basin,
range & rimrock
the newsletter of the nature conservancy in utah • fall 2008
Wallace Stegner in California’s Los Altos hills. photo: ©Terence Moore
board of trustees
Chair:
Jennifer Speers
Vice Chair:
Christopher Robinson
Stegner played a key role in the fight to save Dinosaur National Monument. photo: Tom Till
Wallace Stegner: Celebrating 100 Years
Campaign Co-Chairs:
Norma Matheson
John Milliken
Utah’s Native Son Helped Lay the Foundation of the Modern Conservation Movement
This fall and winter, The Nature
Conservancy is celebrating the
100th birthday of Wallace
Stegner—one of Utah’s most
famous citizens and a passionate
voice for the American West. In
partnership with Governor
Huntsman, the Stegner Center and
Marriott Library at the University
of Utah, the Utah Humanities
Council, and numerous other civic
leaders and organizations, the
Conservancy is helping to support a
suite of local events and tributes
designed to capture the spirit of
Stegner’s life and his many contributions to our state.
As an author, Wallace Stegner
wrote 28 books, countless articles,
2 Basin, Range & Rimrock Fall 2008
and won the National Book Club
Award, three O. Henry Awards, the
National Medal for the Arts and the
Pulitzer Prize. As an educator, he
started the Creative Writing
Program at Stanford and was a
mentor and teacher to Wendell
Berry, Larry McMurtry, Edward
Abbey, Ken Kesey, Bill Kittredge
and numerous other distinguished
authors. But for those of us at the
Conservancy, Stegner’s greatest
legacy was the key role he played in
building and inspiring the modern
conservation movement. It is a legacy
we strive to carry on today.
In this era of multi-national
conservation organizations and
heightened environmental aware-
Honorary Co-Chairs:
Ian Cumming
Susan Denkers
Zeke Dumke, Jr.
Spencer Eccles
David Gardner
Jake Garn
M. Walker Wallace
ness, it is easy to forget there was a
time, not too long ago, when the
conservation movement was in its
infancy and lacked broad appeal. As
recently as 1960, there were far
fewer National Parks, no Wilderness
Act, no EPA, no Land and Water
Conservation Fund, no Clean Water
Act—but there was Wallace Stegner.
As a staunch defender of our public
lands, Wally lent his eloquent voice
to the conservation movement at a
critical time. His deeply held conservation beliefs were solidly rooted
in Utah’s special places, many of
which he helped to protect.
It all started during Stegner’s
childhood in Salt Lake City and his
summer visits to his family’s cabin
(continued on page 3.)
Trustees:
Teresa Beck
Alexis Cairo
Keith Christensen
Jim Clark
Aileen Clyde
John Cumming
Tim Dee
Stephen E. Denkers
Richard Denman
Matt Garff
Mary Garner
Clark Giles
Bill Hedden
Hank Hemingway
Carolyn Tanner Irish
Wally Jarman
Kim Kimball
Kathryn Lindquist
Jim MacMahon
Peter Metcalf
Kathie Miller
Maunsel Pearce
David Quinney
Ellen Rossi
Betsy Thornton
Scott Thornton
Bruce Waddell
LaVarr Webb
lasting results
Utah Private Lands Protection
Number of Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Total Acres Protected . . . . . . . . 829,831
Utah Public Lands Protection
Number of Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Total Acres Protected . . . . . . . . . 61,980
Total Acres Protected. . . . . 890,680
Total Utah Membership. . . . . 6,287
“We are the most dangerous species of life on this planet.
but we are also the only
species which will go to great effort
to save what it might destroy.”
– Wallace Stegner
at Fish Lake. While attending East High and later
the University of Utah (where he played tennis with
former Conservancy board member Dave Freed),
Wally would escape to Utah’s canyon country. Later,
his love of Southern Utah inspired one of his most
famous pieces of non-fiction, Beyond The 100th
Meridian, describing the life of John Wesley Powell.
In this book and related articles, Stegner highlighted
Powell’s belief in the limits to growth in the arid
West. This notion caught the eye of a young David
Brower, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, who
was launching an effort to stop the Bureau of
Reclamation from damming the Green River in
Utah’s Dinosaur National Monument. Brower and
Stegner became fast friends and partners in the fight
to save Dinosaur.
