An oasis in the middle of the arid Great Basin, the Great Salt Lake is recognized worldwide for its extensive wetlands and its irreplaceable value to migratory birds. The balance between habitat protection and development in and around the lake is increasingly precarious, threatening the future of the millions of birds who use it each year. There are five to seven million birds, comprising 250 species, traveling through the Great Salt Lake annually. Rosalie Winard plans to produce the first photographic archive of the birds of the GSL. A visual archive of the Great Salt Lake’s birds will serve as an important tool in promoting awareness, preservation and protection of the lake. It will be a lasting document, available to future generations as well as to birders, scientists and all who appreciate the American treasure that is the Great Salt Lake. The archive will be permanently housed in the Special Collections of the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah.                   

Winard has created a unique, compelling style for photographing birds that she will use in producing this archive. Her avian photography, the subject of an award-winning book and exhibition (see video below) entitled Wild Birds of the American Wetlands, seeks to promote awareness and conservation of large birds and their habitats in North America. Her portraits of birds have been praised as meditative, exhilarating and a call to action.

Read the full GSL Bird Archive proposal

To contribute to this project, please make checks payable to:

Great Salt Lake Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc.   
(please designate "For the Great Salt Lake Bird Archive")

Mail to:

Great Salt Lake RC&D
6782 South 1300 East
Salt Lake City, Utah 84121