JORDAN MEADOWS—The three Salt Lake City park rangers were pleasant and knowledgeable as they stood on a bridge just west of Backman Elementary and explained recent changes to the Jordan River Parkway.
They noted how litter and debris had been removed from the water, how overgrown and invasive vegetation had been trimmed back from the parkway trail, and how a shift in the trail’s alignment had both widened the paved pathway and brought it closer to the families who live nearby—a boon for both access and supervision.
But it was a pivot to the wildlife in and along the Jordan River corridor that brought a spark to the eyes of the rangers—Erika Bjorkquist, Joshua Wilson and Kelsey Duquet. They traded stories on the flora and fauna encountered in recent days—an “absolutely breathtaking” heron at the Cornell Wetlands; mandarin ducks nesting near the state fairgrounds; the muskrats, beavers and (non-native) turtles that regularly meander up and down the river’s banks…