EM City relocates departments to improve service

Some of Eagle Mountain City’s departments have recently moved to expanded facilities to accommodate the additional staff that are now needed to adequately provide service to residents.

Where local needs used to be effortlessly managed by a handful of employees, the Community Development Department, now at 22 on staff, is ready to assist residents with their various needs in Building, Planning, Business Licensing and the Neighborhood Improvement Department.

These departments are now located at 3726 E. Campus Dr., Suites D and H.

This location is conveniently located for residents directly east of the Maverick station at the intersection of Ranches Parkway and Cory Wride Memorial Highway (SR-73).

Suite D, on the first floor to your left as you enter, houses Business Licensing and Neighborhood Improvement. Suite H, on the 2nd floor, contains the general offices for Building and Planning. There is an elevator as well as stairs to access the second floor.

According to Eagle Mountain City Administrator Paul Jerome, it proved more fiscally responsible to lease space from the Direct Communications building, which had room available, compared to building.

The leasing costs are well below current rates for similar leasing.

“Even continuing the lease well into the future will provide a substantial savings over the concept of constructing a new building to meet the City’s needs,” says Jerome. “Although this gives the City a little reprieve from a space standpoint in the existing buildings, there will be a time in the future where constructing additional space rather than leasing will become necessary.”

The Engineering, Parks, Recreation and Streets Departments are still located at 2565 N. Pony Express Parkway. Phone numbers for all City departments remain the same. Office hours remain M-F from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., excluding holidays.

The expanded staff in all departments stand ready to help with your residential needs.

To further assist residents with questions, many of the inquiries residents have regarding building and planning may be answered on the Eagle Mountain City website.

Information regarding the various requirements of basement finishing, adding accessory buildings, patio covers, decks, solar installation, pools, retaining walls, needed inspections and much more are found on the website under Departments – Community Development – Building.

Helpful information for all City departments, as well as City government, is accessible on the website.

There are FAQs, contact information for every department, news, City employment opportunities and our calendar of City meetings, events and activities.  

Touch-a-truck event gives kids close look at City utility vehicles

For kids who love big trucks and other service vehicles, the Touch-a-Truck event hosted by Eagle Mountain City’s Public Library was an unforgettable experience.

The Touch-a-Truck event took place on Oct. 6 and featured all the big utility vehicles from the City’s Streets Department.

“They had all of the trucks for the streets,” said Mandy Paice, who organized the event. “The paver, they had the backhoe, they had the snowplows and garbage trucks, the little tiny excavator, big excavator.”

The event provided children with the opportunity to get up close and personal with City utility vehicles, sit in the driver’s seat, play with the controls and even honk the horn.

In total, 44 children and 26 adults came to the Touch-a-Truck event, according to Paice.

“We got the idea when we went to the Summer Bash that Eagle Mountain did,” said Paice.

She and a co-worker offered to help supervise children who were interested in touching the street equipment.

Zac Hilton, Streets Department manager, coordinated with the library to organize the event. He also appreciated Touch-a-Truck as an opportunity to speak to residents and answer their questions about upcoming street projects.

While parents learned more about road construction and other infrastructure projects, kids were able to safely explore equipment that would otherwise be dangerous.

“[Zac] had all of his guys come out and help, which I thought was wonderful,” said Paice. “All his guys came out, they all got the equipment set up nice, and they helped just watch to make sure [the kids] weren’t doing anything dangerous.”

With such a great turnout this year, Paice hopes the Eagle Mountain Public Library can host the event semi-annually, potentially each fall and spring when the weather is appropriately nice.

Paice also hopes to host similar events in the future where kids can interact with other vehicles and personnel from the Fire Department and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.

“This library’s awesome. I love working here,” laughed Paice. “I hope people utilize it as much as they can because it’s a fantastic resource.”

The library hosts several events every month for individuals of all ages, such as book clubs, STEAM club and story times.

Residents are encouraged to check out the Eagle Mountain Public Library Facebook page to learn more about upcoming events and resources offered by the library.

Utility rates adjusted in spring cause YoY comparisons by residents

Eagle Mountain City has historically had some of the lowest utility rates in Utah, especially for a City that does not have a secondary (irrigation) water system.

The ability to keep rates relatively low is due to several factors. Primarily, Eagle Mountain is a young city and has not required substantial maintenance to its infrastructure. These circumstances, combined with a culture of frugality have allowed the city to keep utility rates as low as possible for as long as possible.

