Taking flight: River flow marks birth of sanctuary for birds

Minutes after the waters of the Jordan River meandered over the dust of a channel that it hadn't touched for thousands of years, a bird swept toward the water, as if on cue.

To the delight of observers, it was a Wilson's phalarope, a migratory shorebird that makes the marshes and wetlands of the Great Salt Lake its largest staging area in the world. The phalaropes feed for a couple of months in Utah before taking off to winter on the salt lakes of South America.

For those standing in the heat, with the wind and the dust and the smell of brine heavy in the air, it couldn't have been a more appropriate way to mark the celebratory beginning of a new 2,700-acre wetland/upland sanctuary for birds and other wildlife.

Opening the floodgates of the Jordan to let that water spill meant the realization of a dream for many of those gathered Wednesday for the ceremonial event in northwestern Salt Lake County.

"This is a unique opportunity to celebrate the work of a partnership that has come together to promote the conservation of the land," said Todd Nielson, the state administrative officer with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

That partnership has evolved over the years since the early 1990s and has featured a series of complicated land transactions, a bit of bartering, some pleading and a lot of perseverance.

"Small steady progress over a long period of time, and this is what you end up with," said Chris Montague, director of conservation programs for The Nature Conservancy of Utah.

An anonymous donation of 1,319 acres from a woman who "loves birds and animals" in the mid-1990s signaled the reality of the Edward L. and Charles F. Gillmor Audubon Sanctuary at the South Shore Preserve.

The sanctuary brought together the efforts of the National Audubon Society, the federal Mitigation Commission, Ducks Unlimited and Rio Tinto Kennecott Utah Copper, among others.

Bishop H. David Burton of the presiding bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also attended Wednesday's event. The LDS Church sold the wetlands project 325 acres.

Ella Sorensen, the National Audubon's sanctuary manager — described by many as the driving force behind this effort — called the day a "big moment" and a milestone for nature lovers everywhere.

"It's pretty exciting. As an aside, there is an Irish song about the beauty of nature being reflected in the eyes of people. You can see that here."

E-MAIL: amyjoi@desnews.com