Through national publicity, editorial support,
shrewd politics—and Wally’s book This is Dinosaur,
which was sent to every member of Congress—
Stegner and Brower helped save Dinosaur and
guarantee the sanctity of national parks and monuments throughout the United States. The tools
they utilized in this early contest have become
standard fare for those championing conservation
causes ever since.
With victory at Dinosaur at hand, conservation
leaders turned to the dream of passing federal
wilderness legislation. This set the stage for the
1964 Wilderness Act and Wallace Stegner’s
Wilderness Letter, considered by many the most inspirational statement calling for wilderness and natural
area preservation ever written (see page 4). Drawing
inspiration from Robber’s Roost country (now the
Maze District of Canyonlands National Park),
Wally wrote the Wilderness Letter on his Royal typewriter in a single afternoon. In a few days it hit the
national media and the phrase “The Geography of
Hope,” describing Utah’s canyon lands, became part
of the national lexicon. It is a phrase that resonates
to this day.
Wally was a reluctant warrior; a Cincinnatus—
more at home with words and ideas in his study in
Los Altos than on the national conservation stage.
Nonetheless, compelled by his love of Utah and the
West, he pushed on. During the Kennedy
Administration, at the request of Stewart Udall, he
served as Chair of the National Parks Advisory
Board and helped to expand or create numerous
national conservation areas including Capital Reef,
Canyonlands, and Redwood National Parks, as well
as establishing the Land and Water Conservation
Fund. Stegner also served on the boards of the Sierra
Club and Wilderness Society, and was an early voice
for protecting what is now Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument.
Later in life, Wally returned to his Utah roots
Wallace Stegner at the Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve dedication,
June 1, 1991. Photo: Norm Shrewsbury
and joined the Utah Advisory Board of The Nature
Conservancy. In June of 1991, he traveled to Moab where,
joined by Norma Matheson, Wayne Owens, John Sawhill and
other dignitaries, he was the keynote speaker at the dedication of
the Conservancy’s Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve. It
was his last visit to Utah before his untimely death in Santa
Fe in 1993.
Preaching sustainability before it became a household
word, Wally acknowledged that human health and ecological
health are one. “Nothing would gratify me more than to see
the West both prosperous and environmentally healthy, with
a civilization to match its scenery,” he wrote. In many ways
this phrase captures the essence of the Conservancy’s
“radical center” approach. The challenge of our time, Wally
(continued on page 4.)
Basin, Range & Rimrock Fall 2008 3
taught us, isn’t how to grow our cities or how to preserve the
wilderness, but how to do both.
During this centennial year of his birth, the Conservancy
is pleased to join with others in saluting Wallace Stegner—a
great author, teacher, and conservationist, and a great Utahn.
To the extent we are able to celebrate today’s conservation
gains, it is only because (to paraphrase Newton’s famous
phrase) “we stand on the shoulders of giants.” Wallace
“So great are our Western Deserts...open, beautiful, waiting, close to whatever
God you want to see in them. Just as a sample, let me suggest the Robbers’
Roost country...near Capitol Reef National Monument...It is a lovely and
terrible wilderness, such a wilderness as Christ and the prophets went out
into; harshly and beautifully colored, broken and worn until its bones are
exposed, its great sky without a smudge or taint from Technocracy, and in
hidden corners and pockets under its cliffs, the sudden poetry of springs....
Looking down over the cliffs and canyons of the San Rafael Swell, you can
look as deeply into yourself as anywhere I know...We simply need that wild
country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and
look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as
creatures, a part of the geography of hope.”
Wallace Stegner from The Wilderness Letter, 1960
4 Basin, Range & Rimrock Fall 2008
Stegner was a conservation giant of his time. We have all
benefited tremendously from his legacy. For more information on how you can participate in Wallace Stegner’s birthday celebrations visit nature.org/utah.
Editor’s Note: We are indebted to Philip Fradkin and his excellent
new book Wallace Stegner and the American West as a primary source for
the research supporting this article.
“I was shaped by the West and have lived most of a long life in it, and nothing would
gratify me more than to see it, in all its subregions and subcultures, both prosperous and
environmentally healthy, with a civilization to match its scenery.”