“Eagle Mountain City has tried in earnest to exhaust all possible options before adjusting utility rates,” said City Spokesperson Tyler Maffitt.

Utility rates in Eagle Mountain had remained essentially unchanged for 20 years until early 2020. It was determined current rates would soon be unsustainable.

“The current rates have been insufficient to generate the revenue needed to cover expenses for a few years now. Eagle Mountain City has used every tool at its disposal to cover growing costs without raising rates, but those tools have now been exhausted,” according to the 2022 Utility Rate Study conducted by the City.

Rate increases were announced in the spring and took effect in early June. The increase has not gone unnoticed by residents.

In the comments section of a Facebook post in the Eagle Mountain City Citizens Facebook group, residents shared snapshots of their water meters over the past year, comparing 2022 readings to the same time last year.

“Ours has been almost double the last 2 months,” said Marla Van Tassell Anderson, a member of the Eagle Mountain City Citizens Facebook group.

“Our bill was almost 100$ higher and we haven’t been watering as much. I’m going to call them and see what is up with it,” said another group member, Malina Lucas.

In addition to the spring rate increase, several water meters around the city require maintenance and must be read manually by City water technicians.

If a technician can only read a meter every other month, then a resident’s bill will look much larger than it actually is, charging for two months every other month rather than once per month.

The objective of the two-year Utility Rate Study was to determine the minimum increase needed to provide the necessary revenues to become financially stable and prevent inconsistent meter-reading.

The 2022 Utility Rate Study points to several factors contributing to the need for increased rates, with inflation being one of the largest.

To keep taxpayer costs low, Eagle Mountain City’s utility rates were not adjusted to account for average annual inflation for 20 years. Inflation alone is a major factor that causes expenses to exceed revenues, even with a rapidly growing population.

The cost of water was another factor uncovered by the 2022 study.

Utah’s historic drought has made water sources increasingly scarce, and consequently affected the cost of water rights. Eagle Mountain is situated in a high desert climate and does not have adequate capacity to provide enough water to fill its resident’s needs from its own sourcing facilities.

The City must therefore purchase water from Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWD) to ensure sufficient water supply.

The final contributing factors discovered by the study are system aging and the health of utility funds. While Eagle Mountain is still a relatively young community, the City’s infrastructure is now beginning to experience normal wear and tear and needs maintenance.

Without adjustment, utility rates do not provide enough revenue to cover the costs of maintenance or the labor necessary to make repairs.

Eagle Mountain seeks to maintain a healthy utility reserve fund in the event of water emergencies or a need for mass repairs. With expenses exceeding revenues, that reserve balance steadily declines.

“With no changes, we would be negative by fiscal year 2024 which begins July 1, 2023,” found the study.

Water rates are split into two parts: base rate and consumption rate. The base rate is paid monthly regardless of water usage and the consumption rate is based on the volume of water used. The base rate covers the expenses of the city that do not increase due to water usage. The consumption rate covers those expenses that change with increased water usages, such as maintenance and equipment replacements.

Following the study, rates were calculated to ensure utilities remain stable in the coming years while only covering necessary operating costs and debt obligations to achieve the optimal balance of expenses and revenues.

“Eagle Mountain City staff will monitor revenues and revisit the rates every 2-3 years to ensure we are not over or undercharging,” the study says.

The increase in utility rates went into effect in May 2022. Rates are forecast to increase by 4% annually, though the first increase is not scheduled to take place until July 2023.

These rate changes are necessary for the health and stability of Eagle Mountain’s fund balance reserve. And, even with the rate increase, utility rates in Eagle Mountain are far lower than any other Utah city that does not have a secondary water system, and compete with those that do, the study found.

Eagle Mountain City is hopeful that the rate increase, though inconvenient for some residents, will stabilize balance reserve funds and lead to more consistent meter readings.

By balancing expenses with revenues, the City will be able to hire more personnel to keep up with maintenance schedules, repair meters and reserve funds in case of an emergency.

Eagle Mountain City would like to assure residents that the utility rate increase is in no way associated with the theft of $1.13 million from the City in a cybercrime earlier this year.

“It’s easy to point to an increase in your bill and name unrelated factors,” said Maffitt. “The state of Utah disallows the mixing of utility funds with any other budget line items. There is zero relationship between these two situations.”

Residents who would like to learn about utility rates or the 2022 Utility Rate Study may do so by visiting the Utility Rates page on the City’s website or by downloading the study.

