Sue’s Pond & Shorebird Playa in the Logan River Wetlands, Logan City Wetlands Mitigation Area, Courtesy & © Linda L’Ai, Photographer
- Contents:
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- Overview: Sue’s Pond & Shorebird Playa in the Logan River Wetlands, Logan City Wetlands Mitigation Area
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- Location
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- Flora & Fauna
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- Fauna-Animal Life at and near the Logan River Wetlands, Logan City Mitigation Wetlands ponds
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- eBird
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- Jose Pacheco’s Bird Photos from Sue’s Pond
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- Flora-Native and Introduced Plants
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- Surveys
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- History
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- Planning
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- Funding
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- Implementation
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- Enhancements
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- Replacement Pump
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- Bench
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- Viewing/Photography Hide a.k.a. Blind
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- Where is Dam Slough and where does it originate?
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- Management
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- External References
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- Birding in Cache County, Sue’s Pond, Logan Mitigation Wetlands, Logan River Wetlands, UtahBirds.org
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- Cache Valley Birding Trails, A Self-guided Tour, Cache Valley Visitors Bureau, Bridgerland Audubon, Logan Canyon National Scenic Byway,
We are under construction – Please send questions, updates and pictures to webmaster@bridgerlandaudubon.org
Overview
The Bridgerland Audubon Society worked with the City of Logan to establish Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa in the Logan River Wetlands Park. Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa is south of 200 North, west of 1900 W, south of the Logan River Wetlands Park Access Road, between Dam Slough to the east, and the viewing berm to the west. There are 3 mitigation ponds against the 1900 West. The southmost designated as the Leachate treatment Wetland. The Sue’s pond playa west of those ponds can be reached by walking the Wetland Mitigation road from the gate near the sign. Bridgerland Audubon supplied the sign, the pump and secured the water from Logan City for the playa. The pond and playa is often called “Sue’s Pond” because Sue Drown, of Bridgerland Audubon, coordinated funding and creation of the playa with Logan City.
Location
Drive west from Logan on 200 N Street, US Highway 30 towards Tremonton.
After you pass the Cache County Detention Center and Logan Environmental, turn south at 1900 West, between DD Auto & Salvage and Axis Automated Ironworks.
About 500 feet south on 1900 West, turn right and stop before the gate on Wetland Mitigation Road.
Read the instructions and walk in, or open the gate and carefully drive in.
We recommend you walk during breeding season, as many shorebirds will nest in the roadway.
Mitigation Ponds (Logan River Wetlands) on Google Maps
Sue’s Pond Sign in the Logan River Wetlands, Logan City Wetland Mitigation Area,
Courtesy & © 2008 Jason Pietrzak, Photographer
Flora & Fauna
Fauna-Animal Life at and near the Logan River Wetlands, Logan City Mitigation Wetlands ponds
eBird
Sue’s Pond–Logan River Wetlands and Shorebird Playa, eBird, https://ebird.org/hotspot/L586105
eBird lists 177 species recorded for this location https://ebird.org/hotspot/L586105/bird-list
Printable Checklist https://ebird.org/printableList?regionCode=L586105
Jose Pacheco’s Photos of Birds from Sue’s Pond
Common Tern, Courtesy & © Jose Pacheco, Photographer |
Franklin’s Gull, Courtesy & © Jose Pacheco, Photographer |
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Bullock’s Oriole, Courtesy & © Jose Pacheco, Photographer |
Western Kingbird, Courtesy & © Jose Pacheco, Photographer |
Female Yellow-headed Blackbird, Courtesy & © Jose Pacheco, Photographer |
Common Yellowthroat, Courtesy & © Jose Pacheco, Photographer |
Flora-Native and Introduced Plants
Plantings
Frank Howe’s Recommended Riparian Species (Downloads File)
Linda L’Ai & Wayne Wurtsbaugh’s Photographs of Sue’s Pond within The Logan River Wetlands and The Logan City Mitigation Wetlands
Looking south towards Sue’s Pond |
Looking east from the observation mound |
Looking NW. Phragmites and tamarisk in pond. Industrial buildings to the north |
Looking SE. Teasle in foreground |
Sue’s Pond within The Logan River Wetlands and The Logan City Mitigation Wetlands, October 23, 2020, Courtesy & © Linda L’Ai, Photographer |
Sue’s Pond within The Logan River Wetlands and The Logan City Mitigation Wetlands, October 23, 2020, Courtesy & © Linda L’Ai, Photographer |
Sue’s Pond within The Logan River Wetlands and The Logan City Mitigation Wetlands, October 23, 2020, Courtesy & © Linda L’Ai, Photographer |
Sue’s Pond within The Logan River Wetlands and The Logan City Mitigation Wetlands, October 23, 2020, Courtesy & © Linda L’Ai, Photographer |
Original Sue’s Pond Sign within The Logan River Wetlands and The Logan City Mitigation Wetlands, Courtesy & © 2008 Jason Pietrzak, Photographer |
Courtesy Logan City, Tyler Richards & Issa Hamud
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| “Much of the land in and around the [City of Logan- Integrated Municipal Waste Management Facility] study area has been identified as wetland by the National Wetland Inventory (NWI). Much of this land is privately held and is seasonally wet, limiting agricultural operations.
