Virgin River Coalition hosts ‘RiverWalk’ event

By CHERYL JENSEN

The Progress

As part of Mesquite Days, a special “RiverWalk” activity was held Saturday, morning, May 7. Sponsored by the City of Mesquite and the Virgin River Coalition, the event started at Hafen Park. The informative nature hike was led by Biologist, Mike Swink.

As the crowd walked along the trail to the river, Swink talked about the vegetation and birds that make their homes in the area.

“The Virgin River is a beautiful river with a diversity of habitats because of the canopy of native trees and plants and understory for nesting areas,” Swink said.

Fremont Cottonwood trees are part of that canopy, Swink added. Adding to that, the Coyote and Gooding’s willows with their furrowed gray bark and silky gray leaves can grow 4-5 ft. tall forming dense areas of growth. Short arrow plants add to the undergrowth. Swink also pointed out the flowering Screwbean Mesquite trees with their sharp thorns.

“All of these support the many varied species of birds such as the Summer Tangier, Gambel’s quail, Mourning Doves, and Lucy’s Warbler,” Swink said. “Other birds include the red-winged black birds and the Northern Rough-winged Swallows which make a sound as they take off in flight that is almost like a song.”

Swink noted that there are five species of swallows that live along the river including the cliff swallows that live under the Riverside bridge. Bells Vireo can also be heard with their sometimes-high piercing chim.

“There are so many calls it is like a musical performance,” Swink said. “And if you go early in the morning, you can count the number of different species by the many bird calls. The birds use their singing to define their territory and call their mates.”

The river is a dynamic system with water flow changing with the seasons and amount of rain and snow melt, Swink said. He pointed out that when the flow is lower, sand bars form and vegetation takes hold on the small “islands.” Then the channel of the river changes.

“This area has incredible diversity between wildlife living near the river and then in ten miles the wildlife and vegetation are so different as the elevation goes to 8,000 ft,” Swink said.

The Virgin River Coalition works with the BLM and the City of Mesquite to sponsor clean-up days along the Virgin River.  With a grant from NDEP (Nevada Department of Environmental Protection) the Virgin River Coalition is educating about Nonpoint Source Pollution – pollution caused by runoff water and wind,  picking up and carrying pollutants and depositing them in the river.  The Virgin River Coalition is also working with the BLM on clearing out invasive species and restoring native plants and trees along the Virgin River.