits-protection
US House of Representatives, “H.R.471 – Fix Our Forests Act,” Congress.gov, March 6, 2025. https://act.environmentamerica.org/go/4036?t=5&akid=6407%2E1385290%2EtS_2YB

Mapes, Lynda V., “Proposed changes would allow more logging on federal land in Northwest,” Seattle Times, December 23, 2024. https://act.environmentamerica.org/go/4787?t=6&akid=6407%2E1385290%2EtS_2YB
Original: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/proposed-changes-would-allow-more-logging-on-federal-land-in-northwest/

Montgomery, Ellen, and English, Amelia, “The “Fix Our Forests Act” won’t actually fix our forests,” Environment America, January 22, 2025. https://act.environmentamerica.org/go/1541?email_blast=-10076407&t=7&akid=6407%2E1385290%2EtS_2YB
Original: https://environmentamerica.org/articles/the-fix-our-forests-act-wont-actually-fix-our-forests/

Ehrlich, April, “Northwest Forest Plan update continues, despite termination of national old growth proposal,” Oregon Public Broadcasting, January 8, 2025. https://act.environmentamerica.org/go/4786?t=8&akid=6407%2E1385290%2EtS_2YB
Original: https://www.opb.org/article/2025/01/08/northwest-forest-plan-update-continues-despite-termination-of-national-old-growth-proposal/

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Eye to Eye

Eye to Eye: Lone Peak Wilderness Courtesy and Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
Lone Peak Wilderness
Courtesy and Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
If you spend enough time in the wilds you acquire some remarkable stories. I’ve had some noteworthy wildlife encounters over the years, but one stands out from long ago.

In May, 1991, two high school friends and I headed for Thunder Bowl in the Wasatch Range, with skis on our packs. We had a long slog ahead of us.

Lone Peak Wilderness Courtesy and Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
Lone Peak Wilderness Courtesy and Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
Two hours and 3,000 vertical feet into our journey we began to encounter spring snow. As we moved through a leafless stand of aspen trees, we spotted a Rocky Mountain goat high on the glacier-polished granite cliffs. What was unusual was the behavior of this particular goat. She crisscrossed her way down the granite wall, leaping and sliding—frantically at times—on the verge of tumbling head-over hooves, with a reckless display of athletic skill.

Then loud and distinct human-like cries halted our stride. The goat stopped, then took one last heart-stopping leap to a narrow ledge.

Trapped from descending further, the goat paced nervously back and forth, peering down 150 feet to the forest floor were we were curiously standing. Another set of eerie cries, amplified by the granite walls, shattered the silence again.

Mountain Goat with Kid, Oreamnos Americanus, Courtesy US FWS, Lawrence S Smith, Photographer
Mountain Goat with Kid
Oreamnos Americanus
Courtesy US FWS, Lawrence S Smith, Photographer
The mountain goat hung her head and slowly, deliberately, began to ascend the canyon wall.

My friends shrugged and started to move again. I dropped my pack in the snow. “Let’s go see what’s making all the racket,” I said.

They wanted to keep moving. I told them I’d catch up soon.

Wearing only a pair of shorts and my hiking boots, 17 year-old me, crept carefully into the aspen grove, making my way towards the base of the cliff in a round-about way, scanning the forest constantly, but I did not see anything. Whatever it was, was gone. So I cut back towards the trail. As I approached two giant boulders resting side by side, I noticed movement on the ground.

I stooped to pick up a tuft of thick white wool and rolled it in my fingers. Mountain Goat wool. Another tuft of wool trundled towards me in the breeze. Goat wool littered the ground ahead of me. I stood up, took a long slow breath, and stepped between the boulders.

A massive cougar crouched over her kill, 20 feet away. Her thick, tan fur could not hide the muscular contours of her shoulders and back. The snow at her feet was red–bright red. The lion looked up. Our eyes locked. Time stopped. I was aware of every single detail of this consummate predator’s yellow eyes.

I was too full of absolute awe and stunned marvel to feel even a remote strand of fear. It remains one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. One or two seconds passed. That is all.
There was a blur of silent movement, a glimpse of hind legs and a long tail flung high in the air, and a thrashing of brush. The cougar was gone.

My attention shifted to the crumpled newborn mountain goat on the ground in front of me. Steam rose from the pooled blood on the miniature ribcage. The little goat’s wool was pure white and contrasted with jet-back hooves and eyes.

The prints in the snow told the story. The cougar circled the newborn prey, slowly decreasing her radius. I imagine her head low, beneath shoulder blades oscillating in slow motion, and eyes laser focused. The two-week-old goat turned in an even tighter circle, letting out a series of cries, as the mother goat paced helplessly, watching from the narrow ledge above. A lethal pounce from the cougar synchronized with the final cries of the little goat—the cries we heard from the trail.