Lands west of the landfill (across 1900 West) have been identified for the construction of mitigation wetlands (approx. 141 acres). Currently about 21 acres of this land has been used as a source for extracting capping material for the current landfill operations and for leachate treatment and monitoring. There are existing design proposals for developing grades and plantings more likely to attract shoreland birds that have been developed by others, but no detailed design development for a constructed wetland system has been developed in the study area.” Page 26, Logan City Integrated Municipal Waste Management Campus, 2010, https://cms9files.revize.com/loganut/departments/enviromental/Documents/IMWMP_Current.pdf |
Mudflat Planting Plan for the Logan Mitigation Ponds
Document prepared by Craig Johnson and Alissa Salmore
Courtesy Hilary Shughart
View the above as a PDF in a separate tab
| BAS Wins RAPZ Tax Funding for the Logan Wetlands ParkWord’s just in from BAS Treasurer Sue Drown that Bridgerland Audubon has been awarded $30,000 in RAPZ tax funds towards work on a planned wetland park to provide bird viewing opportunities on Logan City property on 1900 West just west of the landfill.
Drown said the wetland park will benefit both birds and birders, as well as help to fulfill one of the City of Logan Environmental Division’s goals, to increase public access to birding sites on city property. Plans for the park, which has been dreamt of since the 1990’s, call for excavation of a 14-acre shallow wetland playa, west of the existing ponds along the road. The property is part of the city’s wetland mitigation bank, Drown said, and Logan City is partnering with Bridgerland Audubon to make the area more attractive to migrating shorebirds. BAS has pledged $10,000 towards the collaborative effort, and the funds raised by the Birdathon will go towards that pledge. Work already completed on the wetland park includes preparation of landscape plans donated by Dr. Craig Johnson of Utah State University’s Landscape Architecture and Evironmental Planning Department and graduate student Alissa Salmore. The plans include a bird viewing deck, improved access road, and plantings of native grasses. Drown said the plans were a key element of her successful grand application. “They made it all tangible.” she said. –Miriam Hugentobler
Stilt Editor Summer 2006 Stilt, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/documents/BAS-Stilts/Stilt-2006/Vol%2035%20Issue%206.pdf |
Cache County 2006 RAPZ Tax Projects, Click on #12 for Bridgerland Audubon Society, https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/16592e31fe3043479dd052fb2511bcb6/page/-2006/
Implementation
Sue’s Pond within The Logan River Wetlands and The Logan City Mitigation Wetlands was built with Bridgerland Audubon Recreation, 2006 Arts, Parks, and Zoos (RAPZ) grant and Logan City Environmental Funding by Logan City and KCA Construction. In Sue’s words: “Assuming the dates on the photos were correct, then there was some road construction in 2006. If I recall, we did plan a parking area and a raised viewing area made by building up a bit of a berm, both on the north side of the pond. To be honest, I don’t recall that we did that before the more careful contour work on the playa pond itself, but I guess so. That work was probably done by the City. I know BAS did not pay for that.
The photos dated May 2007 are of the building of the pond itself and the pump installation and piping. I believe that Craig Allen of KCA Construction is the guy who knew how to run that triangular-wheeled excavating equipment, which was designed for working in wetlands/sensitive grading areas. Craig is the guy in the white tee shirt holding the post with what is likely an elevation sensor that looks like a cell phone (pink-capped paint can in his other hand), photo dated 5-11-2007.
The City did not do the pond construction. KCA did. That was paid for by the $30,000 RAPZ tax grant that Bridgerland Audubon won. We identified, hired, and paid for the pump and the construction.” [Sue Drown via email Oct 4, 2021]
The following images of the construction excavation and construction process are courtesy Sue Drown.
Original Sue’s Pond Sign within The Logan River Wetlands and The Logan City Mitigation Wetlands, Built with Bridgerland Audubon RAPZ Funding by Logan City and KCA Construction, Image Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
Craig Allen, KCA Construction, Creating Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
Case Tractor Treads |
Scraper Tires, |
Reference Level for Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, |
Case Tractor and Pull Scrapers |
CAT Belly-loading Earthmover, |
Earthmovers, |
Earthmoving with the CAT, Creating Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
Earthmoving in the background, |
Initial contours for Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, |
Contours for Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
Observation Berm, Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
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Water for Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, |
Installed Pump for Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, |
Installed Pump for Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
Pump for Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
Pump Controls and Timer for Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
Pumped Water for Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
Pumped Water Initially Filling Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
Pumped Water Initially Filling Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
June 25, 2007, Initial Flooding of Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
June 25, 2007, Initial Flooding of Sue’s Pond and Shorebird Playa, Courtesy & © Sue Drown, Photographer |
| There’s a brand new shorebird pond in Cache Valley! BAS (Sue Drown, really) has been working with Logan City to establish a shallow playa-type pond for shorebirds west of the Logan Landfill. It will have water for spring and fall migration seasons, but will go dry during the summer months. Despite initial appearances, it is open to the public. The access will be marked with signs soon. For now, pedestrian access is OK any time. Driving access is OK when the gate is not locked. Beware of mud! Turn south on 1900 West from Valley View Highway (200 North) and drive a few hundred yards to the first gate and dirt road on your right. There is a small pullout just south of that gate where you can observe a roadside pond. The new pond is just west of the roadside pond, not visible from the road. Logan City as also built a nice wetland at the west end of the dirt road. These are accessible wet spots – a rare thing for Cache Valley.