Showtime for the rabbitbrush

These bright yellow blossoms, sometimes mistaken for sagebrush blooms, begin their spectacular show each fall. The curtain only comes down when those blooms become tan, fuzzy seeds amid the cold winter weather entering the stage.

Rubber Rabbitbrush (Ericameria naseosa) is widely distributed throughout the western United States.

Here in Eagle Mountain, in the sagebrush steppe ecosystem, it flourishes widely. A member of the Aster family, along with sagebrush – with which it is often found – it inhabits the Cedar Valley area on the foothills, mountains and valley floor.

It’s fast-growing, maturing in two to four years and has a lifespan of  five to 20 years. It usually establishes itself after a disturbance in the soil and is a good choice for quickly stabilizing new roadside areas.

The rabbitbrush plants begin producing seeds when they are two or more years old.

Native Americans reportedly used rabbitbrush as a yellow dye and to make a medicinal tea. They also processed the rubber sap for making chewing gum.

The leaves, flowers and seeds are an important food source for mule deer, pronghorn, rabbits, and birds during fall and winter. It also provides needed shelter for mammals and small nesting birds.

Rubber rabbitbrush attracts a wide array of native insects, including butterflies and small bees. It is one of the few native plant species in the Intermountain West that provides habitat for pollinators during the late summer and fall.

The species name “nauseosa” refers to the smell given off when the leaves or flowers are crushed, described as pineapple-like by some and foul and rubbery by others.

The common name refers to the rubber content in the sap. Rabbitbrush was first tested as a source of high-quality rubber during World War II. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service agency, in recent decades there has been renewed interest in its potential for production of rubber, resins and other chemicals.

It also contains anti-malarial and insect repellent properties.

The plant is typically distinguished by having white and green flexible stems, felt-like matted hairs, and narrow, thread-like gray-green alternate leaves.

Shrubs are rounded and generally two to five feet tall but can reach as high as seven feet.

Flower heads are made up of five small, yellow, tubular flowers and are arranged in dense, rounded or flat-topped clusters at the ends of the branches.

As most of the midsummer desert blossoms are fading, the rabbitbrush comes into play, brightening the landscape with its vivid coloring and performs spectacularly as a key player in the delicate desert ecosystem in Eagle Mountain.  

EM population monitored as elementary school planned for Overland

Eagle Mountain continues to grow in population.

To make room, the Alpine School District monitors the number of students in each of its schools and, as a result, constructs new schools to accommodate.

This week, Eagle Mountain City officials sat down with Julie King of the Alpine District Board of Education to discuss a new elementary school coming to Eagle Mountain in August of 2023.

“It’s a great opportunity and a great challenge to have,” King said of the growth in Eagle Mountain.

“Twenty seven to 28% of the population of the city is a K-12 student,” King said. “That doesn’t even account for all of our littles, our toddlers, all of our preschoolers who are going to be in our schools in a few short years.”

Earlier this year, Eagle Mountain was named the third youngest city in the United States with a median age of 19 and nearly 50% of the population age 18 or younger.

The new elementary school will be located off Pony Express Parkway near Unity Pass in the Overland community and will influence existing elementary school boundaries.

Community meetings will be held in the coming months for residents to give their input on boundaries for Mountain Trails, Hidden Hollow and Black Ridge elementary schools.

Once boundaries have been adjusted, a principal for the new school will be selected around January 2023. Then, according to King, the real fun will begin.

Name ideas, mascots and colors are then presented to the school board around February or March. King’s favorite part is the community input on these topics.

“It’s one of my favorite things as a school board member. We get a lot of suggestions from students. Some of those suggestions are that the mascot should be a unicorn or that we should name it ‘Spider-Man School.’ That’s always really fun to get the kids involved,” said King.

To help finance new school construction, some of which is planned for Eagle Mountain, a bond has been placed on the November ballots. The Alpine School District has a “AAA” Bond rating, which means interest rates on bonds for the school district are among the lowest in the country.

“We’re in a division of roughly 15,000 school districts across the nation. We are one of only 14 that has that AAA bond rating,” King said.

According to King, it’s important to the school board to hear the taxpayers’ opinions on issues such as class size, growth, aging facilities and safety and security.

As Eagle Mountain continues to grow, King says there will soon be a need for an additional middle school and high school in Eagle Mountain.

Residents who would like to learn more about the 2022 bond can visit the school board’s website or email Julie King at julieking@alpinedistrict.org.

