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The Jordan River is one of Northern Utah’s most important natural assets. The unique 44-mile waterway demands respectful attention and should not be neglected nor ignored.
That’s why it was encouraging to see a couple of dozen private and government organizations recently sign off on a renewed effort to promote and preserve the distinctive stream. The organizations have formed what they are calling the Jordan River Natural Areas Forum.
It doesn’t require much imagination or scientific knowledge to know that in prehistoric times the Jordan River must have been a haven for wildlife, and a veritable oasis of natural abundance. Early pioneer accounts refer to a clear, meandering stream filled with four-pound trout.
Then came civilization and generations of neglect and abuse. Even today portions of the river are so polluted fish cannot survive.
It must not continue!
KSL heartily supports the main goal of the Jordan River Natural Areas Forum: "to promote awareness, acquisition, management and restoration of natural areas along the Jordan River balanced with the human uses of the river corridor."
While its primitive grandeur may never be recovered, the Jordan River still can be a lifeline of riparian and avian abundance, as well as an impressive recreational resource for future generations of urbanites.
