Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a 74,000-acre (299 km2) National Wildlife Refuge in Utah, established in 1927. Leased by the government from private property owners.
The refuge encompasses the Bear River and its delta where it flows into the northern part of the Great Salt Lake in eastern Box Elder County. It includes a variety of habitats, such as open water, mudflats, wetlands, and uplands. The refuge hosts millions of migratory birds each year including species such as bald eagle and tundra swan. There are more than 41,000 acres (170 km2) of freshwater wetlands. Though disputed by the Federal and State governments the rights to the land, it was leased from the Knudson Trust, and was eventually purchased for an undisclosed sum. The surrounding lands are occupied by multiple hunting clubs along the migration route, also owned by the Knudson Trust, and much of the income from Ducks Unlimited, Canadian Goose Club and various other groups benefit the restoration of the vast marshland. Starting in 1983, rising floodwaters from the Great Salt Lake severely impacted the refuge. The flooding of the refuge is at the center of Terry Tempest Williams's noted nonfiction book, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. In 2006, a new wildlife education center off Interstate 15 opened to attract visitors once more.
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