Mountain Lion Courtesy US FWS Larry Moats, Photographer
Mountain Lion (Cougar)
Courtesy US FWS
Larry Moats, Photographer
A pair of giant cat tracks, left behind when the cougar fled, were embedded in the snow bank. I set my outstretched hand and fingers into the paw prints. Then I stood up. High above, through the barren aspen branches, I could see the nanny goat on the gray-granite cliffs, peering down. I scanned the woods for one more glimpse of the big cat. I wondered where she was hiding, knowing she was watching.

At that moment I came to my senses. I realized I needed to leave and not interfere with the cycles that were in motion. I turned and walked back towards my pack on the trail, then hurried to catch my friends—glancing over my shoulder from time to time—all the while thinking about those piercing yellow eyes.

I’m Eric Newell and I am wild about Utah’s wild public lands

Credits:
Images: Lone Peak Wilderness Courtesy and Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
Mountain Goat with Kid, Courtesy US FWS, Lawrence S Smith, Photographer, https://images.fws.gov/
Mountain Lion, Courtesy US FWS, Larry Moat, Photographer, https://images.fws.gov/
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Anderson, Wakeman and Howe.
Text: Eric Newell, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University
Additional Reading: Eric Newell

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah Pieces by Eric Newell

Shughart, Hilary, Mountain Lions Are Keystone Providers for Birds!, Wild About Utah, May 1, 2023, https://wildaboututah.org/mountain-lions-are-keystone-providers-for-birds/

Leavitt, Shauna, Cougars in Utah, Wild About Utah, October 7, 2019, https://wildaboututah.org/cougars-in-utah/

Greene, Jack, My Cougar Encounter, Wild About Utah, January 16, 2017, https://wildaboututah.org/my-cougar-encounter/

Strand, Holly, Mountain Lion, Wild About Utah, March 4, 2010, https://wildaboututah.org/mountain-lion/

Mountain Lion or Courgar – Puma concolor, Fieldguide, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://fieldguide.wildlife.utah.gov/?species=puma%20concolor

What to do if you encounter a mountain lion in Utah, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, May 21, 2024, https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/1906-what-to-do-if-you-encounter-a-mountain-lion-in-utah.html

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Meadowlarks

Western Meadowlark Courtesy US FWS, Peter Pearsall, Photographer
Western Meadowlark
Courtesy US FWS, Peter Pearsall, Photographer
I loved Mark Brunson’s recent Wild About Utah on spring bird song, his words resonating with my own. Continuing on with his melodies leads me to a bird song that lifts me to new heights as I trot along a meadow trail. A bird of the prairie and countryside, the western meadowlark releases songs synonymous with spring grasslands flush with balsam root, lupine, death camas, larkspur, prairie smoke, and wind tossed grasses that shimmer in morning sun.

Western Meadowlark Courtesy US FWS, John & Karen Hollingsworth, Photographers
Western Meadowlark
Courtesy US FWS, John & Karen Hollingsworth, Photographers

Western Meadowlark Courtesy US FWS, Krista Lundgren, Photographer Western Meadowlark
Courtesy US FWS, Krista Lundgren, Photographer

Western Meadowlark Courtesy US FWS, John & Karen Hollingsworth, Photographers Western Meadowlark
Courtesy US FWS, John & Karen Hollingsworth, Photographers

It was a bit of shock when I learned this dazzling meadow beauty with a flashy yellow sunlit breast is a member of the blackbird family. I’m not alone in my reverence for this stunning songster. Six western states claim it as top bird, including our neighbor Wyoming.

A common and conspicuous bird across much of North America west of the Mississippi River, the Western Meadowlark was first officially described in 1805 by the famed explorer Meriwether Lewis. More than just a bird; it has captured the essence of open fields and wildflower meadows.

“Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?” — Rose Kennedy

In Native American mythology, the Western Meadowlark is often seen as a messenger and a symbol of sociability and communication. The Sioux revered the meadowlark for its beautiful songs and considered its appearance a good omen, heralding joy and harmony. Some folklore tells of meadowlarks leading lost people back to their homes using their distinctive calls, embodying the spirit of guidance and protection.

The Western Meadowlark is widely distributed across western and central North America, ranging from British Columbia and northern Michigan to central Texas and northern Mexico. They exhibit partial migratory behavior depending on geographic location. Birds residing in the northern parts of their range migrate as far south as Texas and northern Mexico during the winter months. Populations in southern regions tend to be more sedentary, often remaining in their breeding territories year-round.

The Western Meadowlark significantly impacts its ecosystem through diverse feeding activities. By consuming insects like caterpillars and grasshoppers, it helps control pest populations, thereby supporting plant health and agricultural productivity. Additionally, the bird’s seed and berry consumption aids in seed dispersal, facilitating plant propagation and maintaining biodiversity in grassland and prairie habitats.

