Celebrate wildlife year-round in Utah

National Wildlife Week has come and is almost gone, albeit somewhat quietly. It started last Saturday, along with Earth Day, and it will end on Sunday.

It is a week set aside once a year to spotlight wildlife. This year the theme was to pull the kids away from the computer games and reintroduce them to the outdoors.

Great idea, but it shouldn't be something parents consider once a year or a couple of times during Wildlife Week. Wildlife opportunities here in Utah are a year-round experience.

Recommended activities might include work projects, such as building nest boxes or planting trees; taking a drive somewhere to view wildlife, not simply to see wildlife on a drive; visit one of the state parks for a day; tour the new Bear River Learning Center; take a trip to Antelope Island for a real up-close look at wildlife; walk through Hogle Zoo or Tracy Aviary; or even read a book about wildlife to the kids.

I don't know that people here in Utah appreciate the diversity of wildlife viewing experiences. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, through its Watchable Wildlife program run by Bob Walters, program coordinator, schedules a number of wildlife viewing opportunities over the year.

Walters sets up spotting scopes near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon this month to see the antics of the sure-footed Rocky Mountain goats.

In February, Walters set up several sites around the state where people could view bald eagles. One old tree on the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge held more than 30 perched eagles.

Thousands of white snow geese fly into the Delta area each year in late February and early March for the Snow Goose Festival.

In November, the DWR will hold a Bighorn Sheep Festival. This is the time of year when the sheep are playing the mating game and the cracking of butting heads can be heard echoing off canyon walls.

This, of course, is the time of year when deer and elk are holding in lower elevations, munching on new growth, and when birds of all species and sizes start migrating to summer homes. Utah is a main highway for birds going north and south.

There are, indeed, great opportunities for both parents and children to get out and learn more about the wildlife within their state. Wildlife Week is a great way to start, but it needn't be the end.