The June sucker (JS), native only to Utah Lake, was placed on America’s Endangered Species’ List more than a decade ago when there were less than 400 remaining in the lake. Two other native fishes of the lake, Utah Lake sculpin, and a unique form of our state fish, the Utah Lake Bonneville cutthroat trout, are already extinct. To save this unique suckerfish and its extremely sha … [Read more...]
Local Native Wildlife: Pigeons, Squirrels, and Blackbirds, Oh My!
As a longtime promoter of local native wildlife, I have always been intrigued by native animals adapting to the urban environments of Salt Lake City. Native deer, doves, and ducks all do well and whole herds of mule deer now live well within city limits. Many mourning doves now raise their young in our neighborhoods and no longer migrate south as they had done for millennia. … [Read more...]
Dog Obedience for Everyone
Decades ago, my grandfather was the pharmacist at a downtown Rexall Drug store, but his heart lay in the outdoors. He was well known as an avid fly fisherman, and also helped to establish the first duck hunting club in Utah; the Utah Duck Club. His true passion, however, was in training hunting dogs, a passion that was handed down to me. I mostly train bird … [Read more...]
Foraging Wild Spring Foods
Most readers of Utah Stories might recognize my name as an author of mostly gardening-oriented articles. Although I have been passionate about foraging since I was a teenager, I taught my first class through the West High Community Education program in the fall of 2011 with only 12 students in attendance. As the years passed, the number of students continued to climb, … [Read more...]
DIY Greenhouses: Get a Go on your Gardening
I have designed, built and managed a variety of different greenhouses over the past 40 years. All of them have been primarily intended for starting hundreds of transplants for many varieties of vegetables for our garden and many others. My wife and I have never actually used a greenhouse for growing food. Obviously, some folk do, although that would be more aligned to … [Read more...]
Utah’s Jackrabbits—The Great Freebie
Everyone knows about jackrabbits—those nasty vermin out there in the West Desert, right? Actually, most Utahns know very little about either of the two largest rabbit species in North America. The largest rabbit is the white-tailed jackrabbit found throughout the mid-elevation expanses of Utah’s sagebrush, while the slightly smaller black-tailed “jack” is found throughout our … [Read more...]
Fall Fishing is the Best—Now is the Time to Enjoy a Quiet Day on the Water
Many anglers fish during the spring and summer months, and some even ice fish during winter, so avoid the crowds and enjoy fishing in the fall. Because they are cold blooded, most fish ramp up their feeding as the waters warm in the spring. But unfortunately, that is also when most species spawn, and are often found “lock-jawed” in schools in relatively small areas. The pro … [Read more...]
Summer Garden Watering Made Easy
Ever forget to turn your sprinklers off before leaving home, only to come home to a flooded garden and an off-the-chart water bill? Ever come home to find areas of your yard totally dried out and dead or stunted plants? My wife and I have! After gardening for about 40 years, here are a couple of ideas we have learned that largely eliminates these unfortunate … [Read more...]
Spring White Bass Fishing in Utah Lake
After five years of drought, many of Utah’s lakes had very low water levels until this spring, which means improved fishing for many Utah waters. Many lakes and streams suffer from problems of overpopulation of some fishes, such as the white bass in Utah Lake, where too many of them turn out to be smaller, “stunted” fish, resulting in very liberal fishing regulations. For thi … [Read more...]
Get Your Garden Started With Easy Spring Vegetables and Cover Crops
Dan’s Tips and Tricks for Growing Carrots and Beets I find the biggest complaint to growing either beets or carrots is the need to thin them. Carrot seeds are so small, and their germination so unpredictable, that you either get hardly anything coming up, or all the seeds come up, making it almost impossible to thin them. The common rule of thumb is that the smaller the s … [Read more...]