Furthermore, the Western Meadowlark’s ground nesting contributes to soil aeration and nutrient cycling, enhancing ecosystem health and resilience. Its presence serves as an indicator of grassland ecosystem health.

To attract females, males execute a variety of visual displays, including puffing out their vibrant yellow throats, flapping their wings, and engaging in a distinctive hopping behavior. Vocalization also plays a critical role, with males using a series of warbling and twittering sounds interspersed with whistles.

Ingeniously, the female weaves a roof of grasses and other plant materials to form a waterproof dome, which protects the eggs and young from rain and predators.

May you be blessed by its song and vibrancy!

Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I’m Wild about Utah’s prairie bird!

Credits:
The Wonders of Bird Migration
Picture: Courtesy USFWS, Peter Pearsall, John & Karen Hollingsworth, & Krista Lundgren, Photographers
Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/ as well as J. Chase and K.W. Baldwin.
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle W Bingham, Webmaster, and Jack Greene, Author, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Jack Greene’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

Wilde, Steve, Western Meadowlark: Mythology, Habitat, Diet, and More, July 17, 2024, Global Birding Initiative, https://globalbirdinginitiative.org/bird-species/western-meadowlark/

Western Meadowlark, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Meadowlark/overview

Western Meadowlark, Utah Birds, Utah County Birders, http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/ProfilesS-Z/WesternMeadowlark.htm
Other views: http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsS-Z/WesternMeadowlark.htm

Colver, Kevin, Recording Artist and Copyright Holder, Wextern Meadowlark, Western Soundscape Archive, Marriott Library, University of Library, https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=1119499&facet_common_name_t=%22Western+Meadowlark%22&fd=title_t%2Csetname_s%2Ctype_t&facet_setname_s=uu_wss&facet_type_t=%22Sound%22

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Valuing Rodent Engineers

Welcoming Rodent Engineers: Spawn Creek Beaver Dam and Pond Courtesy and Copyright Bethany Neilson, Photographer
Spawn Creek Beaver Dam and Pond
Courtesy and Copyright Bethany Neilson, Photographer
Finding a beaver dam gives me a sense of discovery and connects me to the past. I fondly remember my parents pointing out dams when we drove up Logan canyon. Instinctively, we’d scan, hoping to see the animals that built and maintained those structures. When we talked about beaver dams, the conversation often turned to trappers who would rendezvous and re-supply in the Bear Lake and Cache valleys. We lived where history had happened, and I was eager to know more.

Years later, inspired by a history class, I read Dale Morgan’s Jedediah Smith and the Opening of the West. Morgan followed the travels of Smith and his fellow trappers who answered William Ashley’s 1822 ad in the Missouri Gazette requesting “ONE HUNDRED MEN, to ascend the river Missouri to its source, there to be employed for one, two, or three years….”

North American beaver (Castor canadensis) Courtesy US FWS, Larry Palmer, Photographer
North American beaver
(Castor canadensis)
Courtesy US FWS, Larry Palmer, Photographer
Ashley’s troop competed with the Hudson’s Bay Company, the American Fur Company and several native indigenous tribes, all trapping beaver. The story sounds familiar: beaver pelts, and later bird feathers, were used to create hats, and the movement to harvest them led to a significant decline in numbers. For the birds, this decline led to building refuges and other conservation efforts. But the plight of the beaver continued downhill as exploration and discovery encouraged an influx of settlers. For the next century, the remaining beaver were regarded by those settlers as invasive land-grabbers, in competition with efforts to direct water, mine and irrigate.

However, today beavers are gaining more respect as we better understand the benefits of their skills in supporting wildlife and wetland conservation. Researchers at Utah State University, including Joe Wheaton and Nick Bouwes of the Department of Watershed Sciences, are studying habitat improvement after beaver introduction as a cost-effective way to combat drought and fire.

Spawn Creek Beaver Dams Courtesy & Copyright Joe Wheaton
Spawn Creek Beaver Dams
Courtesy & Copyright Joe Wheaton, Photographer
They have repeatedly demonstrated, over the past few years, that beaver families can be introduced and thrive behind fabricated beaver dam analogues(BDAs). After release into the resulting ponds, the beavers take over maintenance and produce their own dams. Over time, these dams and their rodent engineers improve stream flows, raise water tables, and cool water temperatures.

In essence, active beaver dams create Mesic habitats where the land maintains a well-balanced supply of moisture throughout the growing season. These dams slow spring run-off as they retain water in ponds and the surrounding soil, thereby, securing water for fish, trees, birds and wildlife. The best part is that the beavers do the maintenance.