– Wallace Stegner
from the director
One Morning in Moab
By Speaking from the Heart, Wally Helped Save Utah’s Special Places
Seventeen years ago, on June 1, 1991, Wallace
Stegner, Norma Matheson, Wayne Owens, John
Sawhill, Cecil Andrus, and other civic leaders, gathered
on the outskirts of Moab to help dedicate the Scott M.
Matheson Wetlands Preserve. It was a time I will
always remember; a very special moment in our Utah
Chapter’s history.
The day dawned crystal clear, one of those breathless spring mornings in Utah’s canyon country that
make winter seem a distant memory. Just before noon,
over 400 supporters and friends came together on the
edge of the Preserve to hear Wally’s dedicatory remarks.
“The Matheson Preserve is a symbol of hope,” he
told us. “A symbol that our race is actually human and
can learn from its mistakes.” For all of us gathered in
awe and reverence that day, Wallace Stegner did not
disappoint. It was his last visit to Utah before his
death, but far from the last time his voice would be
heard in defense of Utah’s wild places. Wally’s memory
lives on in the work we do in Utah and around the
world today.
Wallace Stegner, Wendell Berry, Terry Tempest
Williams, Steve Trimble, Bill McKibben, Rick Bass, Ivan
Doig, Aldo Leopold, John Muir and so many others…
why have writers had such a profound impact on the
conservation movement? I think it’s because they speak
from the heart. The Conservancy speaks from the mind,
which is good. We are justifiably proud of our science
and our strategic plans. But the mind can only take us so
far. It is the heart that keeps us going and picks us up
when times are tough—like they are now.
This is why the Conservancy, along with Governor
Huntsman, the Stegner Center and other organizations, is taking time this winter to celebrate Wallace
Stegner’s 100th birthday. Wally was a legendary writer.
He was a gifted teacher. But for many of us, it was
Wallace Stegner’s conservation voice that mattered
most. Wally selflessly took time from his literary pur-
suits to give back to the Utah landscapes he loved. He
lifted us up through the power of his written words;
through the inspiration of his Wilderness Letter and “The
Geography of Hope,” planting the seeds of a Utah
conservation movement that lasts to this day.
Wallace Stegner also brought disparate worlds
together. Like the Conservancy, he was always seeking
common ground. West and East, boomer and settler,
rural and urban, the academy and the public square,
Mormon and non-Mormon—this last pairing was
especially significant in Utah. More than any politician, theologian or academic since, Wallace Stegner
helped us bridge the cultural divide.
So here’s to you Dr. Stegner! Throughout the West
you loved, the Conservancy has established scores of
new preserves and we’ve expanded our vision to act
globally, as well as locally. This is what comes, you
would tell us, when we listen to our hearts and work to
build “a civilization to match our scenery.” The conservation battles you fought and won have enriched all of
our lives. Your written words have inspired a generation of conservation leaders. Thank you,Wally, and
Happy 100th Birthday from us all.
Basin, Range & Rimrock Fall 2008 5
“Land managers are eager for science-based data about how to help
Utah’s species adapt to climate change. This study could provide our
first meaningful local answers.”
– Joel Tuhy, the Conservancy’s Utah Director of Science
protecting the land
Climate Change in Our Backyard
It’s today’s burning environmental question: What does climate change really mean to
Utah—to our own unique landscapes and species? We already know that our state and its
neighbors are particularly vulnerable. According to the Rocky Mountain Climate
Organization and the Natural Resources Defense Council, the American West has warmed
70 percent more than the planet as a whole, and is on track to set more dubious records. But
how do we translate these regional predictions into meaningful information about where and
how climate change will—and already is—impacting Utah’s natural world?
The Conservancy is launching a new cutting-edge scientific study to find out. First conducted by the Conservancy’s New Mexico chapter, the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment is
the first of its kind to evaluate actual climate change across an entire state at a local scale. This
finer scale allows scientists to flesh out recent landscape-level changes in climate, and enables
them to identify specific areas that may be vulnerable to ongoing climate change.
