Each morning as my dog and I stroll around my south valley neighborhood, I notice little Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) shoots in my neighbors’ yards. These persistent plants’ shiny, fluttering leaves peek out from between sidewalk cracks or the corners of otherwise pristine garden beds. I’ve removed countless seedlings from my own yard and they don’t give up easily; it typically takes a week for a new seedling to pop back up.
Recently, however, I’ve come to admire the defiant Gambel oak, along with many other insects, plants and animals that live just outside my suburban home. Species like the sky-blue-flowered chicory (Cichorium intybus), fast-growing prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola), harmless gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer) and skittery California quail (Callipepla californica)that I flush from neighborhood shrubbery as my dog and I make our rounds. My newfound appreciation of these ordinary flora and fauna is due to Wild Wasatch Front, a beautifully written and compiled field guide to the diverse natural world we are immersed in from the moment we walk out our front doors.
The Rise of the Citizen Scientist
The seeds for Wild Wasatch Front were planted back in 2013 when Lisa Thompson, exhibit developer at the Utah Museum of Natural History (UMNH), launched the museum’s citizen science program. “Citizen science,” she explains, “is the practice of people, with no scientific training, participating in the scientific process through things like reporting observations and collecting data.”
UNMH’s first citizen science effort was a collaboration with Salt Lake City Public Lands and Heartland Community 4 Youth and Families. The group was tasked with gathering ecological baseline data from three sites targeted for ecological restoration: two along the Jordan River and a third on Red Butte Creek. Once the data collection began, the UNMH citizen scientists found that the Wasatch Front’s urban areas teemed with nature. That got Thompson thinking. “I began wondering if the nature right under our noses could be the basis for an exhibit.”
The result was “Nature All Around Us,” a multilayered, interactive exhibit displayed at UNMH from October 2019 to September 2020.
Shifting Your Perspective
Soon after the “Nature All Around Us” concluded at UNMH, Thompson was encouraged by her colleagues to translate the exhibit into an urban nature guide, something that both residents and visitors could take with them as they explore the thriving ecosystems in their backyards, neighborhoods and local parks. Thus was born Wild Wasatch Front.
Getting Out There
“You can find lots of nature in your own neighborhood,” Thompson writes, “but it’s also exciting to explore different areas and expand the circle of plants and animals you know.” The section outlines 20 explorations in the Wasatch Front foothills and lowlands from Ogden to Provo.
Thompson’s book led me to visit the Galena Soo’nkahni Preserve, the largest open space on the Jordan River. I took my bike and made the easy pedal north along the Jordan River Parkway, stopping to sit on rocks along the river. I came to Galena Sundial, a beautiful eight-pillar monument that pays homage to Utah’s indigenous tribes. Sweeping grasses flank the memorial to the east, while the river lazily passes by to the west. I stood in wonder at such a sweeping expanse of undeveloped public land amid Utah’s most developed county.
We Are the Visitors
Though I still tug at Gambel oak shoots when they appear in my lawn, I do so with a touch of reverence. Dense thickets of this shrub-like tree grow in the foothills a mile east of my neighborhood, providing critical habitat for birds and deer and countless other species.
Earlier this year, I received a photo message from my neighbor. As soon as I tapped on it, I realized I was looking at a mountain lion—a big, muscly one— strolling across her lawn. “2:30 a.m. visitor,” the message read. I forwarded the photo to other neighbors, warning them to keep their animals indoors at night as another mountain lion had moved into our ’hood. “No,” one of my friends replied, “we’ve moved into theirs.”
Wild Wasatch Front can be found at the Utah Museum of Natural History, The King’s English Bookshop, Weller Book Works, all Barnes & Noble locations in Utah and on amazon.com.
Bobcat
Lynx rufus
If you want a poster child for environmental regulation, it’s the bobcat. Bans on hunting and killing them were enacted when their population was collapsing in the 1970s. Now they are back to healthy growth and making many more appearances in urban green spaces. Shy animals, you’re most likely to see these big cats, weighing in at 120-30 pounds, during dawn or dusk. Their favorite meals are rabbits, rats, mice and squirrels. They are sometimes mistaken for mountain lions, but bobcats are much smaller and recognizable by the stubby tail that gives them their name, along with whiskers that resemble a Civil War general.
