Farmington Bay

Farmington Bay is the part of the Lake in between Antelope Island and the southeast corner of the Lake, where the Jordan River deposits Water from Utah Lake, or at least deposits whatever is left after Salt Lake City has had a chance to extract water and dump contaminants. Thanks to the fresh water from the Jordan, Farmington Bay is one of only two places in the Lake (alongside the Bear River Delta) where fish can be found in the lake, and thus is an important stopover point for migratory waterfowl looking to carbo-load before a long flight. The part of the lake closest to Salt Lake City, Farmington Bay is also one of the most threatened—developments related to the Legacy Highway in Davis County, the expansion of the Salt Lake City International Airport, and the Inland Port all threaten the ecological resources of Farmington Bay. Today, much of the Bay is managed as Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area for the purposes of hunting.

Farmington Bay, March 17th 1937. Photo by Clifton Bray

Click here for the full oral history with Don Paul

Don Paul was born in Cedar City, Utah. He was raised in Clearfield and graduated from Weber State University. He later worked as a conservation officer for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and then as an information specialist. He also worked on a television program called “Utah Trails” and participated in writing a book on raptors in Utah. Don was the first non-game manager in Utah for the DWR and was the principal biologist for the reintroduction of Peregrines to northern Utah. He then became Chief of the Information Education Section before becoming a wildlife biologist for the Great Salt Lake. Don also became the first avian biologist with the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Project. In this interview, Don talks about his formative years and his parents’ influence on his love of the outdoors. He also talks about his first experiences exploring the Great Salt Lake. He discusses his education, which led him to a career as a biologist. He also discusses the Great Salt Lake’s ecological diversity, complexity, and importance, and compares it with other similar ecosystems in the world. Mr. Paul goes on to discusses the changes he has seen to the Great Salt Lake, as well as challenges to its ecosystem. He also describes his work with the Linking Communities Program.

Construction at Farmington Bay, National Park Service, March 17th, 1937. Photograph by Cliff Bray. From the Classified Photograph Collection, copyright Utah State Historical Society.

Click here for the full oral history with Kyle Stone

Kyle Stone was born in Ogden, Utah. He is a lifelong Weber County resident and graduated from Fremont High School in Plain City. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in zoology at Weber State University, where he worked for Dr. John Cavitt in the avian ecology lab. Kyle has worked for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources since 2010 and is a biologist with Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program, working mostly with brine shrimp and birds. In this interview, Kyle describes his daily and seasonal work as a biologist. He also discusses giving school presentations, including regular fishery classes for the DWR at Brigham Young University.

Construction at Farmington Bay, National Park Service, March 17th, 1937. Photograph by Cliff Bray. From the Classified Photograph Collection, copyright Utah State History.

Click here for the full oral history with J. Wallace Gwynn

Dr. Gwynn was employed by the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) for thirty-four years as the primary geologist assigned to the Great Salt Lake. In this interview, Dr. Gwynn talks about his experience working with the UGS, as well as his work at the Great Salt Lake. Topics include brine shrimp, lake minerals, salt mining, oil exploration, and the impact of the mid-1980 high water years on the lake and his work. Dr. Gwynn edited two anthology publications on the Great Salt Lake Great Salt Lake: a scientific, historical and economic overview, published in 1980, and Great Salt Lake: an overview of change, published in 2002. Dr. Gwynn received Bachelor’s Degree and PhD from the University of Utah in mineralogy and allied fields. He worked for a few years in industry before joining the UGS.

Long-billed Dowitchers flying over Farmington Bay, Great Salt Lake, Utah. From the Great Salt Lake Bird Archive Photograph Collection, Marriott Digital Library.

Click here for the full oral history with Kyle Stone

In this clip, Stone talks about lightning over Carrington Bay and Antelope Island during brine shrimp sampling surveys.

Franklin's Gulls, Farmington Bay, Great Salt Lake, Utah. From the Great Salt Lake Bird Archive Photograph Collection, Marriott Digital Library.