Watershed Symposium 2019

Habitat and River Restoration at the Big Bend Nature Park

Summary:
The Big Bend Nature Park is a restoration project on the Jordan River that provides natural habitat in an urban environment. This presentation will provide an update on the Community Science-based monitoring and stewardship program that is being developed to assess the restoration of ecological services and inform adaptive management decisions.

Full Abstract:
The Big Bend Nature Park led by the City of West Jordan is one of roughly 30 restoration projects along the Jordan River which ranges from small wetland restoration projects to large landscape sized projects such as the Legacy Nature Preserve (2,200 acres). The development of “nature parks” in the greater Salt Lake City area is allowing residents and visitors to experience natural habitat within areas of the Salt Lake Valley’s urban environment. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Interior Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) program along with help from, the City of West Jordan, Utah Conservation Corps members, community (citizen) scientists, the Jordan River Commission and other stakeholder groups, are developing a monitoring approach and stewardship program to ensure the success of this restored natural open space. The goal of this monitoring approach is to work with and educate community scientists to collect scientifically valid data that will lead to a greater understanding of ecological function, document increases in ecological and natural resource services (such as water quality, flood retention, and migratory bird habitat), and inform adaptive management decisions. To reach these goals we have developed a Groundwater Monitoring Report that discusses groundwater’s interaction with local hydrology, an Adaptive Management Strategy for future monitoring of the urban fishery and open space, and habitat monitoring programs utilizing citizen scientists and other interested groups. This presentation will provide an update on the status of the monitoring approach development along with current research findings that may encourage additional guided data collection efforts by students, educators and the interested public. Through the interdisciplinary work of the involved stakeholders, groups, and citizens, this work will provide a foundation for establishing restoration projects that are able to meet measurable goals and improve the environment for both humans and the species that depend on these natural areas.