Creating the Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve, Salt Lake City

At the Kennecott Utah Copper mine near Salt Lake City in the US, the rehabilitation of one of our environmental offsets was so successful it is now internationally recognised as part of an "Important Bird Area".

When the mine expanded in the 1990s, KUC also needed to expand its tailings impoundment on the edge of a migratory bird wetland habitat.  To offset this loss, it bought nearby land that was heavily degraded from livestock grazing, illegal dumping and off road vehicle use to turn into a pristine shorebird reserve.

Raising the stakes

By law KUC was obliged to compensate on a land-for-land basis.  But it went further. To offset the loss of 1,055 acres it initially bought a 2,500 acre site -large enough to provide significantly more shorebird habitat, and to enhance the biodiversity of the shoreline.

KUC actively worked with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, the US Fish and Wildlife Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nature Conservancy, the National Audubon Society and the Corps of Engineers on developing the site which was opened in 1997.

Only two years later, the 'Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve' was designated the Outstanding Environmental and Engineering Geologic Project by the Association of Engineering Geologists:

Since opening, there has been around a 1,000-fold increase in bird use. Because of this success the reserve has now expanded to over 3,600 acres.

In 2004 the area was recognised as part of an Important Bird Area (IBA) and is now part of BirdLife International's IBA Programme. The purpose of the programme is to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs to conserve birds and other biodiversity - birds being one of the most vital indicators of a healthy environment.

To find out more go to:

Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve
Important Bird Areas programme in Utah
How BirdLife International and business work together
Conservation resources need dramatic scale-up
National Audubon Society announces grand opening of Lee Creek Area