Ames' Volunteers Reclaim Five Acres of Legacy Nature Preserve

Toxic weeds and old buildings didn't stand a chance when volunteers from Ames Construction Inc., the Legacy Nature Preserve Team, Utah Rivers Council, HDR Engineering and SWCA teamed up to demolish old shacks, remove debris and rid the Legacy Nature Preserve of non-native plants on Sept. 29, 2007.

The volunteer cleanup day was a success, as 35 volunteers worked from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. to reclaim five acres of the Preserve by removing non-native plants and reseeding the area with 150 pounds of wildflower seed. The old shacks that were demolished were left over remnants of the old garbage site that once occupied a portion of the Nature Preserve.

The Legacy Nature Preserve is a 2,225-acre wildlife preserve on the southeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake. The Preserve was established as environmental mitigation for the Legacy Parkway Project and helps prevent encroachment of future development into the Great Salt Lake ecosystem by restoring a variety of different wetland and upland habitats that are vital to the area's wildlife species.

Ames Construction is one of three contractors working in collaboration to build the 14-mile roadway that will become Legacy Parkway in fall 2008. Clean up efforts on the Legacy Nature Preserve are focused largely on restoration and reclamation of the land through scheduled volunteer days. For more information on the Nature Preserve or to sign up for an upcoming volunteer day, please contact Eric McCulley, Legacy Nature Preserve Manager, at emcculley@utah.gov or 801-383-3126.