A Ducks Unlimited (DU) wetland restoration project underway at Miller Pond, west of the Legacy Shorelands Preserve, is helping improve habitat conditions and water management in an important area of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.
The project, which DU engineered and is constructing, focuses on rebuilding a deteriorated levee originally built in the 1930s to create managed wetlands later heavily damaged during major flooding events in the 1980s. Over time, the levee lost its ability to control water movement, allowing water to spread unmanaged across state sovereign lands and contributing to the expansion of invasive Phragmites. As a result, much of the area now provides limited value for waterfowl and shorebirds.
Once completed, the project will reconstruct the primary berm, build a smaller northern berm, and install five water-control structures, affecting 627 acres. These improvements will allow land managers to better capture, store, and strategically release water, creating healthier wetland habitats while improving the ability to control invasive vegetation.
The ponds are dry for years at a time, depriving migrating waterfowl of valuable habitat. The revitalized levee will allow land managers to move water into several northern wetland units in wet years to improve additional habitat.
The project will also help offset expected wetland habitat losses associated with changes to Davis County's wastewater discharge system. Led through a partnership between The Nature Conservancy, the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, and DU, the restoration will improve habitat resiliency and expand wetland management opportunities in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem for years to come.
This project is part of DU's Great Salt Lake Initiative, a collaborative effort focused on protecting, restoring and enhancing wetlands throughout the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. By improving habitat and water management, the initiative helps sustain millions of migratory birds that depend on the Great Salt Lake and the Pacific Flyway.
Media Contact
Molly Jarone
Regional Communications Coordinator
Western United States Region
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing wetlands, grasslands and other waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has restored or protected more than 20 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science, DU’s projects benefit waterfowl, wildlife and people in all 50 states. Learn more at www.ducks.org.
