Visit Us
The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Brigham City, Utah offers a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities. On our 12-mile auto tour route, view a great diversity of birds without ever leaving your vehicle. Want to stretch your legs? Walk the 1.5 miles of trails around our world-class Wildlife Education Center located just 1/4 mile from I-15, exit 363.
The Wildlife Education Center is open limited hours: Tuesday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The auto tour route, Wetland Wonders and Marsh Meander trails continue to be open sunrise to sunset.
Enjoy photography, wildlife watching, birding, hiking, cycling, running, hunting, fishing, and painting on the Refuge. Check our page often for special events and environmental education opportunities.
Location and Contact Information
About Us
The Refuge lies along the eastern edge of the Pacific Flyway and the western edge of the Central Flyway, making it an important resting, feeding, and nesting area for birds in both flyways. Of more than 210 bird species that use the refuge, 67 species nest on the refuge. American avocets and black-necked stilts nest by the thousands along refuge dikes and roads. White-faced ibis nest in dense emergent vegetation in large colonies of up to 10,000 birds. Migrant tundra swans can number in the tens of thousands in the spring and fall. The Refuge uses a complex system of dikes and water control structures to provide different water depths for a variety of waterbird species over the seasons.
Tours
The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Brigham City, Utah provides different activities to enjoy and learn about nature. On our 12-mile auto tour route, view a great diversity of birds without ever leaving your vehicle. Want to stretch your legs? Walk the 1.5 miles of trails around our world-class Wildlife Education Center located just 1/4 mile from I-15, exit 363.
What We Do
Wildlife conservation is at the heart of the National Wildlife Refuge System. It drives everything on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands and waters managed within the Refuge System, from the purposes for which a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge is established to the recreational activities offered to the resource management tools used. Using conservation best practices, the Refuge System manages Service lands and waters to help ensure the survival of native wildlife species.
Refuge staff use a variety of habitat management techniques to maintain, recover or enhance plant and wildlife values. Management techniques are carefully considered and employed in varying degrees according to needs.
Our Organization
As part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, we work directly on the land and water the Refuge is legally obligated to protect and maintain. We work with a variety of different programs within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well. Partners for Fish and Wildlife, Urban Wildlife Conservation Program, and Fire Management are a few of the key programs that help us protect and conserve the lands and water of the Bear River and the Great Salt Lake.
Our Species
The Refuge and other wetlands associated with the Great Salt Lake provide critical habitat for migrating birds from both the Pacific and Central Flyway of North America. This area contains abundant food for birds, including very important brine shrimp and other macroinvertebrates as well as necessary plants like sago pondweed. Birds come to the Refuge by the millions to eat and rest during migration, and many other species stay to breed, nest and raise their young across the Refuge wetlands.
Our Library
Looking for a particular Refuge-related document? Check out our Library!
Get Involved
You can make a difference in conservation through volunteering, participating with the Friends of the Bear River Refuge, and/or practicing conservation at home and in your community.