After more than two hours of driving along the bumpy Pony Express Trail Route, I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever reach the so-called ‘oasis in the desert’ I’d heard so much about. So far, the gravel road I, along with photographer Maegan Burr, had been traveling on had led us through sagebrush-covered desert, over hills and through mountains and past patches of salt, but I did not see anything resembling an oasis.
But when we finally reached Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge at the southern end of the Great Salt Lake desert, I could see why ‘oasis’ is a popular descriptor of the place. Pelicans, ducks, geese, and egrets fluttered in and out of the ponds as they sensed us approaching. Marsh plants thrived on the edges of the water. It all seemed so foreign in its desert surroundings.
Fish Springs, a 17,992-acre preserve in the remote northwestern corner of Juab County just across the Tooele County line, is famous for vast, warm-water marshlands that attract thousands of migrating and resident birds. The 10,000-acre wetland system is supplied with water from warm brackish springs that flow from a fault line beneath the Fish Springs Mountain Range.
The refuge was established in 1959 as a temporary satellite of Bear River National Wildlife Refuge. It was intended to provide habitat for migrating and wintering birds. By July 1960, it was no longer a satellite location. Prior to becoming part of the National Wildlife Refuge system, various people had used the area privately, including as a ranch and frog farm. It also historically served as a stopover point for various travelers.
I came to see Fish Springs at a time when a controversial bid by the Southern Nevada Water Authority to pump water from the Snake Valley Aquifer to Las Vegas is looming over the refuge’s future. Describing the place and the threats it faces deserved a first-hand look, I thought.
After a self-guided tour around the refuge’s ponds, it’s easy to see why birds — and people — are attracted to the place.
It’s a place refuge manager Brian Allen said feels right at home.
“I love it,” he said. “I have a history of working in secluded places and I really enjoy it. The longer I’m out here the more I like it.”
In the few hours we spent there, Maegan and I never saw another person. Still, despite its isolation, the refuge brings in about 2,000 visitors a year.
“We might go several days in a row without a visitor, but we have visitors coming pretty consistently,” Allen said, adding visitors are not always prepared for the distance. “Usually it’s tire repair. Some people don’t plan adequately and they’re out of fuel. Or they’re stuck somewhere.”
What makes Fish Springs unique is the juxtaposition of wet and dry.
“The source of the wetlands, the deep water spring flow, and the physical properties of that water create a very unique wetland resource in a desert landscape,” Allen said. “That water quality plays a big role in shaping both the plants and the animals that are within those wetlands.”
Spring migration is in full force at the refuge.
“We have species that can be here as short as a day or two. We have birds that are moving through that don’t winter or breed here,” he said. “There are a few species that come through in March, but primarily in April and May. We’ve got a lot of birds returning to nest.”
There have been 298 species of birds observed at the refuge. Of those, 70 breed on the refuge. The refuge also has 12 species of reptiles, two amphibians, four fish species, and 44 species of mammals, 24 of which breed on the refuge.
There are 10 waterfowl species that nest at the refuge. Colonial nesting birds include black-crowned night herons, white-faced ibis, great blue heron and great egret. A snowy egret on my auto and walking tour was a treat I didn’t expect to see while at Fish Springs. Then again, I guess I didn’t know quite what to expect.
In 2009, a rusty blackbird was spotted during the refuge’s annual Christmas Bird Count. It was only the second recorded sighting of a rusty blackbird at Fish Springs. The songbird, which is primarily an East Coast species, has been in decline since the mid-1960s and is listed as “accidental” in Utah, meaning it is out of its typical range here.
The refuge also has a rich cultural history. The spring water has supported a variety of human uses over the years.
“We had early explorers, like Jedediah Smith, who came through Fish Springs, when he returned from California,” Allen said.
Then there was the Jackass Mail, Overland Stage, and Pony Express waystations at Fish Springs, followed by the Transcontinental Telegraph line and later the Lincoln Highway — sections of which can still be seen as scars in the ground.
“Fish Springs was used as a stopover point and the spring water was a big part of why it was used as a stopover,” he said.
The deeply-sourced water that emanates from the springs has been dated to have fallen as precipitation as long as 14,000 years ago, according to Allen.
But for all its uniqueness and history, the refuge faces several threats, the largest of which, according to Allen, involves plans to pump water from the Snake Valley aquifer to Las Vegas.
“All the water that creates and supports our wetlands and all the wetland species come from artesian spring flow,” he said. “It’s from the deep carbonate rock aquifer and that’s a regional groundwater resource. Groundwater applications, especially the larger ones like from Southern Nevada Water Authority, are the biggest threat to the refuge.”
Mark Clemens, manager of the Utah Chapter of Sierra Club, said the organization appealed the last round of some of the well permits that SNWA filed.
“We are one of quite a number of groups that were involved in that process, but like the other groups we’re worried about this and the potential impacts on Fish Springs, which could be fairly serious,” he said. “The drawdowns in that part of the carbonate aquifer, which is the groundwater aquifer that would be tapped by SNWA’s proposed wells, could leave the aquifer very substantially reduced.”
He added, “Fish Springs is really an amazing place. It’s an important place for a wide variety of bird species and all of this is being put in jeopardy by the SNWA proposal to pump the carbonate aquifer.”
In 2004, Congress passed a law requiring Utah and Nevada come to an agreement on the allocation of the water in the Snake Valley aquifer before any of it is piped out of the valley. An agreement was released, but Gov. Gary Herbert has yet to sign it and legal issues have put it on hold.
There are no threatened or endangered species at the refuge, though there are sensitive species Allen said the refuge is doing directive management for to help keep them from being listed. A multi-partner project on snowy plover is currently being done. There have also been some efforts to restore a native fish, the least chub, to Fish Springs. Another sensitive species ranked as being somewhat imperiled is the long-billed curlew, which is also found at the refuge.
“The long-billed curlew and the snowy plover are our focal species,” Allen said. “They are birds of conservation concern.”
Other species that are not ranked as imperiled but are species of concern include the American avocet and black-necked stilt.
The refuge has five permanent employees, four of whom are year-round and one employed seasonally. Two are maintenance employees — one employed seasonally and another full time. Their duties include maintaining the infrastructure of the refuge — buildings, equipment and roads.
“We have over 110 water control structures and almost 50 miles of road,” he said.
Other positions include an administrative assistant, manager and assistant manager. There are typically one to two summer technicians hired just for the three-month summer season. Volunteers also help out year-round.
“We get a lot of our work done through volunteers,” he said.
Volunteers range from Boy Scout groups to two very active volunteers whose day jobs are as biochemists.
“One of them is a birder and does bird surveys for the refuge,” Allen said. “The other is real interested in habitat and he does water quality monitoring for the refuge.”
Four biological volunteers who are college students will be doing field work for the refuge this summer as volunteers.
Allen added he doesn’t find living in Fish Springs to be much different from anywhere else.
“It’s just that you have about an hour-and-a-half to two-hour buffer around you that you have no services,” he said. “It just takes longer to go places, but other than that it’s not different. It’s nice and quiet and peaceful out here.”
As I neared the end of my visit, I could see how the solitude would be appealing. Having no cell phone service wasn’t so bad. It was actually refreshing. And the refuge and its mountainous backdrop was more picturesque than I’d imagined.
Though it took me years to finally make the trek to Fish Springs, it’s one I’ll make again. Despite the bumps it took to get there, it was well worth it. The next time I’m in search of solitude, I know where I’ll head. Just like the birds, this could be my refuge.
Sarah Miley: swest@tooeletranscript.com
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