BEAR RIVER BOTTOMS

In 1981, PacifiCorp Energy acquired approximately 1,900 acres of the Bear River floodplain between the Idaho state line and Benson, Utah to resolve complaints from local landowners about flooding during very high water years.

Beginning in 1988, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources leased approximately 1,400 acres of this bottomland for 15 years, named it the Bear River Bottoms (BRB), and developed plans to improve it for upland game management.

Bridgerland Audubon Society (BAS) recognized the importance of the BRB for avian and other habitat. When the DWR lease expired in 2003, BAS began worked with The Nature Conservancy and PacifiCorp to establish a conservation easement on 455 acres of the BRB near Trenton, Utah. The easement was signed in 2009 and BAS began working with a long list of partners, including neighboring farmers and ranchers, to develop and implement a management plan that would protect and enhance the conservation values on this easement.

To ensure in-perpetuity protection, BAS transferred the easement to the Bear River Land Conservancy in December 2011. As of the end of 2011, more than 140 volunteers have donated more than 5,000 hours to document conditions, implement habitat improvements, and monitor progress. More than 11 nonprofit organizations and agencies as well as several private companies have provided funding and staff support.

For more information go to www.bridgerlandaudubon.org/brb

At the recent dedication for the Morton Section of the Bear River Bottoms, BRLC recognized the many partners who have committed time and resources to this project:

• PacifiCorp Energy

• The Nature Conservancy

• Volunteers

• Intermountain West Joint Venture

• National Resource Conservation Service

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program

• Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

• Neighboring Farmers and Ranchers

• Utah Conservation Corps

• Utah State University

• Cache County Weed Department