High-quality wetland habitat
has replaced cattails and hardstem bulrush in a 658-acre portion of the Salt Creek Waterfowl Management Area (WMA) in northern Utah
. This recently completed wetland-enhancement project now provides an ideal environment for waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wetland-dependent wildlife, as well as enhanced public hunting
opportunities for waterfowlers.
Before this project was completed, water-distribution channels and swales on Salt Creek WMA had filled with sediment, hindering wetland management. In response, DU partnered with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) and the North American Wetlands Conservation Council to restore water-management capabilities on this WMA.
DU engineers conducted a topographical survey and prepared the project design. A series of interconnected swales were constructed to improve water distribution. Old water-control structures were replaced to improve water-level management, and islands were built to provide loafing and nesting sites for waterfowl, shorebirds and other wetland birds. UDWR staff seeded the area with a mix of salt grass, three-square bulrush and other beneficial wetland vegetation to improve habitat diversity. Funding for this project was provided by a $1 million North American Wetlands Conservation Act
grant awarded to Ducks Unlimited for wetlands conservation work in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.