Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a 74000 acres (299 km²) National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...

 in Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, established in 1927. Leased by the government from private property owners.

The refuge encompasses the Bear River

Bear River (Utah)

The Bear River is a river, approximately long, in southwestern Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and northern Utah, in the United States. The largest tributary of the Great Salt Lake, it drains a mountainous area and farming valleys northeast of the lake and southeast of the Snake River Plain...

 and its delta

River delta

A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...

 where it flows into the northern part of the Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...

 in eastern Box Elder County

Box Elder County, Utah

Box Elder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. It lies on the north end of the Great Salt Lake, covering a large area north to the Idaho border and west to the Nevada border. Included in this area are large tracts of barren desert, contrasted by high, forested mountains. The...

. It includes a variety of habitats, such as open water, mudflats, wetlands, and uplands. The refuge hosts millions of migratory

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

 birds each year including species such as bald eagle

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

 and tundra swan. There are more than 41000 acres (165.9 km²) of freshwater wetlands. Though disputed by the Federal and State governments the rights to the land, it was leased from the Knudson Trust, and was eventually purchased for an undisclosed sum. The surrounding lands are occupied by multiple hunting clubs along the migration route, also owned by the Knudson Trust, and much of the income from Ducks Unlimited, Canadian Goose Club and various other groups benefit the restoration of the vast marshland.
Starting in 1983, rising floodwaters from the Great Salt Lake severely impacted the refuge. The flooding of the refuge is at the center of Terry Tempest Williams

Terry Tempest Williams

Terry Tempest Williams , is an American author, conservationist and activist.Williams’ writing is rooted in the American West and has been significantly influenced by the arid landscape of her native Utah in which she was raised...

's noted nonfiction book, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place is a non-fiction book by American writer and naturalist Terry Tempest Williams. This book aims to distinguish between the natural and unnatural along with an ultimate evaluation of the harmful effects that the American government has brought upon the...

. In 2006, a new wildlife education center off Interstate 15

Interstate 15 in Utah

In the U.S. state of Utah, Interstate 15 runs north–south through the southwestern and central portions of the state, passing through many of the population centers of that state, including St. George, Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, the latter three being part of the urban area known as...

opened to attract visitors once more.

External links

• Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
• Official Web site of the Blue Goose Alliance
• Christopher Chadbourne and Associates, Inc., Exhibit Design firm for the Education Center