Utah Motus Network: Phase II Build-out
Project ID: 7206
Status: Current
Fiscal Year: 2025
Submitted By: N/A
Project Manager: Russell Norvell
PM Agency: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
PM Office: Salt Lake Office
Lead: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
WRI Region: Statewide
Description:
The Motus Network (motus.org) is an international collaboration that uses automated radio telemetry to track migratory animals. The transmitters used are small enough to place on birds and bats and allow us to track most migratory SGCNs for the first time. The Utah Motus Working Group, co-led by the UDWR, has identified and prioritized locations for Motus stations. Phase I (2023) saw 18 of these purchased and installed around the GSL. Phase II will expand the network in key areas statewide.
Location:
Statewide, in priority areas (e.g.. WMAs) identified and approved by the Utah Motus Working group. The 3 remaining Phase I high priority sites in the GL/Utah Lake area will tackled first
Project Need
Need For Project:
The greatest impediment for managers of migratory small-bodied SGCNs, which comprise the vast majority of Utah's SGCN birds, has been the lack of decent data on migration pathways, timing, duration, and wintering areas. We just don't know what threats our birds face the other 9 months of the year. Being able to answer these questions about migratory species is crucial for their conservation, and for identifying high-value conservation sites. But migratory life stages are nearly unstudied since traditional GPS telemetry is far too heavy for most birds to carry and too expensive to deploy in meaningful numbers. However, a new system for tracking movements and survival of migratory animals is the Motus radio telemetry receiver network (motus.org). This network is an international collaborative that successfully identifies stopover site duration, connected migratory routes, post-fledging dispersal and survival, and adult survival and fidelity on a landscape-scale; parameters that cannot be easily estimated using non-tagged birds. While the Motus network is highly connected in the eastern United States, the western interior is seriously lagging in coverage and connectivity, limiting the ability to obtain sample sizes large enough to robustly model demographic parameters from tagged birds. The expansion of the Motus network has been identified by state agencies in the Pacific Flyway Council and in Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) as a high priority, to benefit game and non-game species alike.
Objectives:
Phase II: The UDWR will: 1) work with the Utah Motus Working Group to identify and prioritize approximately 20 additional strategic locations for Motus station installations; 2) grant Tracy Aviary up to $100,000.00 to assist with the Motus Station Installation Project; 3) only agree to costs for installation of Motus stations approved by the Utah Motus Working group; and 4) assist with entering the project and completion reports through the Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI) site as needed. The Tracy Aviary will: 1) use these funds for costs associated with the Motus Station Installation Project proposed through the UPCD Watershed Restoration Initiative, and only at locations specified by the Utah Motus Working Group; 2) complete project activities by June 30, 2026; and 3) oversee project implementation and work with the project managers to submit a completion report in the WRI online database within 3 months of completion of the project or by June 30, 2026.
Project Location/Timing Justification (Why Here? Why Now?):
Its is critical to build out the Utah Motus network in coordination with manager and researchers already deploying Motus tags on SGCNs, and in close coordination with other western states in our Flyway who have also made major commitments and investments in recent years.
Relation To Management Plan:
Utah's Wildlife Action Plan, virtually all Federal Agency Management plans.
Fire / Fuels:
N/A
Water Quality/Quantity:
N/A
Compliance:
This varies with location. The UDWR and Tracy Aviary work directly with landowners and land managers at the specific locations to pursue the required NEPA (e.g., with the BLM for a station at Rozel Point), MOU's (e.g., with Utah State Parks to install stations on existing Parks infrastructure), and federal facilities management plan requirements (e.g. electrical and building inspections were required at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge).
Methods:
Installation methods will necessarily vary with installation location, facility owner/operator requirements, connection to grid power and internet, etc. For example, Phase I stations have utilized existing infrastructure such as roof tops and radio masts whenever possible, but have also (donated from Pacific Power) installed dedicated telephone poles, free-standing radio masts, and fully remote solar-powered and cell-connected stations (e.g., on Gunnison Island)
Monitoring:
N/A
Partners:
The Tracy Aviary
Future Management:
Information on occupancy and abundance of species of concern during migration is the foundation for game and non-game bird species conservation and management (Fink et al. 2020). The data collected here can be used to understand the spatial and temporal migratory connectivity of populations during migration, can help identify bottlenecks that are affecting breeding populations, identify stopover duration and locations, create the specific demographic estimates of adult and juvenile migration and stopover survival that are required to identify and conserve climate resilient high quality stopover sites.
Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources:
N/A
Budget WRI/DWR Other Budget Total In-Kind Grand Total
$100,000.00 $0.00 $100,000.00 $39,800.00 $139,800.00
Item Description WRI Other In-Kind Year
Other Tracy Aviary Motus Technician on station implementation, 360 hours @ $13.89/hr $0.00 $0.00 $5,000.00 2025
Contractual Services Grant to Tracy Aviary for Motus Station Installation $100,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 2025
Personal Services (permanent employee) Tracy Aviary Conservation Ecologist and Director of Conservation time on Motus station planning and implementation, 1160 hours @ $30/hr $0.00 $0.00 $34,800.00 2025
Funding WRI/DWR Other Funding Total In-Kind Grand Total
$100,000.00 $0.00 $100,000.00 $39,800.00 $139,800.00
Source Phase Description Amount Other In-Kind Year
Tracy Aviary Tracy Aviary Conservation Ecologist, Director of Conservation, and Motus Technician time on Motus station planning and implementation $0.00 $0.00 $39,800.00 2025
Species Protection Account E201 $100,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 2025
Species
Species "N" Rank HIG/F Rank
American Bittern N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
American White Pelican N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
Band-tailed Pigeon N4 R4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inventory Techniques Poorly Developed NA
Bendire's Thrasher N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
Black Rosy-finch N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
Black Swift N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
Burrowing Owl N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
Burrowing Owl N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inventory Techniques Poorly Developed NA
Flammulated Owl N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
Lewis's Woodpecker N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
Northern Pygmy-owl N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
Olive-sided Flycatcher N4
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inventory Techniques Poorly Developed NA
Snowy Plover N3
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Ecology and Life History NA
Southwestern Willow Flycatcher N1
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
White-faced Ibis N4
Threat Impact
Conversion from Flood to Sprinkler Irrigation Low
Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo N3
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inadequate Understanding of Distribution or Range NA
White-winged Dove R5
Threat Impact
Conversion from Flood to Sprinkler Irrigation Low
Cinnamon Teal R1
Threat Impact
Water Allocation Policies Very High
Gadwall R1
Threat Impact
Water Allocation Policies Very High
Mallard R1
Threat Impact
Water Allocation Policies Very High
Redhead R1
Threat Impact
Water Allocation Policies Very High
Other Ducks R3
Threat Impact
Water Allocation Policies Very High
Pinyon Jay N3
Threat Impact
Data Gaps - Inventory Techniques Poorly Developed NA
Habitats
Habitat
Project Comments
Comment 03/22/2024 Type: 1 Commenter: Paul Thompson
Russ - the objectives for this project indicate that the project will be completed by June 30, 2026. FY25 ends on June 30, 2025. Just clarifying that this is a typo?
Completion
Start Date:
End Date:
FY Implemented:
Final Methods:
Project Narrative:
Future Management:
Map Features
N/A
Project Map
N/A