Episode Archive - Page 37 of 218

July 10, 2023March 4, 2026

Frisbee Fun!

If you’re like me, you’re always on the lookout for new outdoor activities! I would love to draw your attention to a sport that has many names, but that many have not had the pleasure to enjoy. I’m talking about the great hucking and slinging adventure, the sport of roll-aways and tree hits, the family fun activity called Frolf or Frisbee Golf, formally known as Disc Golf.

I first played this sport at 6 years old by tagging along after my father as he navigated the course through a forest and around a lake, starting each hole at a concrete tee pad and counting how many throws it took him to get his disc to settle in the metal basket with dangling chains. Once in a while I would throw a disc, but mostly my little legs tried to keep up on this exciting hike that involved throwing, putting, strategy, patience, and lots of searching through the woods for nearly lost frisbees! Now, 25 years later I still enjoy all the sport has to offer, and one of the primary reasons is because it is an all too easy excuse to get outside and enjoy the different landscapes and environments this great state has to offer.

We Utahns shouldn’t be too unfamiliar with this sport. In 2021, the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) World Championship tournament was held in Ogden at two disc golf courses, Fort Buenaventura and Mulligan’s Golf and Games. History was made at this event when James Conrad, on the final shot of the tournament, curled the disc 247 feet in a single throw to land in the basket; forcing a sudden death play-off, which he won, to become the world champion. This shot is widely accepted as the greatest shot in disc golf history.

According to the PDGA course directory, there are at least 91 disc golf courses throughout our state, and 50 spread along the Wasatch front. Most of these courses are free to play and include exposure to a diverse outdoor experience. Some courses wind and wiggle through heavily wooded areas while others meander through manicured city parks. If you are really up for an outdoor adventure, try one of the extreme mountain courses, like the Solitude Ski resort course, where you launch discs up and down rugged mountainous slopes, sometimes more than 1000 feet in a single throw! Try not to lose too many discs.

In this sport, some people prefer to have just one disc, go out on a beautiful sunny day, and simply enjoy nature while throwing a frisbee; scores don’t need to matter! Other people take a different, more competitive approach to this sport and focus on the dynamics of how each of the many discs fly. They learn that based on disc shape and weight and the technique of their body, they can manipulate the disc to bend and turn, go right or left, skip or roll, or limitless other maneuvers that may be required to get the elusive birdie!

Two years ago, I started an afterschool Disc Golf and Ultimate Club at USU’s Edith Bowen Laboratory School, which was open to all our 3rd-6th grade students. What I experienced was kids passionately enthusiastic about the comradery, the physical activity, and the special wonderment that only objects in flight seem to bring. Each session has hosted around 40 girls and boys and many end up introducing the sport to their own families. It seems there is something special about this sport that naturally draws the love of children.

And so, whether you are looking for something outdoor and active to do on your own, with children, grandchildren, or even a niece or nephew, disc golf might be a soaring success!

This is Joey Kozlowski, and I am Wild About Utah!
Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Joseph Kozlowski, Photographer, Used by Permission
Audio: Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://upr.org/
Text: Joseph Kozlowski, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University https://edithbowen.usu.edu/
Additional Reading Links: Joseph Kozlowski

Additional Reading:

Joseph (Joey) Kozlowski’s pieces on Wild About Utah: https://wildaboututah.org/author/joseph-kowlowski/

https://www.pdga.com/course-directory – Helps identify and find courses

https://udisc.com/courses – Helps identify and find courses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOhO7FfVQlE – Video of the ‘Greatest Shot in History’

July 3, 2023March 4, 2026

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/

DWR, UDOT and other partners complete 11 projects, 1 study to help wildlife and fish safely migrate across Utah in 2025, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Department of Natural Resources, January 20, 2026, https://wildlife.utah.gov/news/utah-wildlife-news/2246-dwr-and-udot-and-partners-complete-eleven-projects-and-a-study-to-help-wildlife-and-fish-safely-migrate-in-2025.html

June 26, 2023September 11, 2023

Sheep, Salt and the Great Salt Lake

Floating on the Great Salt Lake, Courtesy & © Mary Heers — Fremont Island
The Great Salt Lake
Courtesy & © Mary Heers

Floating on the
Great Salt Lake
Courtesy & © Mary Heers

All of last year, the news about the Great Salt Lake was going from bad to worse. We began to hear dire predictions that the shrinking lake might disappear altogether.

Then, finally, with some legislative action and a big boost from record snow and rain, the water level began to rise. The marina on the southern tip of the lake opened up.

I grabbed the chance to take a boat ride out onto the lake. The water was calm and smooth and Fremont Island loomed large ahead. We were the only boat out there.

Ah, I thought, this is a lot like Kit Carson and John Fremont must have seen the island when they paddled up to it in 1843.

The boat operator told us some early history of the island. In 1859 two brothers, Henry and Daniel Miller, took 153 sheep out to the island and left them there. It seemed ideal – plenty of grass, adequate fresh water’ and no wild beasts. So, no need to leave a herder.

The brothers returned periodically to shear the sheep. They also built two huge vats, lit a fire of sagebrush under them, and boiled the lake water down to salt.

Business was good. Boatloads of salt were sold to the silver mines in Montana who needed it in their operations. The excess lambs were taken to market and sold.

By now the sheep, left alone on the island for long stretches of time, were becoming wild as deer. One roundup, some sheep were so determined not to get caught that they took off swimming away from the island. They were still going when they disappeared over the horizon.

But the story really took a turn when a judge from Salt Lake, Uriah Wenner, took advantage of the Desert Land Act intended to encourage irrigation and farming in the west. He filed a claim on the island and evicted the sheep. It was 1885, and Jacob Miller, now in charge of the Miller family sheep operation on the island was a polygamist “in hiding.” He didn’t dare go to court to challenge the claim.