Wildfire

Emergency Management dept. offers disaster training opportunities

Eagle Mountain City’s Emergency Management department wants the community to become more resilient to potential natural disasters. It starts with being able to effectively respond and recover.

There are three training opportunities offered by the City residents can take advantage of in Eagle Mountain.

CERT Training

Training will begin for the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). It will be held at Eagle Mountain City Hall and will take place for the next two Saturdays, Oct. 8 and 15 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Council Chambers.

Basic CERT Training teaches residents basic disaster skills so you can safely help yourself and those around you when disaster strikes and when professional responders aren’t available. The course includes:

  • Disaster Preparedness;
  • CERT Organization;
  • Disaster Medical Operations;
  • Disaster Psychology;
  • Fire Safety and Utility Controls;
  • Light Search and Rescue Operations;
  • Terrorism and Hazardous Materials Safety;
  • Course Review and Disaster Simulation.

To register for this course, fill out this document. Attendance is required on both days to become certified.

The course instructor, Eagle Mountain City’s Emergency Coordinator David Ulibarri, has over 25 years of experience as a firefighter/E.M.T., as well as having been a National CERT program manager.

“The more you know and the better prepared you are, the better you will be able to respond and recover from a disaster,” says Ulibarri.

Emergency Preparedness Presentation

The City is also offering a free, one-hour emergency preparedness presentation called “Are You Ready” where, according to Ulibarri, you can learn what you and your family can do to prepare.

It also covers how local government is prepared and which trainings you can get to help in the community. If you have a church, HOA, school or any other group that is interested, he will come to your neighborhood building. Please email: dulibarri@emcity.org to set up a group presentation.

CERT Academy

Finally, Eagle Mountain City is excited to announce their monthly CERT Academy schedule for 2022-2023, beginning Thursday, Oct. 13.

Every second Thursday of the month, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at City Hall in Council Chambers, you can receive training on a different skill, culminating in the April 13 Earthquake Disaster Simulation for Shakeout.

This will be a full-scale drill. All CERT Skills will be put to the test. These Thursday training sessions offer an opportunity to refresh previously taught CERT skills or can be helpful to those just wanting to learn basic first-aid, CPR, triage and other important skills that may be required in an emergency.

Neighborhood Improvement works toward proactive approach 

Every day, Jim Barney tries to bring a positive attitude to work.  

The Eagle Mountain City Neighborhood Improvement officer has been on the job since 2019 and has collected more than a few stories about helping Eagle Mountain neighborhoods stay well-maintained.   

“We work with all of them,” says Barney while referencing the subdivisions Eagle Mountain City’s Neighborhood Improvement department works with closely.  

Barney, turning the air-conditioning on full blast in his City-owned Ford pickup, sets about his daily task of following up on code-related complaints. First stop, he heads toward a particular section of City Center. 

Eagle Mountain City responds to between 1,000 and 1,500 code issues every year. They result from a mix of resident submissions and issues the Neighborhood Improvement staff find while out and about on their daily duties.  

“Typically, we do a courtesy notice just to show them what the code is,” says Barney. “We don’t hit them right away. We give them a letter and let it sit through the weekend and then come back to work and if it’s still in the same condition, that’s when we send out the notice and then a violation.” 

It’s not an easy job.  

Of the 966 residents that submitted feedback during the City’s 2022 Annual Resident Survey, 51% of respondents said they were very unsatisfied or somewhat unsatisfied with the Neighborhood Improvement department. 

Barney says it can sometimes feel a little disheartening.   

“Sometimes you think this is a thankless job,” says Barney. “I’m here to help people take care of their property. It’s a pretty important job once you start thinking about it.” 

Still, Barney can point to several areas of Eagle Mountain where the effort to work with homeowners has paid dividends.  

Arriving at his first destination, Barney points to the substantial improvements of the area. 

“This is a continual work in progress,” Barney says. 

Consistent follow up is key. The Neighborhood Improvement staff works through a software called iWorq. It allows them to track a case, refer to specific dates, make notes, add photos and set reminders for when to follow-up with a homeowner.  

Many of the cases take considerable time to resolve. Parked outside a property, Barney scrolls down the page on the software showing all the follow-up that took place to return the property to code compliance.  

“It’s not really high on their priority list sometimes. It depends on the situation,” says Barney while making a few turns to get to Skyline Ridge. 

