Research
"Wisdom is not the knowledge of many things, but the perception of underlying unity of seemingly unrelated things."
----John Burnet
Current Research
The refuge conducts regular monitoring of plants, animals, and water conditions and also works with others to conduct original research on the refuge.
Marbled Godwits Tracked with Satellite Telemetry
In April 2006, USGS scientist Adrian Farmer and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) biologist Bridget Olson began fitting Marbled Godwits captured at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, north of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, with lightweight, solar-powered satellite transmitters. Following release, the first two birds proceeded north, one to Saskatchewan (“Sassy”), the other to Alberta (“Berta”). The two have been tracked steadily since then. Two other godwits were fitted with transmitters in August 2006. All birds wintered in coastal locations in Mexico. Two more birds were fitted with satellite transmitters in January of 2007 near San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico. Five more Marbled Godwits will be receiving satellite transmitters in April, 2007. See http://www.fort.usgs.gov/Resources/GoGodwits/
Past Research
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge has been a premier research site since its inception. Some of the first research on avian botulism was conducted here beginning in the 1920’s. Throughout the history of the refuge, researchers have found many questions to answer in the marshes of Bear River. Some of these projects include:
- Avian botulism
- Trumpeter swan translocation
- Great Salt Lake water bird and habitat distribution
- Habitat use by American coots and redheads
- White-faced Ibis productivity
- Restoring breeding populations of waterfowl to Bear River
- Predator movements and home ranges on the refuge