The ground-breaking New Mexico study yielded localized information about 11 conservation sites in the state that will be most vulnerable to continued climate change. This kind of
specific information is now helping natural resource managers prioritize their conservation
actions. Fueled by its initial success, the Conservancy’s New Mexico chapter has teamed up
6 Basin, Range & Rimrock Fall 2008
Photo: Harold E. Malde
New Science to Reveal Utah’s Vulnerabilities & Opportunities
Experts say the Colorado River Basin is experiencing record impacts from climate change.
with chapters in Utah, Colorado and Arizona to conduct similar studies for
each of the four corner states.
“We’re excited about conducting this study in Utah,” said Joel Tuhy, the
Conservancy’s Utah Director of Science. “Land managers are eager for science-based data about how to help Utah’s species adapt to climate change.
This study could provide our first meaningful local answers.”
As part of the Utah Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, Conservancy scientists
are now working to map areas in our state where climate factors such as temperature and
precipitation have significantly changed in the recent past or are projected to change in the
future. Next, experts will identify and map Utah’s plants, animals and ecological systems
that are deemed to be particularly sensitive to changes in climate (see article on back cover).
By combining these maps of changing climate and species vulnerability, Conservancy staff
hope to identify specific areas in Utah where we should prioritize our work on climate
change adaptation strategies to protect at-risk species before it’s too late.
“This climate change vulnerability assessment is a crucial first step,” said
Tuhy. “Once we have identified Utah’s most probable hot spots in terms of
climate change, we can develop site-specific conservation strategies to protect
climate-sensitive species and systems.”
To learn more about the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment contact
Joel Tuhy at [email protected] or (435) 259-4629.
A Growing Oasis
A lot of things are growing in Washington County:
development; population; traffic. But at the White Dome
Nature Preserve, conservation is also on the rise. By the
end of this year, the Conservancy’s newest preserve will
have more than tripled in size, thanks to exciting progress
on funding and critical land acquisitions.
In August of 2007, the Conservancy established the
White Dome Nature Preserve with an initial purchase of
55 acres in the City of St. George. Located in the fastdeveloping “South Block”, the preserve protects habitat
for several at-risk Mojave Desert animals, as well as globally rare wildflowers, including some of the last remaining
populations of the threatened Siler pincushion cactus and
the endangered dwarf bear poppy–a plant found in
Washington County and nowhere else on Earth.
Today, the Conservancy is poised to complete a second
key land purchase at the preserve, protecting an additional
135 acres of important habitat. And, thanks largely to
funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, staff are
already making progress toward a third acquisition, with
the goal of eventually protecting a grand total of 800 acres.
“Each acquisition of land at this preserve is a major
accomplishment,” said Elaine York, the Conservancy’s
West Desert Regional Director. “With each acre added,
we’re able to safeguard more rare and fragile habitat that
could determine the future of several unique species.”
In addition to expanding the preserve’s size,
Conservancy staff have also been working to better
understand the special species that live at the preserve,
and improve the lands they rely on for survival.
Botanists recently completed a survey of the dwarf
bear poppy habitat at White Dome Nature Preserve,
revealing an exceptionally good bloom this spring. “We’re
thrilled with the number of flowers and subsequent seed
development we saw this year,” said York. “We hope to
use this information to understand poppy population
trends and health.”
Another key step will be a restoration project to
restore poppy habitat on the core 55-acre tract at the preserve. Conservancy staff and restoration specialists are
Photo: Renée Van Buren
New Progress at Nature Preserve in St. George
Good news for the dwarf bear poppy at White Dome Nature Preserve.
launching a plan this year to decompact ATV trails that
have degraded the plants’ natural landscape, replant native
seeds and deposit biological soils to help re-create the soil
crust which helps the poppy plants take root by stabilizing
the soil and making soil nutrients available to seedlings.
“We’re really excited about the progress being made at
White Dome,” said Dave Livermore, the Conservancy’s
Utah State Director. “If we can keep adding to this
preserve, and improving its habitat, we can make a real
difference for these native Washington County plants
and animals.”
To find out how you can help contribute to the
expansion and improvement of the White Dome Nature
Preserve, contact Elaine York at [email protected] or
(801) 531-0999.
Basin, Range & Rimrock Fall 2008 7
The Conservancy is
working to protect the
globally significant grasslands
of the Eastern
Steppe
of Mongolia.
Young nomadic herders demonstrate their horse riding skills
for visitors to the expansive grasslands of Mongolia.
