Eagle Mountain Residents Rally to help Protect Eagle Mountain Wildlife

If you live in Eagle Mountain, or travel through Eagle Mountain, it will not take you long to see some of the diverse wildlife that call it and the Cedar Valley home. The current Mayor of Eagle Mountain, Tom Westmoreland, had started the process of trying to identify a wildlife corridor. A group of Eagle Mountain Residents have taken it upon themselves to help the Mayor protect the Wildlife in Eagle Mountain and are currently working with City Staff and Elected Officials to create a Wildlife Corridor. To help with this cause, they have created a Facebook page called “Eagle Mountain Wildlife” where they are asking people to post pictures of the wildlife that is being seen around Eagle Mountain.

Bettina Cameron is one of the Eagle Mountain residents that started working with the Mayor to help progress the idea of a Wildlife Corridor to protect Eagle Mountains diverse wildlife. I asked her about how the Eagle Mountain Wildlife movement got started. Bettina was working with some of her neighbors to levitate several issues they had with a recently proposed development. During that process they ” learned about the Wildlife Corridor the City was looking into.” Bettina continues,

“When we had the Mayor out to the area, Mike Karr, Kevin, Mare and I talked to the Mayor afterward. When we told the Mayor about the idea of the EM Wildlife Learning Center and the opportunities of it, he was very excited about the prospect of it. This was honest excitement on his part, he stayed after seeing the project area, for a couple more hours to talk about the future of this and the future of EM. He truly wants to see nature and EM coexist. With the Mayor’s excitement, it encouraged the three of us to continue our research.

During this research, we realized there was much more at stake and nothing could occur if the migration path was developed by developers. When looking at the migration map, we saw all the vested properties. It then became a much bigger project. We know how short-staffed the City is with the growth of EM. We know their intentions are good, but if things aren’t addressed now, there will be no migration corridor. There will be a loss of the deer because their habitat will be destroyed and the corridor will be blocked with homes. We will also the majority of the wildlife we now see, even in CPR. Kevin and Mare have already seen a tremendous loss of wildlife over the years because of the development around them. After looking at each of the vested developments and seeing there is hope for this being a reality “IF” we act now, we knew we needed to bring more people in to help us achieve this goal. This is when the three of us reached out to everyone who is currently in our EM Wildlife group.”

Kevin and Mare Burningham residents of Eagle Mountain and also part of the Eagle Mountain Wildlife group had this to say about why they fell in love with Eagle Mountain and why they feel residents should help protect the wildlife in Eagle Mountain.

When we were searching for a place to build our family home, we were immediately drawn to the landscape in and around Cedar Pass Ranch. Kevin hunted the hills and fields here in his youth and was familiar with the terrain and abundant wildlife. I was drawn to the mountain views, sage and agricultural land that reminded me of my childhood home. The scenery, the wildlife, the aroma of the sage in the rain and in the heat stirred powerful memories that urged us to call this home. We have lived next door to untouched open space for 22 years now. We have become familiar on a deeply personal level with the various types of wildlife, the daily routines of their lives, and the seasonal movements of the mule deer and other migratory wildlife. This familiarity has led to a deep appreciation of the uniqueness and value of these wild open spaces. As we have watched development eat up the land and seen the wildlife population change, that appreciation has become increasingly weighted with apprehension. We realized years ago we needed to speak up and advocate for preservation of these resources before it became too late. We believe that we are at the edge of a dangerous precipice, a point of no return, where habitat and natural beauty will be lost and cannot be restored.

We were very relieved and happy to hear Mayor Westmoreland speak of the importance of the preserving the migration corridor. We immediately realized that such action could serve to preserve much more — the natural landscapes we love and the wildlife who live and move through it. We also knew that it would be important to look at areas of compatible use by citizens — helping them find value in preservation — including those who may not be drawn to wildlife in the same way we are but who could find pleasure in walking or biking trails away from traffic and noise. We also believed that tremendous learning opportunities exist for our youth and students who can gain hands-on knowledge and first-hand observation of the intricate balance so critical to preservation. As development continues, these natural spaces become fewer and fewer, perhaps becoming obliterated all together. Our core belief is that we must take immediate action to preserve what we can, find creative ways to fund and manage the preserved land, and help open the eyes of residents to the tremendous opportunity and value such preservation can create.

We found neighbors and friends who also heard “the call of the wild” and wanted to step up. We have all joined together now with a common voice, doing what research and work we can to support the City’s vision of a wildlife preservation and education park within the preserved migratory lands.

They have also taken the data from the DWR Mule Deer population tracking project. The DRW has been able to track the migration of Mule Deer through Eagle Mountain using radio collars that have been placed on several of the deer in the area. The goal is to help protect this migration corridor through Eagle Mountain to allow residents to view and enjoy the wildlife with little to no impact from future development.

Bettina Cameron setup the Facebook page. This is from the post where she introduces the group.

“Do you live in Eagle Mountain, UT? If so, please share photos/videos/comments about the wildlife around you. We are working with the City on an Eagle Mountain Wildlife corridor to help protect the wildlife around us, so you if can post the approximate location of the sighting we would appreciate it! Let’s show the world how much Eagle Mountain loves their wildlife!

Also, please share your photos on the https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/eagle-mountain-wildlife website or iNaturalist smartphone app. On the app, our project is called Eagle Mountain Wildlife. When you use the iNaturalist platform researchers (including researchers from the State and Federal Government) can use this data to collect research in specific areas. This can help us preserve the EM Wildlife Corridor and possible funding of it. Thank you! “

As Bettina mentioned, the group would like everyone in Eagle Mountain that sees wildlife to report it on the iNaturalist platform. This app gives us a detailed report that can then be used to help make decisions in the future using the data. The platform makes it easy to report sightings of wildlife. It has a website and apps for almost every type of device out there.

Lynnae Chilcott, an Eagle Mountain resident and member of the Eagle Mountain Wildlife Facebook page explains why she enjoys the wildlife in the area.

“I remember coming out to this area as a kid with my grandpa or with friends to camp and always being in awe of the diversity of wildlife we would spot. I love living in Eagle Mountain, but have always felt bad that by moving out here I’ve played a part in removing some of the natural habitat for that wildlife I enjoyed observing as a kid. Over the past decade, I’ve seen more and more of that land disappearing and with it fewer wildlife sightings. I would love to be able to share the magic I felt as a kid with my daughter and her kids someday as well and just hope that somehow I can do my part to help protect their habitat so when that day comes, I can share that with them and help them understand the importance these beautiful creatures play in our world.”

Below are some of the pictures that Lynnae Chilcott has shared on the Eagle Mountain Wildlife facebook page. Lynnae Chilcott has agreed to allow us to use them here.

Here are some additional photos that were shared on the page. They have been used here with permission for those who took them. (Kevin Burningham, Donna Neaman Dempsey, Challin Allred Petersen, and Heather Ray Swanger)