[Birdtalk] re: Bear River

[Carol Gwynn]

I've enjoyed the commentary. Here are my two bits. Old-timers will 
remember that the road to Bear River used to be paved. Redoing the job 
would not be anything new. It would be sort of a restoration project. 
As for the idea that paving the road will ruin wildlife observation 
opportunities, this might not be the case. I bird the Antelope Island 
Causeway very frequently, and it is paved with a wide shoulder to pull 
over and watch the critters. The wide shoulder also happens to be used 
as a bike lane. Also, the road to Garr Ranch was fairly recently paved. 
I wish the shoulder on that road were wider, but careful wildlife 
viewing is still possible. I don't believe that paving the road out to 
the entrance would have a dramatic impact on the wildlife, since most 
of the refuge is still  not accessible to us regular folks.

I say pave the road to the refuge so it doesn't hammer people's 
vehicles so much,  and leave the loop on the refuge unpaved. Yes, I've 
driven my car through flooded portions of the road in years past, and 
it wasn't all that fun.

Carol Gwynn