In the great system of waterfowl flyways, Bear 
River stands on the borderline between the Cen- 
tral and the Pacific, and contributes birds to each. 
A fly way is much more than a migration route ; 
it may be defined as “a vast geographic region 
that has extensive breeding grounds and winter- 
ing grounds connected with each other by a sys- 
tem of migration routes.” The Central flyway 
lies east of the Rocky Mountains and includes 
most of the Great Plains. The Pacific flyway 
includes the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific 
Coast. 
Although most of their birds belong to the 
Pacific flyway, the Bear River marshes also pro- 
duce many ducks for the Central. When these 
broods reach maturity they join the ducks mov- 
ing down this fly way by two routes: one east- 
ward through the Green River Valley of Wy- 
oming, another southeastward through the San 
Luis Valley of Colorado, thence to wintering 
grounds along the coasts of Texas and Mexico. 
The long Pacific flyway, that extends from 
Alaska and the Aleutians all the way to Central 
America and the northern countries of South 
America, claims most of the ducks and geese of 
the Bear River Refuge. Migrants that have 
come down from the north stop there in the fall 
for food and to rest from the long flight, then 
they move on, most of them, to the west and 
south. Some will provide targets for the guns 
of hunters in Nevada, California, and Arizona. 
Among those that survive many will spend the 
winter in the great interior valleys of California, 
where the Sacramento and other National Wild- 
life Refuges provide rice and other food plants 
especially grown for their benefit. Others will 
continue south to the Salton Sea National Wild- 
life Refuge or into the marshy valleys of Mex- 
ico to feed until once more the migratory urge 
calls them northward. 
The refuge headquarters are located near 
the mouth of the Bear River about 15 miles west 
of the town of Brigham and near the center of 
Bear River Valley, with the Promontory Moun- 
tains on the west and the Wasatch Range on the 
east. These mountains rise abruptly from the 
valley floor, which is at an elevation of 4,200 feet 
above sea level, and extend upward to 9,700 feet 
at the highest peaks. 
Located at the headquarters are an adminis- 
tration building, a research laboratory, four res- 
idences, a combination garage and storage build- 
ing, a service building, a boathouse, a building 
for housing a water-filtering system and a power 
plant, and a steel observation tower 100 feet 
in height. 
Visitors may reach the refuge headquarters, 
which are open to the public daily from 9 a. m. 
to 5 p. m., by traveling due west from Brigham, 
Utah, over a hard-surfaced road. This city has 
a population of 6,000, has available hotel and 
auto court accommodations, and is located on 
U. S. Highways 30-8 and 91. 
After free registration at the refuge head- 
quarters, a panoramic view of the refuge may 
be had from the tower. Visitors are permitted 
to drive their cars around Unit No. 2, one of the 
five large artificial lakes and marsh areas. This 
is a trip of 12 miles over a gravel road constructed 
on top of the artificial dikes that impound and 
distribute the waters from the Bear River. 
This refuge offers unusual photographic op- 
portunities. The abundance of birds, their lack 
of any fear of people, and the opportunity of 
12 
The air boat, with its flat-bottomed aluminum body and airplane propeller, was developed at 
Bear River to ollow easy and rapid travel on the very shallow waters over the mud flats. Now 
this type of boat is used in many parts of the country for travel in marshes and other still, shallow 
waters. 
seeing them while driving, provide conditions 
probably unequalled elsewhere. During the 
spring, summer, and fall, many different species 
of birds, varying in size from the tiny marsh 
wren to the large white pelican, may be ob- 
served from the car windows on the trips around 
Unit No. 2. 
Permission is not required for amateur photo- 
graphing of wildlife on the refuge done during 
the course of a tour. Photographing involving 
use of a blind or special travel, or requiring sev- 
eral days, may be authorized by a permit issued 
by the refuge manager. Fishing on the refuge, 
in compliance with State laws, and carried on 
so as not to disturb wildlife, is permitted on cer- 
tain waters and at times announced by the 
manager. 
Hunting on the portion of the refuge declared 
open by the Secretary of the Interior is in ac- 
cordance with all State and Federal laws. No 
permit is required but hunters register at head- 
quarters and report on their success when 
leaving. 
Information on permits, hunting, fishing, and 
trapping, together with copies of the regula- 
tions governing these activities, may be obtained 
by addressing the Refuge Manager, Bear River 
Migratory Bird Refuge, Brigham, Utah. 
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