Photo: Chris Pague
caring for the land
Connecting the Global Landscape
Utah Explores Conservation Links to Mongolia
Broad, rolling valleys of grasslands, speckled with grazing cattle, rise up to low, rugged, shrubcovered mountains. Cowboys on horseback watch over the herds, while antelope tentatively graze at
a distance. To any observer, this scene is an idyllic look at the American West, the landscapes of the
Great Basin and Western plains. Upon closer inspection, however, this same observer will see that
the cattle are partly goats, partly yaks, the antelope are really Saiga antelope, and the cowboys are
traditional nomads clothed in Mongolian garb. That’s because this familiar sweeping landscape
exists not only in places like Utah and Colorado, but halfway around the world in Mongolia.
“The landscape here is very much like what we see in many parts of Mongolia,” said Enkhtuya
Oidov, the recently hired director of the Conservancy’s new Mongolia Country Program, who visited
the Utah program in October. “The mountains to the west of the Salt Lake Valley are nearly identical.”
Enkhtuya has visited Utah and other state programs to learn from conservation, philanthropy,
marketing and administrative staff in her efforts to get the six-month-old Mongolia Program up
8 Basin, Range & Rimrock Fall 2008
and running. In Salt Lake City, she met with staff who shared
best practices in conservation, fundraising, education and outreach, and even the everyday functions of a Conservancy office.
Hired in April of 2008, Enkhtuya brings a wealth of political
and non-profit experience to the Conservancy’s Mongolia
Country Program. Formerly a member of the Mongolian
Parliament, Enkhtuya previously served as the chairperson of the
country’s largest women’s NGO, the Liberal Emegteichuudijn
Ojuni San. Through her work in these sectors, she has become
well-known throughout her country as a champion of human
rights and a corruption-fighter.
As Conservancy scientists assessed global conservation concerns, Mongolia quickly emerged as a priority. Enkhtuya and her
staff are now working to preserve the world’s largest intact grassland ecosystems in the Eastern Steppe. Grasslands are one of the
least protected habitat types on Earth, and the relatively pristine
nature of the Mongolian grasslands
provides a unique opportunity for
conservation. This and the other
wide- range habitats of Mongolia
serve as a refuge for a diversity of
plants and animals, including snow
leopards, wolves, Mongolian
gazelles, Bactrian camels, Gobi
bears, and Siberian ibex.
For conservationists, Mongolia’s
landscape connection to the
American West is immediately
striking. In addition to sharing
similar landscapes, the traditional
Mongolian nomadic population is
beginning to face issues that
Conservancy staff in Utah and
other Western states know all
too well.
“Enkhtuya learned about our
work in Utah, but she also described
Mongolia’s conservation challenges,” said Dave Livermore,
Utah’s State Director. “Poaching,
mining, oil, agriculture, road development, overgrazing, and over
hunting are all issues that we’ve
faced in the West for many years.
It is our hope that we can share
knowledge both ways, and perhaps
find different approaches to these
problems.”
For more information on the
Conservancy’s Mongolia program,
visit nature.org/Mongolia.
News from the Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake. Photo: Gary Crandall
Governor Huntsman Forms
Landmark Council
For the first time in history, the
Great Salt Lake is closer to having a
single authority managing its future.
This summer, at the urging of the
Conservancy, Governor Huntsman
created the Great Salt Lake Advisory
Council. In the coming months, the
council—made up of state and local
officials, bird experts, industry representatives and non-profit organizations
—will conduct a comprehensive evaluation and submit a recommendation to
the Utah Legislature on how to best
safeguard the Lake’s ecological health.
One likely Council recommendation
will be the formation of a permanent
Great Salt Lake Commission to coordinate the multiple agencies involved
with the Lake under a single authority
and ensure that the best available science is used to guide Great Salt Lake
management decisions long term.
“I’m honored to serve on the new
Great Salt Lake Advisory Council,” said
Dave Livermore, the Conservancy’s Utah
State Director. “I have high hopes that
this new effort can prevent further damage to the Lake’s globally significant bird
habitat and protect its natural assets for
future generations.”
Stay tuned for more developments
as the Great Salt Lake Advisory
Council gets underway. For more information, contact Chris Montague, the
Conservancy’s Director of
Conservation, at [email protected] or
(801) 531-0999.
