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Staff, partners, and volunteers have been busy at ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡â€™s Gillmor Sanctuary along Great Salt Lake. Ongoing restoration projects have seen over a thousand acres of invasive tamarisk trees removed, and many areas have also been hand-seeded with native grasses, shrubs, and forbs. Removal of the invasive trees cleared the way for these native plants to rebound, and for native wildlife to return.

This includes Burrowing Owls, a unique, ground-dwelling species that prefers open, treeless landscapes with short, sparse vegetation. But even after removing the tamarisk and seeding, there was still one missing component for the Burrowing Owls to thrive at the sanctuary: nesting sites!

Over time, many of the natural burrows at the sanctuary that owls have nested in—originally dug by badgers— have collapsed. Burrow collapses happen naturally but can be accelerated when large animals, such as cattle and bison, frequently walk or wallow above the sites. Loss of nest burrow sites due to collapse, on top of invasive species encroachment and habitat loss, had caused a noticeable decline in the local Burrowing Owl population. While a handful of natural burrows still exist at the sanctuary, we wanted to actively increase nesting opportunities.

Setting Up the Sites

To do this, ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ asked for the help of the incredible network of community conservation partners and volunteers in the Salt Lake Valley. We built reinforced artificial nest burrows using upcycled materials. These burrows can withstand the weight of large mammals walking above and be maintained as needed. 

Nest sites were also carefully chosen. All were placed in areas where invasive vegetation had been removed and owls had open views of the surrounding landscape. This visibility allows the owls to detect approaching predators while also providing access to short grasslands and sparse shrub cover where they hunt rodents, insects, reptiles, and small birds. 

Organizations including HawkWatch International, Tracy Aviary, Sageland Collaborative, Friends of Great Salt Lake, Great Salt Lake Institute, The Jordan River Commission, ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡'s Saline Lakes program, Salt Lake Community College, Boy Scouts of America, and many dedicated volunteers joined Gillmor Sanctuary staff in the field. Together, with shovels in hand, 18 artificial burrows were installed, creating nine new nest sites. With plans to dig 14 more, our grand total will be 32 burrows, 16 nesting sites.

Whooo’s Moved In?

Spring and summer 2026 has been the first nesting season since the burrows were installed. We expected it may take up to two years for nesting pairs to show up. However, seven out of nine sites already have a nest! One burrow was occupied just three days after being installed. Each site has been observed over the nesting season and we are excited to report every nest has successfully fledged owlets.

These early results suggest that habitat restoration combined with artificial nesting burrows can be a highly effective strategy for supporting Burrowing Owl populations. Owls are using the sites, nesting successfully, and raising young in areas that only a few years ago were crowded by invasive vegetation and lacking suitable burrows.

Moving forward, we will continue to restore habitat while building and maintaining nesting sites to ensure they remain safe and productive long-term. Monitoring the productivity of nesting sites will also help us better understand how grassland species are responding to our habitat restoration and which practices have the strongest influence on the health and population trends of Burrowing Owls, Long-billed Curlews, and other grassland bird species of greatest conservation need in our area.

A saw, a shovel, some seed, and a dedicated community have made a positive difference for grassland birds in our corner of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. 

Restoration efforts on Gillmor Sanctuary’s uplands also go beyond artificial burrows. Learn how ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ is encouraging more Burrowing Owls to nest at the sanctuary by cutting down invasive trees. Read more. To learn more about Gillmor Sanctuary, click here.
 

We would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the organizations and volunteers who made this work possible. Thank you, also, to the Browning Foundation for funding this important work.