As the new pond “matures”, the plant and insect populations should provide good feed for migrant shorebirds. Right now, it’s just being filled for the first time, so it will be interesting to see what birds find it. If you see anything particularly interesting, email Nancy Williams, our local hotline coordinator, at nanwill@cc.usu.edu. Thanks, Sue, for all the diligent work! This project was made possible by a substantial grant from the Cache County RAPZ tax fund. –Brandon Spencer
Stilt Editor October 2007 https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/documents/BAS-Stilts/Stilt-2007/Vol%2036%20Issue%208.pdf |
Replacement Pump
—To be added
Viewing and Photography Hide (a.k.a. Photography Blind)
The photo above is from a structure built at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. This was the model for the structure built at Sue’s pond |
In-Progress View of Photo Window |
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In-Progress View of Photo Window |
Access View of Completed Structure |
In August 2022, Bridgerland Audubon partnered with the Cache Valley Chapter of Delta Waterfowl (Chair Kevin Booth) to build a photography hide at the Logan River Mitigation Wetlands, a.k.a. Sue’s Pond. We partnered on the materials costs, which exceeded $1,400. The viewing hide or photography blind location is based on the original plans for the playa.
Where is Dam Slough and where does it originate?
Dam Slough
Screenshot Courtesy USGS
Topo map may be purchased from https://store.usgs.gov/
Dam Slough is marked on the plat maps below as the water to the west and above the Aquatic Animal Health and Research Center formerly known as the DWR Fisheries Experiment Station on 200 North US HWY 30. It collects water above and east of the DWR property, then it flows under 200 N/US-30 past the mitigation ponds and then west along the southern border. A branch joins from the south side of the former landfill at the point the stream flows west to later join the meandering Logan River.
There are 18 flowing artesian wells on the DWR property with water rights of 9.45 cubic feet per second (cfs). Water usage is approximately 4.5 cfs. Temperatures range from 54°F to 65°F. Water from nearby wetlands also pools above the research center and flows south and then west.
See Cache County Parcel ID: 05-061-0012 1970 – Dam Slough https://gis.cachecounty.gov/PlatMaps1970/Book_5/05-061.jpg
https://gis.cachecounty.gov/PlatMaps1970/Book_5/05-059.jpg
https://gis.cachecounty.gov/OwnerMaps_2006/05/05-058-01.jpg
https://gis.cachecounty.gov/OwnerMaps_2006/05/05-060-01.jpg
Cache Humane Society – Dam Slough, https://gis.cachecounty.gov/OwnerMaps/05/05-059-01.pdf
The slough is on this 1916 map, but not labeled, https://mapstore.mytopo.com/products/historic_30x30_logan_utah_1916?srsltid=AfmBOop95vYWZ6jUWtUG9uy41YzFqFyRbQI0TrkP8QQ9sDq9I5kogq8c
Water Right 25-5402 Service Area, https://maps.waterrights.utah.gov/EsriMap/map.asp?layersToAdd=PodSearch&q=25-5402#25-5402
Cache Valley Canals & Service Areas, https://cacheut.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=fcde52cfc3a948d5ae167a812448a042
Management
After Sue moved, Bob Atwood managed the site for Bridgerland Audubon Society and coordinated with Logan City. The site is currently managed by Wayne Wurtsbaugh.
External References:
Sue’s Pond, UtahBirds.org, http://www.utahbirds.org/counties/cache/SuesPonds.htm
| Logan River Wetlands GPS Approximate N41º 43.876’, W111º 52.800’ (Sp, F) From the Visitors Bureau, head west on 200 North (Hwy. 30) for 2.2 miles. Turn left on 1900 West just past the landfill. After a few hundred yards, look for a gate and dirt road on the right. Two ponds can be scanned from the road. Read the sign at the gate before entering. There is a shallow playa pond behind the roadside ponds that is not visible from the road. Check this pond often in spring and fall, as it is the most accessible spot for shorebirds including Great Blue Herons, Dowitchers and Baird’s, Western and Least Sandpipers. Enjoy the black-headed Franklin’s Gulls, delicate Black-necked Stilts and a variety of ducks. In cold months, scout these ponds for Herring, Thayers and other visiting winter gulls. Cache Valley Birding Trails, A Self-guided Tour, Cache Valley Visitors Bureau, Bridgerland Audubon, Logan Canyon National Scenic Byway, https://explorelogan.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/birdingtrails.pdf |