U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission, Great Salt Lake Audubon, West Jordan City, and TreeUtah will begin habitat restoration activities along the Jordan River in West Jordan and South Jordan beginning October 18 and continue for approximately 10 days.
Activities will include the removal of non-native trees and weeds (primarily tamarisk and Russian olive), creation and restoration of river meanders and side-stream channels, and replanting of native trees, shrubs, and grasses to create diverse functional wildlife habitat.
Removal of the invasive, non-native trees is the first step in restoring these sites. Although Russian olive and tamarisk densely crowd the river bank and floodplain in some areas, they provide relatively little nesting and feeding habitat for migratory birds when compared to native tree and shrub species. Although the tree removal process will temporarily create a more open, bare floodplain in the project areas, the completed restoration process, which is expected to take approximately two years, will result in a much more biologically rich and diverse habitat areas. A glimpse of what the area will look like after planting can be seen on a parcel south of 106th South that was planted in 1997 and 1998. After five years, peach-leaf willow trees are taller than head height, and there is a dense understory of native shrubs.
In 1997, land along the Jordan River was purchased with funds provided by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission for the purpose of restoring habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. FWS funds came from a settlement for natural resource damage at the Sharon Steel Superfund site, located downstream from the project areas. Funds from the Mitigation Commission are linked with mitigation for the Central Utah Project, a large water development project in northern Utah.
If you are interested in conducting interviews on the project or obtaining photos of the tree mulching, contact the Project Manager, Chris Cline at 801-975-3330 x145
Background Information Regarding the Jordan River Habitat Restoration Project:
When European settlers first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, the Jordan River meandered through a floodplain that was covered with a dense carpet of willows and other shrubs, with scattered
