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Jericho Sand Dunes - 1976
Aquatic snail shells mixed with the sands at Little Sahara Sand Dunes
were among the unexpected finds some youngsters made during the Utah Nature
Study Society's outing there on March 20, 1976. One of these, the tiny
watercress snail, was undoubtedly blown by high winds from a waterhole,
around whose edges were abandoned dried shells.
An owl pellet composed almost entirely of mouse hair showed that owls and
mice at one time were in the Dunes. With the number of people now visiting
the Dunes (10,000 on some weekends), the owls have left, though tracks of
mice around holes in the sand show that they still inhabit the area. One
member spotted an antelope ground squirrel, and tracks of cottontail rabbits
and kangaroo rats were plentiful.
Some fresh diggings were investigated, and beetles were uncovered. A common
one was the dung beetle, which sometimes is seen rolling a ball of fecal
material from a rabbit or other mammal, to a suitable burial place. An egg
is then laid on the ball, which serves as food for the hatched young. This
is an example of Nature's pattern of recycling. The observation of a beetle
making tracks in the sand made more meaningful the sight of such tracks
which often abruptly ended. Digging at this spot (if you had found the end
rather than the beginning) would uncover the beetle which had made the tracks.
Desert plants lack great masses of growth, which would require more water
than falls in the area during an average year. Plant life is sparse here.
Mormon Tea (Ephedra) is a favorite of deer and cattle. The bushes
along the rocky limestone outcropping on which the group climbed, showed
that they had been browsed, though not during the past year. Along the
edges of the dunes big sage, horsebrush, four-winged saltbush, rabbitbrush,
and others struggled to hold the sand. But with the increased impact of
people, it is a losing battle.
Eleven years ago, when the Utah Nature Study Society first camped at the
sand dunes over the pre-Easter holiday, we had the place all to ourselves.
This is no longer possible since the dune buggies have become popular. The
area we went to this year is a new one, not yet dedicated, and there were
only three dune buggies on the dunes. It is hoped that this area will be
reserved for the general public which wants to hike over the rolling dunes
and to be free from the intense noise of those vehicles.
The original camp site area had over a hundred motorcycles, and numerous
dune buggies. It was no place for a walk on the sands to spot tracks of
wildlife or to enjoy a bit of quiet solitude. We wonder if these dune
buggy and motorcycle people consider themselves outdoorsmen?
-- by Stanley B. Mulaik
Dedication
The Utah Nature Study Society received a prominent place on the printed
program for the dedication of the Little Sahara Recreation Area in Juab
County, Utah, which was held on Saturday, the 17th of April at 10:00 A.M.
at the Jericho Picnic Area, a recently completed development. The program
listed the Society as conducting a Nature Walk in the Jericho Picnic Area
at 1:00 P.M.
It was a cool afternoon, with flecks of snow occasionally passing by, but
several families showed up at the appointed hour. The area is rich in shrubs,
mammal and insect tracks, annuals like the sunflowers and the snakeweed, and
a good variety of lichens on the rocks bordering the dunes. Stan and Dodie
Mulaik, who attended the dedication, led this walk (which could better be
described as a "creep") during the hour's duration.
The sand dunes are still interesting, but the offerings in natural history
have greatly deteriorated since the first pre-Easter campout which the UNSS
held there in 1965.
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