As the last of the sheep were taken off the island, they were placed in the custody of an experienced herder. The herder was just beginning to cook his breakfast in his hut.

“You’d better watch these sheep,” he was warned.

“Don’t tell me how to herd sheep,” said the herder.

He finished his breakfast. When he came out of his hut, the sheep were gone.

The story ended, but the best was yet to come. The boat stopped and my husband and I slid into the water off the back of the boat.

Gleefully we bobbed around like corks. It was impossible to sink. I flipped on my back and stretched out. It would have been easy to doze off. Buoyancy at its best.

The current salinity of the Great Salt Lake is 16%. That’s just about halfway from the oceans at 3½ and the saltiest water on earth – the Dead Sea at 33%

The Great Salt Lake is our unique treasure. But it’s future is still at risk. Will we keep it or lose it?

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Postings

Seymour Miller’s Account of an Early Sheep Operation on Fremont Island (Edited by David H. Miller and Anne H. Eckman,) Utah Historical Quarterly, Volume 56, Number 2, 1988, Utah State History, https://issuu.com/utah10/docs/uhq_volume56_1988_number2/s/157386

Great Salt Lake Collaborative, Solutions Journalism Network, https://greatsaltlakenews.org/

June 19, 2023March 4, 2026

Toxic Plants

I just returned from southern Indiana, another “Land of Lincoln” where I visited a beautiful monument featuring Abraham Lincoln’s early life on a farm carved from the Indiana wilderness. In 1818, Abe’s “angel mother” as he described her, suffered a violent death called milk sickness. Further reading on the interpretive sign told how a plant called white snakeroot had a toxin, which was transferred to the milk and meat when ingested by livestock.

Of course, we have our toxic plants here in Utah as well. One that is reported to have caused death in humans and livestock is the foothill death camas, one of a few extremely toxic plants found in our area, and a very common early spring plant throughout much of Utah’s foothills.

Death camas plants include several species of Zigadenus. At least 15 species are native to North America and grow in all kinds of habitats: moist mountain valleys, dry hills, forest, grassland, and even coastal and marsh areas. There may be some variation in toxicity level from one species to the next, but ALL should be considered dangerous.
I became aware of this beautiful member of the lily family when one of my more adventuresome students shared his story. As a 10 year old, he decided to experiment by eating some of the foothill death camas. Soon after he was rushed to the ER to have his stomach pumped. He reported there was no further experimentation!

Symptoms of poisoning by death camas include vomiting and excessive salivation, tremors, weakness, loss of control over body movements, convulsions, and coma. Ultimately, an animal that has eaten too much will die. A half pound consumed can be fatal to livestock.

It is possible to mistake death camas for the edible blue camas lily, sego lily, and wild onions, all of which were an early staple of native Americans and pioneers. More recently, some unfortunate railroad workers died shortly after eating the bulbs. Eight adults ingested foothill death camas (Zigadenus paniculatus) bulbs in Juab County, Utah, believing them to be nontoxic wild bulbs. All who ingested the bulbs became ill, and three of them required admission for medical treatment.

The probable fatal dose, extrapolated from animal data, ranges from less than one-tenth pound (four-five bulbs) for a young child to a pound for an adult. Other parts of the plant such as nectar and seeds are also highly toxic. Atropine and dopamine are treatments. Poisoned individuals become relatively asymptomatic within 24 hours of their ingestion. No long-term symptoms have been reported.

As with most all toxic plants, they have medicinal properties as well. The death camas root can reduce swollen knees and leg aches. Use with caution!!

Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I’m wild about Utah and it’s poisonous plants.

Credits:
Images: Courtesy USDA Forest Service, C. Webber, Photographer, https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/whiteriver/learning/?cid=fsm9_019086
Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle W Bingham, Webmaster, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

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

Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Writing Her Story, 31 Women in 31 Days, Indiana Commission for Women, https://www.in.gov/icw/files/20160331_Lincoln_Nancy.pdf

Death Camas, Zygadenus spp., USDA Forest Service, White River National Forest, Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture, (USDA), https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/whiteriver/learning/?cid=fsm9_019086

Zigadenus paniculatus (Nutt.) S. Watson, Foothills Death Camas, National Conservation Resource Service (NRCS), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=ZIPA2

Foothill Deathcamas, Range Plants of Utah, Extension, Utah State University, https://extension.usu.edu/rangeplants/forbs-herbaceous/deathcamas

Deathcamas (Zigadenus gramineus, Z. venenosus, Z. paniculatus, Z. nuttallii), Poisonous Plant Research: Logan, UT, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, (USDA), https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/logan-ut/poisonous-plant-research/docs/deathcamas-zigadenus-gramineus-z-venenosus-z-paniculatus-z-nuttallii/

Panter, K.E., M.H. Ralphs, J.A. Pfister, D.R. Gardner, B.L. Stegelmeier, S.T. Lee, K.D. Welch, B.T. Green, T.Z. Davis, and D. Cook. 2011. Plants Poisonous to Livestock in the Western States. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Bulletin No. 415. https://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/poisonousplants/poisonousplants.pdf

Cane, J., Gardner, D.R., Weber, M. 2020. Neurotoxic alkaloid in pollen and nectar excludes generalist bees from foraging at death-camas, Toxicoscordion paniculatum (Melanthiaceae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, London. 131(4):927-935. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaa159. https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=383255 and https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/131/4/927/5943492

UTAH POISON CONTROL CENTER, Call 800-222-1222 – Don’t hesitate to call if you suspect poisoning. The call is free and time is of the essence.

Find a Poison Center, 1-800-222-1222, Health Resources & Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services https://poisonhelp.hrsa.gov/poison-centers/find-poison-center