That doesn’t mean, however, that the Neighborhood Improvement department is not without its human side. Often, the staff makes every attempt to speak to the property owner in person to better understand what is preventing proper maintenance.  

“Once we find out what their situation is, we try to work with that in mind,” says Barney. 

He recalls several examples of residents facing cancer or another medical situation. He also referenced residents going through difficult times in their lives following the loss of a family member. These situations keep Neighborhood Improvement sensitive to individual needs. 

While Eagle Mountain residents are generally responsive to Neighborhood Improvement violation notices, the reaction can also trend away from friendly.  

“We don’t answer the phones anymore. We typically have folks leave a message,” says Barney.   

Threats are a semi-regular occurrence and its something the Neighborhood Improvement officers try to keep in mind.  

Getting out of his truck in Skyline Ridge, Barney attempts to contact a homeowner who had a letter relevant to Code enforcement returned to the City. This complaint has to do with weeds on the property. Many homeowners who have not completed the installation of their lawn or landscaping have been battling weeds since moving into their homes.  

Parking, however, is what stands out to Barney. Where cars can be parked on City or residential streets is a recurring theme the Neighborhood Improvement department addresses – going as far as to write several submissions to the City newsletter to address the matter in detail.  

“Often people think they own the road in front of their house, and they don’t,” says Barney.  

No success was found contacting the homeowner, meaning future attempts will need to be made to address the code issue at hand.  

Returning to his truck, Barney sets off to visit yet another section of the city.  

While it’s often seen as an inconvenience to formally handle a code-related issue, the purpose of Neighborhood Improvement is to maintain the appearance of the community.  

“We’re trying to work with the HOAs more,” says Barney when referencing how the City is trying to take a proactive approach to code enforcement. 

Season-to-season, the department’s focus changes.  

As Barney’s truck rolls up to another section of Eagle Mountain, he exits the truck once again because a trailer has been parked in the street beyond the allotted time outlined in City Code.  

“In the fall when it’s hunting season, we’ll typically try to be more lenient with trailers but we keep checking on them,” says Barney.  

This trail, however, doesn’t fit the bill for leniency. Placing a notice on the window of the truck and trailer, Barney fills out the relevant information.  

Eagle Mountain City Code can sometimes require training to understand. This is something the Neighborhood Improvement regularly works to clarify and seek updated information.  

If a matter goes unresolved, the code violation is submitted to the Administrative Law Judge for review. This has cleaned up confusion and has made the process more efficient in Eagle Mountain since its implementation in recent years.  

While enforcement of code-related issues will continue, Barney says residents have become more responsive.  

“The best place to submit a complaint is the Resident Portal, really,” says Barney.  

Eagle Mountain residents are encouraged to learn more about City Code by visiting the City’s website.  

Returning to City Hall, Barney says he’s doing this work for the right reasons. Improving neighborhoods and holding property owners accountable for the maintenance of their property is a point of pride for the department.  

Taking a proactive approach, however, brings Barney the positivity he craves every day.  

Meta announces data center expansion, water conservation efforts

Friday morning, Meta announced the expansion of their Eagle Mountain Data Center, increasing their investment to over $1.5 billion.

“We are thrilled to be expanding our presence in Utah,” said William Marks, Community Development Regional Manager at Meta. “Eagle Mountain and the State of Utah have been great partners from the beginning and we look forward to a continued strong and fruitful partnership for years to come.”

According to Marks, the data center will be a 4.5 million square-foot campus once completed and will support more than 300 jobs.

In addition to the data center campus expansion, Meta also announced a $200,000 grant in support of the Hobble Creek Flow Restoration Project in Utah County, which will improve water flow to Hobble Creek and Utah Lake.

The project will restore 476 million gallons of water per year.

“We are committed to restoring 200% of the water our data center consumes into local Great Basin watersheds,” said Marks.

“They’re putting their money where their mouth is,” said Evan Berrett, Economic Development Director for the City, when asked about the restoration project. “It’s been clear to me that Meta has been aware of everyone’s concerns about [water conservation].”

According to Meta, the Eagle Mountain Data Center design is 80% more water-efficient than the average data center. The data center conserves water by recycling water multiple times before discharging it as wastewater.

“It’s pretty exciting to have such a large data center here,” said Berrett.

Since breaking ground in 2018 and coming online in 2021, the Meta data center has contributed significantly to the economic growth of Eagle Mountain.

Meta has sponsored events, offered financial assistance to businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been an active participant in the Union Chamber of Commerce.

