Great
Salt Lake
Utah, USA
Hemispheric Site
Contact:
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
515 E. 5300 So., Ogden, UT
84405
Tel.: 801 479-5143
Fax: 801 479-4010
WHSRN Site Location
40º - 42º N, 112º
- 113º W, within Davis, Box Elder, Toele, Salt Lake, and Weber counties,
Utah, United States.
Area of Site:
The lake averages approximately
3,750 sq. km. (1,500 sq. miles) with fluctuations between 2,331 - 6,216 sq.
km. (900-2400 sq. miles).
Great Salt Lake
Land Description:
Great Salt Lake (GSL) is
a closed basin saline lake located in Northwestern Utah, within the Great
Basin. The lake varies in depth
and volume with climatic conditions.
GSL is at an average elevation of approximately 4,200 feet above sea
level and contains a range of salinities from 5 - 27 %.
Land Use:
Recreation and tourism, mineral
extraction, sport hunting, brine shrimp harvesting, and lake side oil and
copper refineries.
Protection:
Parts of the Lake are included
in USFWS and State refuges as well as Nature Conservancy and other private
lands.
Current Threats:
Development of Southern and
Eastern shores, primarily industrial, urban, agricultural, recreational and
tourism threaten the lake. Plans
for a major highway connecting Salt Lake and Davis Counties, that would bisect
many GSL wetlands is also a threat, as is the possibility of using the lake
as a dumping site for contaminated soil (arsenic and lead) from a super fund
site. Attempts to stabilize water
level and salinity could severely threaten the Lake's ecology. This is due to poor understanding of the
Lake's ecosystem and the effects of alterations, especially to the Lake's
saline component and connected organisms such as brine shrimp, brine flies
and to a large degree, many shorebirds.
Major Causes
of Disturbance:
What Shorebird
Species Use This Site?
No accurate counts exist
for most shorebirds using the Great Salt Lake. The few studies that have been conducted
suggest that high numbers (perhaps millions) use the lake for breeding and
migration. For some species,
such as the Wilson's Phalarope, it is a major staging area. A one-day aerial survey in July, 1986
estimated 387,000 Wilson's Phalarope and 600,000 were estimated on a single
day in July, 1991. Numbers of
Red-necked Phalaropes, which seem more variable, have been estimated as high
as 300,00+ on a single day. Recent
ongoing studies suggest that at least 5- 10,000 Snowy Plover nest on the alkaline
flats surrounding the lake. The
current estimate for breeding American Avocet is 40,000 and Black-necked Stilts
30,000. The following species
have been recorded on the Great Salt Lake:
Bleck-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Black-bellied Plover
Lesser Golden Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Snowy Plover
Marbled Godwit
Whimbrel
Long-billed Curlew
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone
Wilson's Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
Red Phalarope Common
Snipe
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Red Knot
Sanderling
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Dunlin
Stilt Sandpiper
Also recorded in the area
are the Mountain Plover, Wandering Tattler, Hudsonian Godwit, Buff-breasted
Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Curlew Sandpiper.
The Great Salt Lake is also
important to many other species. Hundreds
of thousands of Eared Grebes stage on the lake, fattening on the abundant
brine shrimp. One of the world's
largest populations of White-faced Ibis nests in the marshes along the east
side of the lake. The GSL hosts
the largest number of breeding California Gulls, including the world's largest
recorded single colony. Approximately
150,00 breeding adults have been documented in recent years.
The American White Pelican colony on Gunnison Island ranks in the top
three in North America. up to 17,000 breeding adults have been
recorded. Numerous other species
depend upon the lake, such as Franklin's gulls, waterfowl, herons, egrets,
terns, raptors (including Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons), and songbirds.
Recent Management & Research Activities:
In the mid-1980's, all of
Bear river Migratory Bird Refuge was inundated by the Great Salt Lake and
the refuge was Closed. The flood
waters have receded and the refuge was restaffed in 1989. An Environmental Assessment on the restoration
and expansion of the refuge was finalized in 1991. Refuge objectives highlight shorebird
management and as restoration continues, shorebird use will be enhanced.
A concept plan for an Intermountain
West Joint Venture, under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, is
nearing completion. The Great
Salt Lake and shorebirds are highlighted in the plan. Implementation of the joint venture will
lead to partnerships that will protect and enhance shorebird habitat.
The Utah Division of Wildlife
Resources is conducting several studies designed to determine the extent of
shorebird usage at selected sites around the Great Salt Lake. An annual survey of migrating Wilson's
Phalaropes using the lake each year is being conducted by UDWR personnel under
a contract with Hubbs Sea World. A
study of temporal and spatial distribution of shorebirds is being conducted
by the Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and is jointly funded
by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) and Region 6 of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service ( Regional nongame migratory bird and North American
Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) funds.
A study to determine the nesting and foraging habitat requirements
of the Western Snowy Plover around the lake is being undertaken by the Cooperative
Research Unit and funded by the UDWR.
Twice a year, several volunteers participate in the PRBO Pacific Flyway
Project survey on the Great Salt Lake.
The UDWR, with help from
the Fish and Wildlife Service, is currently working to identifying lands important,
or potentially important to the management of shorebirds around GSL.
These lands will be recommended for acquisition as funds become available. The UDWR is interested in producing a
"Conservation Strategy for Shorebirds of the Great Salt Lake."
Information Relating to WHSRN
Land Owners of Areas Signed on to WHSRN
The lake is primarily owned
by the State of Utah, with large blocks of land falling under the management
of the State Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Above the meander line (4202-4215ft.), ownership is largely private,
with some Nature Conservancy land and many privately-owned duck clubs.
Date Great Salt Lake Joined WHSRN: March 1991
Dedication Ceremony: April 2001
Locally Involved
Agencies and Organizations
§ Friends of Great Salt Lake: P.O. Box 2655, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110-2655
(801) 583-5593 or (800) 355-5226, Website: http://www.xmission.com/~fogsl/