Critical New Parcel Optioned
Near Visitor Center
This month, the Conservancy
announced plans to acquire one of the
last large parcels needed to complete
the Great Salt Lake Shorelands
Preserve. Strategically located at the
Preserve entrance, the protection of the
116-acre Jaques tract will ensure development does not occur on lands adjacent to the Visitor Center.
This upland and wetland property
provides foraging and staging habitat for
numerous waterfowl and shorebird
species, and creates a key buffer between
the Preserve and the encroaching development of Davis County. The
Conservancy has secured an 18-month
option to acquire the property, and is
currently seeking public and private
funds to complete the purchase.
The Great Salt Lake Shorelands
Preserve now spans 11 shoreline miles,
nearly 4,400 acres and 34 parcels of
land. The Preserve’s award-winning
Visitor Center provides a much needed
point of entry for school children and
the general public to learn about the
Great Salt Lake.
“We need the continued support of
Utahns to protect this resource,” said
Dave Livermore, the Conservancy’s
Utah State Director. “The purchase of
the Jaques tract is a top priority and
urgently needed to ensure the ecological
integrity of the Preserve.”
To find out how you can help the
Conservancy achieve this important
goal and protect more land at the Great
Salt Lake, contact Alice Storm at
[email protected] or (801) 531-0999.
Basin, Range & Rimrock Fall 2008 9
supporting the vision
Living Lands & Waters Campaign
Contributors to the Utah Living Lands & Waters Campaign, July 2007 - July 2008
Our sincere thanks to these and the many other donors and members, too numerous to list here, who have supported the campaign.
Major Gifts To Projects
$100,000 and above
Alternative Visions Fund
Cumming Foundation
George S. and Dolores Doré
Eccles Foundation
Willard L. Eccles Charitable
Foundation
Martha Ann Healy
William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation
Kennecott Utah Companies
Janet Q. Lawson
George Perkins
Jennifer Speers
$10,000 and above
Anonymous (2)
John Austin and Jacqui Smalley
R.E. & J. E. Bamberger Memorial
Foundation
R. Harold Burton Foundation
Coventry Health Care
David E. Cumming Family
Foundation
John D. Cumming Family
Foundation
Four Daughters Foundation
L.T. & J.T. Dee Foundation
Estate of W. Keith Heyman
Leucadia National Corporation
Ralph Nye Charitable Foundation
Rocky Mountain Power Foundation
Ellen E. Rossi
Utah Wetlands Foundation
Major Gifts For
Annual Support
$10,000 and above
Anonymous (1)
Mel and Kerry Armstrong
Mark and Katie Austin
Joan L. Baxter
Teresa Beck*
John and Kristi Cumming
David and Vanessa Dayton
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas D. Dee III
Steve and Marti Denkers
Steve and Susan Denkers
Richard and Gayle Denman*
Katherine W. Dumke and E.R.
Dumke, Jr.
10 Basin, Range & Rimrock Fall 2008
Ensign Group, L.C.
James and Elizabeth Gilpin
W. P. Harlin Family Foundation
Estate of Grace Tazuko Harrington
Connie C. Holbrook
Carolyn Tanner Irish
Linda Leckman
Steven Leuthold Family
Foundation
Kathie and Mark Miller
John and Anne Milliken
Kathryn Lindquist and Jim Moore
Jeff and Caroline Munger
Thomas and Jody Neuman
Curtis and Diane Oberhansly
Parsons, Behle & Latimer
Richard E. & Nancy P. Marriott
Foundation
George Perkins
David and Shar Quinney
Carol and Bill Redeker*
Joseph & Evelyn Rosenblatt
Charitable Fund
Kathie E. Shutt
Simmons Family Foundation
Harris H. & Amanda P. Simmons
Foundation
Jennifer Speers
Jim and Susan Swartz
O. C. Tanner Corporation
Walbridge Fund, Ltd.