In addition to the direct ways Meta has influenced Eagle Mountain, Berrett says there are several ways Meta’s presence has benefitted the City indirectly.

“That’s what put us on the map for economic development,” he said. “That’s why we have other data centers looking at us, because Facebook paved the way for that.”

Since Meta’s arrival in Eagle Mountain, other businesses have followed. “[It] put in a lot of money and a whole lot of infrastructure into our city, particularly in the south part of the city,” said Berrett.

Had it not been for Meta’s data center, Berrett believes City Center would not have seen its current economic growth rates for a few more years.

EM weather stations provide data for residents

Eagle Mountain has a unique climate as it’s tucked between two mountain ranges.

The Ranches is the hilly section of Eagle Mountain and City Center is situated in a relatively flatter area, so weather between these differing parts of the community can vary at times.

The City has two advanced weather stations through a partnership with Utah State University. One is located near Pony Express Memorial Park in City Center and the other has been placed at the Nolen Park annex in The Ranches.

These two stations provide real-time and historical data, which includes:  

Current temperature
Wind speed and direction
Precipitation today and historical
Dew point
Humidity
Solar Radiation

It may have been noticed that, despite the ongoing drought, Eagle Mountain received a fair amount of precipitation this past summer in June, July and August.

This precipitation in no way alleviates the state of Utah’s historic drought situation. It was, however, helpful in keeping local lawns green, and vegetables and flowers thriving. These changes were noticed alongside efforts to conserve water in Eagle Mountain by irrigating lawns with reduced frequency.

Data gathered from the two weather stations for this past summer show how Eagle Mountain fared:

Ranches

June 1 – Aug. 31
Precipitation: 3.14”
Highest wind speed: 7/17 28.4 mph
Highest temperature: 7/9 98.2° 

City Center

June 1 – Aug. 31
Precipitation: 3.48”
Highest wind speed: 7/19 39.2 mph
Highest temperature: 7/17 100.7°

Residents can easily find this data by accessing the two Eagle Mountain Weather Station links on the City website. Keeping track of this data might be a fun activity for families to engage in during each of the four seasons here in Eagle Mountain.  

Wildlife Expert: Resident involvement key to protecting native species

Eagle Mountain is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Though the city is rapidly developing, there are many proposals designed to conserve and protect the Cedar Valley’s native species.

Shon Reed, local wildlife expert, explains how land development can affect wildlife populations if no preventative action is taken.

“The biggest and most obvious is a reduction in available land use,” says Reed. “The mule deer migrate with a line of sight. If they see a path they want to go, they head that direction. Now if there’s a school in the way, a shopping center, their path is cut off and they have to find a new way.”

In addition, interrupting migratory patterns, land development can also harm the strength of wildlife populations.

“It’s not just a matter of moving elsewhere, their numbers are actually declining,” says Reed. “They’re losing nesting sites, they’re losing usable habitat, and there’s some thought that they’re also lost to pesticides, herbicides, rodenticides – secondary poisoning.”

There are ways to help the health of local wildlife as land in Eagle Mountain is developed.

“The biggest thing is just to get involved,” says Reed.

iNaturalist, an online community for individuals interested in biodiversity, is a great and easy way to contribute, according to Reed. Users can snap a picture of a plant or animal, tag a location and record the sighting.

“From that, we can start to base line what animals are being found, where they’re being found, in what numbers, and what time of year,” says Reed.

iNaturalist is available on desktop web browsers and as an app on most smartphones.

Residents may be uncertain which species of plant or animal being observed. The app can also help with species identification.

“It’s a citizen science, a very community-driven program,” says Reed.

Residents who are looking for more boots-on-the-ground-type of volunteer opportunities can get involved with the Nature and Wildlife Alliance in Eagle Mountain, according to Reed.

“As cheatgrass, fires, development, and land misuse have destroyed native habitats, we’ve tried to restore that as much as we can,” says Reed.

Residents can also help by planting native species in their own yards. Reed encourages people to avoid herbicides and rodenticides as much as possible because of their harmful effects on the environment.

“Pretty much everybody carries a camera in their pocket,” says Reed. “Snapping photos of local wildlife and then posting these to our local social media pages. Just snap a photo and post it. Anytime we build community interest, it goes a long way.”

There are countless more opportunities for residents to get involved in helping local wildlife populations. There is something for everyone.

For more information on volunteer opportunities in Eagle Mountain, contact the Eagle Mountain Nature and Wildlife Alliance.