CO 



UTAH C 



General description: The wetlands of Utah include: salt flats; saline, brackish, 

 and fresh-water marshes around the periphery of the Great Basin, fed by springs 

 (Fish Springs, Locomotive Springs, Clear Lake); and run-off from the Wasatch 

 Mountains (Bear River, Harold Crane, Ogden Bay, Howard Slough, and 

 Farmington Bay Refuges) and the Sevier River watershed; river bottoms along 

 the Green (Browns Park, Ouray Refuge) and Colorado rivers; and beaver 

 meadows in the Uinta and Wasatch Mountains. 



Status of the wetlands: Owing to the scarcity of water in this region, most of the 

 wetlands have been modified by human activities, which include diversion for ir- 

 rigation and manipulation for waterfowl production. 



Sources of data: A description of the wetlands of Utah, with special reference to 

 waterfowl values, has been published by Nelson (1966). Data have been 

 furnished by personnel of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and of the 

 Utah State Department of Fish and Game. 



Recommendations: Whether any wetlands in the Great Basin are to be re- 

 gistered as Natural Landmarks will depend upon a policy decision as to the ex- 

 tent to which landmarks may be under management. There may well be relative- 

 ly undisturbed portions of some of the refuges or adjacent private holdings that 

 would qualify. No data on this question are at hand. The marshes on the 

 Locomotive Springs, Harold Crane, Ogden Bay, and Howard Slough Refuges, 

 here listed, and also on the Bear River Refuge, are extensive and undoubtedly 

 represent some of the best examples of various wetland types ranging from fresh 

 to very saline. The Harold Crane Waterfowl Management Area has been 

 established too recently to exhibit stable vegetative types. Fish Springs is a sig- 

 nificant area and portions might appropriately be set aside as natural areas, if 

 this can be accomplished before all of it is modified for a one-purpose 

 (waterfowl management) program. Browns Park on the Green River is the only 

 river bottom habitat that has been suggested as a landmark. The state should be 

 further inventoried to determine whether other river bottoms might be found 

 that are undisturbed. Examples of beaver meadows should also be sought. 



Literature cited 



Nelson, N. F. 1966. Waterfowl hunting in Utah, Utah State Dept. Fish Game 

 Publ. No. 66-10, p. 100. 



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