Salt Lake County funds are allocated to help save 'Owl Meadows'

Conservation • Council, residents applaud move, recognize value of open space.

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah Open Lands campaigned to save open land up Emigration Canyon known as Owl Meadow from development. The Salt Lake County Council voted Tuesday to release a $250,000 grant that would secure the 4.6-acre parcel from residential development. Utah Open Space has raised the rest of the $700,000 needed to acquire the land that straddles Emigration Creek and provides nesting sites for various raptors.,

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah Open Lands is looking for help to save open land up Emigration Canyon known as Owl Meadow from development. The Salt Lake County Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to release a $250,000 grant that would secure the 4.6-acre parcel from residential development. Utah Open Space has raised the rest of the $700,000 needed to acquire the land that straddles Emigration Creek and provides nesting sites for various raptors. Without the county grant from the Open Space Trust Fund, the deal will likely fail.

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah Open Lands is looking for help to save open land up Emigration Canyon known as Owl Meadow from development. The Salt Lake County Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to release a $250,000 grant that would secure the 4.6-acre parcel from residential development. Utah Open Lands has raised the rest of the $700,000 needed to acquire the land that straddles Emigration Creek and provides nesting sites for various raptors. Without the county grant from the Open Space Trust Fund, the deal will likely fail.

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah Open Lands is looking for help to save open land up Emigration Canyon known as Owl Meadow from development. The Salt Lake County Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to release a $250,000 grant that would secure the 4.6-acre parcel from residential development. Utah Open Space has raised the rest of the $700,000 needed to acquire the land that straddles Emigration Creek and provides nesting sites for various raptors. Without the county grant from the Open Space Trust Fund, the deal will likely fail.

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah Open Lands is looking for help to save open land up Emigration Canyon known as Owl Meadow from development. The Salt Lake County Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to release a $250,000 grant that would secure the 4.6-acre parcel from residential development. Utah Open Lands has raised the rest of the $700,000 needed to acquire the land that straddles Emigration Creek and provides nesting sites for various raptors. Without the county grant from the Open Space Trust Fund, the deal will likely fail.

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Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah Open Lands campaigned to save open land up Emigration Canyon known as Owl Meadow from development. The Salt Lake County Council voted Tuesday to release a $250,000 grant that would secure the 4.6-acre parcel from residential development. Utah Open Space has raised the rest of the $700,000 needed to acquire the land that straddles Emigration Creek and provides nesting sites for various raptors., Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah Open Lands is looking for help to save open land up Emigration Canyon known as Owl Meadow from development. The Salt Lake County Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to release a $250,000 grant that would secure the 4.6-acre parcel from residential development. Utah Open Space has raised the rest of the $700,000 needed to acquire the land that straddles Emigration Creek and provides nesting sites for various raptors. Without the county grant from the Open Space Trust Fund, the deal will likely fail. Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah Open Lands is looking for help to save open land up Emigration Canyon known as Owl Meadow from development. The Salt Lake County Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to release a $250,000 grant that would secure the 4.6-acre parcel from residential development. Utah Open Lands has raised the rest of the $700,000 needed to acquire the land that straddles Emigration Creek and provides nesting sites for various raptors. Without the county grant from the Open Space Trust Fund, the deal will likely fail. Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah Open Lands is looking for help to save open land up Emigration Canyon known as Owl Meadow from development. The Salt Lake County Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to release a $250,000 grant that would secure the 4.6-acre parcel from residential development. Utah Open Space has raised the rest of the $700,000 needed to acquire the land that straddles Emigration Creek and provides nesting sites for various raptors. Without the county grant from the Open Space Trust Fund, the deal will likely fail. Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Utah Open Lands is looking for help to save open land up Emigration Canyon known as Owl Meadow from development. The Salt Lake County Council is expected to decide Tuesday whether to release a $250,000 grant that would secure the 4.6-acre parcel from residential development. Utah Open Lands has raised the rest of the $700,000 needed to acquire the land that straddles Emigration Creek and provides nesting sites for various raptors. Without the county grant from the Open Space Trust Fund, the deal will likely fail.

By Mike Gorrell The Salt Lake Tribune

· November 2, 2016 3:45 pm

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Emigration Canyon's "Owl Meadows" apparently will remain a safe haven for owls and raptors.

The Salt Lake County Council pledged to provide $250,000 from its Open Space Trust Fund to support efforts by the nonprofit Utah Open Lands to acquire the riparian habitat just up the canyon from Ruth's Diner.

"This property has special values," Utah Open Lands Executive Director Wendy Fisher said Tuesday, shortly before the council voted unanimously to use money from the fund designed to preserve the county's dwindling supply of undeveloped lands.

Heather Dove, Great Salt Lake Audubon president, added: "People cherish their open space and the wildlife that live in it. This is one of the last pieces the way it was before settlement."

Fisher's group has until Monday to raise $700,000 to buy the 4.6-acre parcel. About $400,000 has been collected, she said, and two donors promised to contribute the other $50,000 if the county came through.

Many canyon residents — as well as wildlife supporters from far and wide — joined Great Salt Lake Audubon and the Willard L. Eccles Foundation in providing the money, Fisher said.

Steve Denkers, a 32-year canyon resident whose mother was an Eccles, applauded the campaign and said he was glad to promote it with a challenge grant that the county's funding seemed to secure.

Emigration Canyon residents are appreciative, said Heather Ross, because they don't have a recreation center nearby, or a swimming pool.

"Our athletic equipment is the rubber on our shoes [for hiking or jogging] and riding bikes," said Ross, who asked the council to "recognize the value of open space."

The council does, responded Councilman Sam Granato, whose district includes Emigration Canyon. "The owls need all the love and protection we can give them."

mikeg@sltrib.com