Photo by Jack Bell Photography /Shutterstock
Mountain Lion
Puma Concolor
The Wasatch and Oquirrh mountains have a high concentration of mountain lions, which hunt deer but require large ranges of 20 square miles to survive. Habitat loss from development and hunting are leading to declines in the mountain lion population.
Photo by Sean Hoover/Shutterstock
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
If you ever want to see the dinosaur ancestry of birds on display, a great blue heron, with its 7-foot wingspan, is a remarkable example. There’s something ancient about these large, long-necked creatures that will stand perfectly still until their prey appears, then strike like lightning. In addition to fish, these herons also eat rodents, snakes and lizards. You’ll usually find them at the edge of open water, but they also stalk in fields on occasion. The Eccles Wildlife Education Center at Farmington Bay has built artificial structures where you can often see them nest.
Photo by VDV/Shutterstock
Birds-Eye Speedwell
Veronica hederifolia
Speedwells are one of the sure signs that winter is almost at an end, popping up with a warm burst of blue on the sunny days of late winter. Along with their shaggier cousin, the ivy-leaved speedwell, these plants are hardy survivors that can easily thrive in a sidewalk crack. Though not native to Utah, they have found their ecological niche here and are thriving among us.
Photo by Raksan36studio/Shutterstock
American Bullfrog
Lithobates catesbeianus
Ever hear a hum out in nature that sounds like a lightsaber from Star Wars? That may be the mating call of the American bullfrog, one of the most successful invasive species in Utah. These amphibian big boys have spread through our state since the 1970s, presenting a management challenge for wildlife professionals. Not that you can blame the bullfrog for what a bullfrog is supposed to do, which goes far beyond chilling on lily pads and dodging speeding cars in video games. (Although with the ability to leap 10 times their length, they are pretty good at that too.)
Photo by Llias Strachinis /Shutterstock
Red Fox
Vulpes vulpes
The red fox is the most widely found carnivore in the world—you can see them from Siberia to Florida. Suburbs are cozy environments for them, with their wide lawns, trees and shrubs for easy escape, and plenty of places to den, including under your porch. Foxes are curious animals, ready to check out new things, which is why you might find them gingerly exploring your freshly filled trash can. They are also very family-oriented, with both parents involved in raising the kits, whom you might see out frolicking on a summer morning. And while they all aren’t red, you can usually identify them by the white tips of their tails. That’s what the fox says.
Photo by Ondrej Prosicky /Shutterstock
American White Pelican
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Three hundred and thirty-eight species call the Great Salt Lake home during their migrations. Among them you might see the American white pelican, which breeds here before heading south as far as Costa Rica for the winter. You can tell they are breeding from the pronounced bump they develop on their upper beak during the season. Gunnison Island, in the GSL, is one of the most important pelican rookeries in the world, which is why it’s restricted to visitors. But you are still likely to catch a glimpse of pelicans at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and other locations.
Photo by Ondrej Prosicky /Shutterstock
Go Wild with ‘Wild Wasatch Front’
Experts from the Natural History Museum of Utah have drawn upon their collective knowledge to contribute to the pages of Wild Wasatch Front. The book was born out of the museum’s “Nature All Around Us” exhibit, which explores the interaction of wildlife and the urban environment in which most of us live. It’s both a compelling primer on the species you’re likely to find while roaming the neighborhood and a field guide to places where you can actively search for a sight of the wild flora and fauna of our state. With thoughtful essays, biographies of 127 local species, and detailed field trips you can take near the population center of Salt Lake City, Wild Wasatch Front is an indispensable field guide to the crawling, hopping, growling and blooming life with which we share our beautiful home.
Discover more Outdoor inspiration and find all our Adventure coverage. And while you’re here, why not subscribe and get six annual issues of Salt Lake magazine’s curated guide to the best of life in Utah?