Elliott and Judith Wolfe Family
$1,000 and above
Anonymous (12)
Gregory Adams
Cynthia and Gregg Alex
Steve and Kathryn Allen
C. Ross Anderson
Kathryn J. Anderson
Doyle Arnold
Gerry D. Beckett
Bernard Begue
Delora Bertelsen
Marjorie Billings
Peter and Margaret Billings
Tom and Judy Billings
Robert and Georgene Bond
Josh Bonkowsky
John and Beth Bowman
Jeffory L. Broman
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Budnick
Mary Jo Burgess
Lee and LuAnn Burke
James and Jean Burns
Helen and Jeff Cardon
Sandy Hasstedt and Peter
Cartwright
Kim Heimsath and Bruce Garland
Dea Ann and Randy Cate
Ray and Jeanne Christensen
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. James R. Clark
Hal and Aileen Clyde
Clifford Coury and Stanna
Frampton
Jack Crosland
Ian and Annette Cumming*
Juliann D’Amore and Alan Davis
Judith and Murray Danforth
John and Flora D’Arcy
Mr. and Mrs. Paul L. Davies III
Henry and Hilda Derres*
Ivan and Carol Doig
Judith Donnell
Jim and Geralyn Dreyfous
The Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis
Dumke Foundation
EarthShare
Sid H. Eliason
Kevin and Pamela Fife
John and Joan Firmage
Elizabeth L. Frank
Anthony Frates*
Peter Freed
Mary and Don Garner*
Clark and Nancy Giles
Steve Glaser and Camille Pierce
John B. and Geraldine Goddard
Roxane Googin
Lynn and J. Wallace Graham
Bill and Sylvia Gray*
Robert D. Gregory
Kimball T. Harper
John and Sena Hauer
Gerald and Lois Hayward
Jodee and Jim Hoellein
Paul B. and Mary Holden
Charlotte Holton
Roger and Susan Horn
Steve and Patti Horton
Tom and Caroline Hoyt*
Kelly Hughes
Janet Hugie Smith
Dr. and Mrs. Jay A. Jacobson
Wally and Karen Jarman
Roy Jespersen and Anne
Morgan-Jespersen
JEPS Foundation
Alan W. and Mary Joslyn
Margot Kadesch
Richard E. Kanner and Suzanne
Stensaas
Wes and Jean Keller
Kennecott Land Company
Kim and Patty Kimball
Betty Knight
Carl and Emily Knobloch
Jack Koson
Hank and Marty Lamb
Kay Lamb
Peter Larcom
Gitte Larsen
Chris and Sandra Lehman
Martha Crocker
Naomi Levin
Nancy Levit and Cathy Underwood
Clinton K. and Ruth Lewis
Harold and Katherine Liddle
Dale Lincoln*
Sam and Cindy Livermore
Herbert Livsey
Jamie Longe and Wendy Zeigler
Ken and Carol Louder
Lund Foundation
Jackie Magno
David and Marilyn Maher
Howard Mann
Lois Mansfield
Edward Martin and Barbara
Richmond
John and Pauline Masaryk
Norma Matheson
John and Ruth Matuszeski*
Scott and Connie Maves
Glenn McConkey
Terrie and Clifton McIntosh
Kenneth McLaughlin
George D. and Nancy Melling
Michael Metcalf
Peter and Kathleen Metcalf
David Moore and Neca Allgood
Keith and Leslie Motley
Richard Mueller and Susan
Durham*
Bob and Sally Neill
Jonathan M. Nelson
Rich and Cindy Nigro
Joan P. Ogden*
James and Susan Ogilvie
Amy Owen
Brooks and June Pace
Adele W. Parkinson
Maunsel and Ann Pearce
Carolyn Pedone and John Rose
Audrey Pertl
Diana L. Peterson
Diana Pionke
Agi and Henry Plenk*
Herman Post and Carlie
Christensen
Daniel and Yolanda Pyatt
C. Hope Eccles and Randall K.
Quarles
David and Suzanne Razor
Mary Ann Redeker
Douglas Reilly
Kristen Ries
Robert S. Carter Foundation
Richard and Carmen Rogers
Sandra Romesburg*
Robert H. Rose
Fred and Dottie Rudolph
Jeffrey and Susan Saffle
Ken Sassen
Richard Schwartz and Faith Gartrell
Becky Senekjian
Paul Shaphren
Vincent and Karen Shepherd
Mark Shimizu
Daniel M. Smith
Soaring Wings Education
Foundation
Charles and Sharee Sorenson
Melissa L. Stamp
Steiner Foundation
John Stevens
Ruth and Richard Stone
Jenepher Stowell
Veronica Sutherland
Tony and Carol Sweet
Norman and Barbara Tanner
Leslie and Marie Tryon
Joe Tulpinsky and Linda Summers
David Tundermann and Kathleen
Euston Tundermann
James Viney
John and Susan Walker
Joseph A. Walkowski, Jr.
