Our project is located in South Jordan City, Utah and aims to restore 120 acres of Critical Migratory Bird Habitat on the Jordan River. During the past 10 years, TreeUtah has planted over 60,000 native seedlings on 90 acres of the site. TreeUtah's ecological restoration team is responsible for the on-the-ground management of this vital riparian habitat. Each year our team organizes volunteers to conduct seedling plantings and watering as well as providing for invasive species control. This project is almost entirely volunteer driven and generates over 4000 volunteer hours each year. We are not only restoring vital migratory song-bird habitat, we also foster a greater sense of community in today's younger population.

Our project not only impacts the avian residents of South Jordan City but also the human inhabitants in the entire Salt Lake Valley. This project directly impacts the lives of hundreds of young people each year. For instance, we have partnered with the University of Utah's Lowell Bennion Center and the Department of Environmental Studies to provide an outdoor classroom for hundreds of students in service learning courses. We also work with adjudicated youth programs as well as several drug and alcohol treatment centers. On the site these young people learn about tree biology, gain teambuilding skills and leadership skills. We hope that every volunteer leaves the site with a sense of community and a greater connection to our natural environment.

Some of the objectives of our project are easily quantifiable while others are more ambiguous. Creating and protecting critical habitats are easily measured in scientific terms, (mortality, growth rate, percent cover etc.); however, the impact to the community is much more difficult to measure. The full impact of our work with young people will not be seen until they are adults. We believe that we are not only planting the seedlings of trees but also the seeds of change in today's youth. One of our goals is to empower members of the community so that they will take a larger role in the protection of trees and green space. We also hope that they will choose life-ways that are more sustainable to the natural environment.

Why this Project Matters In the 1970's the first cries of alarm were raised due to the decline of our migratory songbirds. Scientists have suggested that our migratory songbirds are like the proverbial miner's canary--their disappearance indicates that our environment is unhealthy.

Since then, a program called "Partners in Flight" has formed to protect the song birds. This program is a cooperative endeavor between International, Federal, State, and private organizations. The Utah Chapter of Partners in Flight, with the help of many other agencies and individuals, has been conducting a local long term study of songbird populations.

This research shows that approximately 75% of the estimated 270 bird species that breed in the state, about 200 species, one way or another make use of riparian habitat, the corridors of trees and shrubs that grow along our streams and rivers like the Jordan River.

Local avian ecologists have determined that 98 species of birds in Utah require lower elevation riparian habitat. So if this habitat disappears from an area, these 98 species of birds will also disappear from the area. In the western United States we have less than 2% of our riparian habitat remaining in its natural condition.

The degradation and loss of the Salt Lake Valley's wetland habitats and riparian zones during the last 150 years makes remaining waterways, such as the Jordan River and its adjacent wetlands, vital to the survival of birds.

The Jordan River is a migration and habitat corridor between Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake, and a biological sanctuary between Utah's West Desert and the Wasatch Range. It is also located at the heart of the Great Salt Lake flyway and is a crucial stopover for hundreds of thousands of migrating birds each season.