Spring Migration

An unusual bird visited EskDale this last week, hopping around in the gravel and grass in the middle of the community. It's quite a striking bird, with the long pink legs, straight, long bill, and black and white coloring. It frequently bobs its head. Know what it is?

If you guessed black-necked stilt, you're correct. It's certainly an appropriate name, with the black neck and stilt-like legs. A couple killdeer were following it around, providing some good spring entertainment.

One of the best places to observe spring migration is Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge. The oasis attracts thousands of birds, providing an important feeding ground on their migration. It's also fun to see what pops up in the backyard. I always like to think about where the migrating birds have come and where they're going--it's a bit like being an armchair traveler, with different birds inspiring thoughts about different trips.

Pivot at Twilight

Some of the pivots have recently been turned on, beginning the spring irrigation. They have nozzles that come down close to the ground to reduce evaporation. The snow is melting up in the mountains, increasing the stream flow that feeds many of these pivots. It appears that snow pack is slightly above normal, so we are hoping it will be a good water year.

By the way, the center pivot irrigation systems have lights that blink on and off at night, so if you're driving and see a light seemingly coming from a place that doesn't have roads, that could be what it is.

Spring is coming

The recent precipitation is really making things green up. I haven't had a chance to get photos of that yet, but figured I should get these end-of-winter photos up soon! Above is a really nice entrance sign for Warm Creek Ranch, by Gandy.

These covered stacks of hay by the Flat (north of the Border Inn) are slowly growing smaller as the hay is shipped to those who need it. It will only be a couple of months before the first crop is harvested and we begin the cycle again.

Signs of Spring

There are some unmistakable signs that spring is slowly arriving in Snake Valley. Besides the wind that's blowing tumbleweeds from one end of the valley to the other (which is no mean feat in a valley that's over 100 miles long!), we are starting to see some different birds, like killdeer and sandhill cranes. The ravens are sitting on and near their nests. They have always finished nesting by the time we do breeding bird surveys in June.

Little balls of eggs, frog eggs, are another good indication of spring. These are from Columbia spotted frogs. Each male only mates with one female, and each female only makes one ball of eggs, so if you count the egg masses, you can get an approximate count of the adult population. Because the adults can be very hard to detect, this is the usual method to track frog populations in this area.

It's nice to see these signs of spring. More will be coming soon!

Jay's Retirement Party

On Saturday, a 19-year resident and the manager of Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge said farewell. We went up to join in the celebration of all he's done.

Jay still manages a big grin despite living in one of the most remote places. To give you an idea, his mailbox is about an hour away.

His leaving attracted people from various parts of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Utah Department of Natural Resources, Dugway Proving Ground, Brigham Young University, and other places.

Burgers and brauts were cooked on the portable grill. Portable all being relative, of course.

It was an impressive spread of food for being out in the middle of nowhere!

We ate in the fire/maintenance shop, which had really been cleaned up nicely.

At the end of lunch, a number of presentations were made commemorating Jay's lengthy career. Here new refuge manager Brian Allen presents Jay with a national wildlife refuge sign that all the attendees signed.

Jay also was presented a group gift of turkey decoys.

Jay is going to be retiring to a not-as-remote place in Utah. Nevertheless, he probably has some of the wonderful Fish Springs scenery etched in his memory. The springs and surrounding vegetation still have their winter colors. The winter air makes the mountains seem sharper and the air crisper. It is stark and beautiful at the same time.

Thanks, Jay, for taking the road less traveled, and being willing to help protect public lands way off the beaten path.

Soccer Time

We're starting to get that nice spring weather where it's possible to wear shorts and t-shirts even though there aren't even leaves on the trees. Some kids took advantage of the weather after school and played soccer at the playground in Baker.

They were still playing even after the sun went behind the mountain and the long shadows had disappeared.

There's a fairly regular Sunday afternoon soccer match open to anyone who's interested and ready for some good exercise.

Farewell but not goodbye

This will be my last posing on the Protect Snake Valley blog site as a guest blogger in my capacity as the Refuge Manager at Fish Springs. As there is a rather incredible grapevine in the valley, I suspect most know that I will be retiring from my capacity here later this month and will be heading to my sanctuary down Torrey way.

However, after spending nearly 20 years living in the West Desert, I can take the Refuge Manager out of the west desert but I can never take the west desert out of the retired Refuge Manager. The sense of solitude, the night winter stars, the serenade of coyotes twice each day, the incredible arrival of salt storms, the sense of community that stretched further than most could ever comprehend, and a myriad of other memories hewn from this unique landscape will always stay with me.

Over the coming years I will continue to follow the groundwater issue with great interest. While the efforts of Clark County to take Utah groundwater may be damaged, it is not a time to lose vigilance. As is evidence by the many other applications for groundwater out of the Great Salt Lake flow system, the great "West Desert Water Rush" is still alive and threatening.

I have come to very much admire the diligence with which the residents of the west desert have pursued and educated themselves regarding this issue. We have all had to have a crash course in Hydrology, Geomorphology, and Water Rights 101 so to speak. An educated and informed citizen is still the greatest danger to a politician.

I suspect I'll still show up in the west desert on a recurrent basis. As I tell friends about the many wonder of Fish Springs, Great Basin National Park, the Deep Creek Range and points in between, it will necessitate bringing many here to gain a first hand appreciation. If they can gain the passion we all have for our "Utah outback" then we will have gain advocates in our fight to save the livelihoods and the natural character of an incredible land.

Keep the faith, fight the good fight,and hang together. The MX battle showed us that it is possible to persevere against Goliath. This battle can be won as well and I've been proud to be a part and will continue to be an advocate.