Brad Wallis
Scott Watkins
Carmen Watson
James and Lynette Clayton White
Wildland Scapes, LLC
Charles P. Williams, Jr.
Noel Williams
Jeff Wolfe
Tim Wood
Janet York*
Ed and Marelynn Zipser*
Utah Corporate Alliance
$1,000+
Albion Financial Group
American Express
Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd.
Campbell Scientific, Inc.
CCI Mechanical, Inc.
Dancing Crane Studios
Deer Valley Resort
The Depot
Ensign Group, L.C.
Exoro Group
Gurr Investments
Ken Garff Automotive Group
Kern River Gas Transmission
Company
Kimball Distributing
Kirkham's Outdoor Products
Leucadia National Corporation
Media One of Utah
Milcom, Inc.
O.C. Tanner Corporation
Questar
Rio Tinto I Kennecott
Robinson, Biehn & Biehn, Inc.
Rocky Mountain Power
Foundation
Royal Street Corporation
Scott Machinery Company
Sinclair Oil Corporation
Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort
Tesoro Refining
Treasure Mountain Inn
Union Pacific Foundation
Utah Business Magazine
UV Partners
Western Rivers Flyfisher
*Legacy Club member
Welcome to the Conservancy’s newest
Legacy Club members in Utah:
Angel Casey
Robert T. Dolson
William & Sylvia Gray
Suzanne Kanatsiz
Kyle R. Simpers
J. Bradley Washa
The Legacy Club is a group of Conservancy supporters who
have made a life income gift to the Conservancy or have
named the Conservancy as a beneficiary in their estate plans.
To learn more about the Legacy Club, please call Mary Delle
Gunn at (801) 238-2324.
Basin, Range & Rimrock Fall 2008 11
saving all the pieces
American Pika
Clinging to Life on the Top
of the World
In tiny fragments of habitat scattered like islands through the mountains of the west, a small but industrious mammal gathers wildflowers,
sedges and alpine grasses among the
rocks and boulders between 8,000
and 13,000 feet. The American pika
is highly-adapted to the extreme
temperatures and hardy plant life of
these isolated mountaintop ecosystems, and may be particularly sensitive to changes in snowpack and rising temperatures that experts believe
will come with climate change.
559 East South Temple
Salt Lake City, Utah 84102
phone: (801) 531-0999
nature.org/utah
In fact, monitoring the health of
pika populations throughout the
west might help scientists, like those
conducting the Conservancy’s
regional climate change assessment
(see pg 6 to learn more), track the
effects of climate change in high
alpine ecosystems.
“Animals that live in the world’s
most extreme climates are likely to
be affected by temperature changes,”
said Joel Tuhy, Director of Science
for the Conservancy’s Utah Program.
“We are conducting assessments
throughout the west to determine
which species are likely to be most
vulnerable to the effects of climate
change.”
Unaware of the potential change,
these tiny cousins of rabbits work
busily during summer days gathering a
store of alpine vegetation that will
sustain them through the winter
months. Weighing in at around six
ounces, pikas will gather and dry up
to a bushel of plant matter, which
they store deep in their dens in a pile
or “haystack”. Scientists refer to pikas
as “ecosystem engineers” because of
their extensive haying activities.
Hikers and mountaineers are
more likely to hear pikas than actually
see them. An extremely vocal animal,
the pika uses squeak-like calls to warn
of predators and bleating songs to
attract mates. They mate about one
American pika. photo: Charlie Ott
month before the snow melts, and
give birth to a litter of two to four
babies in late spring. Some females
will mate again and give birth to a second litter in mid-summer.
Along with eating, gathering, and
storing food, pikas spend their days
guarding their territory from other
pikas, watching for predators and
sunning in the safety of rock piles
and slides.
For more information, visit
www.nhptv.org/NATUREWORKS/americanpika.htm.
Non-Profit
Organization
US Postage
P A I D
Permit No. 4958
Salt Lake City, Utah