Wild Wasatch Front

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book. What I found is a book with essays in the front discussing aspects of the Wasatch Front's nature and where urban mixes with nature. The next section includes descriptions and pictures of native flora, fauna, and fungi. The last section covers a few different trails along the Wasatch front. I was most looking forward to the trials section as I live in the foothills of the Wasatch front, but the ones around me were all ones I know about and have done. The photos in the book were in color and the descriptions were helpful. I was surprised at how much of the wildlife I have encountered in my 30 years living in the area. This book is a good reference guide that I can see being sold at the Natural History Museum, Red Butte Garden, and other local stores.

WILD WASATCH FRONT is a fun, informational, and beautifully laid out gateway to Utah's natural world. Highly recommended for naturalists and library collections.

This is a beautiful book and I enjoyed reading it. The focus was a little different than I expected. I was less interested in the essays discussing the urbanization of the Wasatch Front and the impact on nature. But they are thoughtful and well written. I enjoyed the sections with color photos of plants, birds and wildlife to be found along the Wasatch Front. I live near a greenbelt to the mountains and it is very common in my neighborhood to have deer eating at my apples trees or see hawks overhead. I’ve seen most wildlife shown in the photos in my years living in Utah. The last section is trails along the Wasatch Front and I have been on most of them. This is not a hiking guide and the trails are more improved walks along parks and foothills. It does not include going into the Wasatch Front canyons for more series hikes or climbs. I can easily see this useful for locals, especially those that want to support the Natural History Museum. And although I like the cover it doesn’t do justice to the photography inside the book.

As a resident of the foothills of the Wasatch Front, there are times (particularly when the deer are munching on my tulips or a noisy fox squirrel — an interloper — is taunting my dogs), that I wish my surroundings were a little less wild. The Natural History Museum of Utah (nestled within the University of Utah campus and adjacent to Red Butte Garden and Arboretum) encourages us to explore the nature that thrives right under our noses.

This beautifully illustrated book is divided into a section for essays about “The Nature of Cities;” a field guide to “127 Wasatch Front Species to Know” (Street Trees, Wild Plants and Trees, Birds, Fungi, Insects, Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians); and a 21 local field trips that highlight where the field guide species are. I was especially taken with the description of Myrtle Spurge (a highly toxic plant outlawed in Utah, yet still used in landscapes in Salt Lake neighborhoods), and story of how the Fox squirrel (unknown in the valley in 2000) escaped as a pet near the Jordan River and is creeping further eastward to the foothills and Wasatch mountains.

The inclusion of a “Salt Lake City Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights” (see a starry sky; visit a mountaintop; identify a wild plant; see the Great Salt Lake) was terrific (you’d be amazed at how many of my neighbors have never visited the Great Salt Lake which they consider a smelly swampland).

This is a perfect book for residents and visitors — and a great gift for new out-of-state neighbors. And since Utah is currently one of the fastest growing states, it’s necessary that we keep our balance between the nature that’s just underfoot and our appreciation of small wonders around us. 5 stars!

Thank you to Timber Press and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Amazing is right!!! This book has it all, if you find yourself in Northern Utah - which I do often, as I have family that lives from Ogden in the North through to American Fork environs in the South - and I was schooled there, so this is part of the world I claim; for these reasons, I'm owning these 5 stars! I recognize the Wonder in this power-packed guide to how anyone can find that same Wonder if they will simply step into their shoes, grab a hat and sunglasses, throwing on sturdy weather-awareness dress in-between.

Divided into three sections -

◼ The Nature of Cities
Interesting essays and articles on the key elements in the region known as the Wasatch Front - basically that beautiful landscape of climbable crags, rocks, cliff shelves which at the bottom form a snug, lush open valley that in its farthest reaches slowly unfolds into the Great Salt Lake.

◼ 127 Wasatch Front Species to Know
A thorough and delightful romp through the birds, fungi and a lichen (uno), bugs, mammals, and reptiles and amphibians that call the Wasatch Front their home. The photographs and drawings throughout capture the feel and wild side of the cities that nest against the WF.

◼ Nearby Nature Field Trips
This is my favorite: assigned as homework are 21 Trips, mapped out and highlights noted, along with accessibility scale, and amenities showing. Trip 1 starts in the north, with the Ogden River Parkway, a place I know well, but haven't ever done all 4.4 miles of it - but will be on my next trip! Trip 21 is to the south in Provo's Bicentennial Park. . another place that has part of my heart from another life. All the other "trips" are between those two points, each laid out just as thoroughly.

This is a perfect resource for those wanting to explore a place they've just moved to, are visiting, or maybe have lived in all their lives!

5 Wonder-Packed stars from this reader who knows what she knows.

*A sincere thank you to the Natural History Museum of Utah and Lisa Thompson, Timber Press and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #WildWasatchFront #NetGalley

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was an in-depth and interesting read. I loved that the pictures were very in depth. The various articles in the front of the book is a nice touch as well. If you’re a nature lover; you’ll enjoy this book.

This is a beautiful resource. I am looking forward to the physical book either in hardback or paperback. It would be a book to use when learning more about the natural world around us here in Utah.

What an amazing resource! I am jealous that there isn't anything this comprehensive for my area.
The area around Salt Lake City is gorgeous, and this book gives you the information you need to understand the environment and identify individual plants and animals. More importantly, there are explanations on how important it is to have access to nature even if you live in the city, and other information about why trees and water are so important.
At the end, there are several guides to specific walks you can take with what to look out for. If I lived there, I would buy this book and take every one of those walks.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this