Installing Beaver Dam Analogues, Rio Cabolla, Santa Fe National Forest, Courtesy USDA Forest Service
Installing Beaver Dam Analogues
Post Fire Rehabilitation
Rio Cabolla, Santa Fe National Forest,
Courtesy USDA Forest Service

Completed Beaver Dam Analogues, Rio Cabolla, Santa Fe National Forest, Courtesy USDA Forest Service Completed Beaver Dam Analogues, Rio Cabolla, Santa Fe National Forest,
Courtesy USDA Forest Service

When wildfires occur, beaver oases preserve wildlife and habitat. However, if beaver and their habitats don’t exist in an area before a fire, they can still play a role. By retaining water with beaver dam analogs, we can create wetlands conducive to beaver habitat. In Joe Wheaton’s words, “We can’t dump beaver into a watershed that has burnt to the ground and expect them to do the restoration of degraded streams on their own…. What we can do post-fire is accelerate recovery with low-tech structures that make it easier to more quickly get beaver into an area and accelerate recovery. We’d like to help them do that.” (Utah State Magazine, Winter 2019, p.12)

To learn more about how birds, beaver and water are key to the understanding and improvement of our environment, and to find ways to get involved, check out this story on this wildaboututah.org.

I’m Lyle Bingham for Bridgerland Audubon, and I’m Wild About Utah

Credits:
Photos: Beaver Dam, Courtesy & Copyright © Bethany Neilson, Photographer https://uwrl.usu.edu/people/faculty/neilson-bethany
Spawn Creek Beaver Dams Courtesy & Copyright Joe Wheaton
Installing & Completed Beaver Dam Analogues, Rio Cabolla, Santa Fe National Forest, Courtesy USDA Forest Service
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

Strand, Holly, Beavers: The Original Army Corps of Engineers, April 29, 2010, https://wildaboututah.org/beavers-the-original-army-corps-of-engineers/

Leavitt, Shauna, Beaver–Helping Keep Water on Drying Lands, April 17, 2017, https://wildaboututah.org/the-beaver-helping-keep-water-on-drying-lands/

Leavitt, Shauna, Sixty In-stream Habitat Structures in Four Days: Demonstrating Creek Restoration Techniques, December 18, 2017, https://wildaboututah.org/sixty-instream-habitat-structures-in-four-days-demonstrating-creek-restoration-techniques/

Hellstern, Ron, Leave it to Beaver, July 30, 2018, https://wildaboututah.org/leave-it-to-beaver/

Leavitt, Shauna, Proposed Beaver Holding Facility in Millville, Utah, September 3, 2018, https://wildaboututah.org/proposed-beaver-holding-facility-in-millville-utah/

Leavitt, Shauna, Beaver in Utah’s Desert Rivers, July 6, 2020, https://wildaboututah.org/beaver-in-utahs-desert-rivers/

Heers, Mary, Beaver Tail Slap, October 12, 2020, https://wildaboututah.org/beaver-tail-slap/
(re-aired in late December 2021)

Other Favorites:

Randall, Brianna, Nature’s Engineers: How Beavers Boost Streamflows and Restore Habitat, https://www.sagegrouseinitiative.com/natures-engineers-how-beavers-boost-streamflows-and-restore-habitat/
Randall, Brianna, How Beavers Boost Stream Flows, National Wildlife Federation, January 8, 2020, https://blog.nwf.org/2020/01/how-beavers-boost-stream-flows/

Low-Tech Process Based Restoration of Riverscapes Design Manual, https://lowtechpbr.restoration.usu.edu/manual/

New Manual for Low-Tech Riparian Restoration, https://www.sagegrouseinitiative.com/new-manual-for-low-tech-riparian-restoration/

Randall, Brianna, Beavers, Water, and Fire—A New Formula for Success, Low-tech stream restoration works wonders for people and wildlife, National Wildlife Federation, October 30, 2018, https://blog.nwf.org/2018/10/beavers-water-and-fire-a-new-formula-for-success/

Nicholas Weber ,Nicolaas Bouwes,Michael M. Pollock,Carol Volk,Joseph M. Wheaton,Gus Wathen,Jacob Wirtz,Chris E. Jordan, Alteration of stream temperature by natural and artificial beaver dams, May 17, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176313 OR https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0176313

Prettyman, Brett, Dolling (SLTRIB), Justin(UT DWR), Beavers in Utah, Creators of Habitat, The Salt Lake Tribune & Utah DWR, Oct 15, 2009
https://youtu.be/cMhaYRNLTno
Utah’s population of beaver has recovered since the days when they were trapped by mountain men, but some people wonder if moving beaver to traditional habitats may help deal with drought.

Utah Beaver Management Plan, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/furbearer/beaver_plan_2010-2020.pdf

Birds, Beaver and Water in a Changing Climate, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/birds-beaver-and-water-in-a-changing-climate/

Goldfarb, Ben, Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, Chelsea Green Publishing, March 8, 2019, https://www.amazon.com/Eager-Surprising-Secret-Beavers-Matter/dp/1603589082/