Lucin
When the railroads were first moving across the country, they needed water for
their steam engines. The Lucin ponds were developed in the 1800's for this
purpose. The water to fill the ponds comes through a pipeline from the Pilot
Mountain range, southwest from this location. Since the development of the Lucin
cut-off, Lucin has been a homesite for many people and in recent times, a small
community of retired people lived here. These retirees once lived here as children
and returned as friends in their golden years. Now that the last resident moved
away in the early 1990's, their legacy is this quiet spot managed for wildlife.
In 1999, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources acquired a lease from the Southern
Pacific Railroad on Lucin for the benefit of resident and migratory wildlife. Due to
the presence of water, Lucin is an "oasis in the desert" and is important for many
species of wildlife, particularly songbirds. Songbirds, while on their annual
migrations to and from such faraway places as Mexico, South America and Canada,
need places to rest, food to eat and water to drink. Here in the middle of the
Great Basin Desert, there are not many habitat alternatives for the birds. Lucin
provides all these needs becoming an important stop on their annual migrations.
Up to 118 species of songbirds may be found here, including other species such
as hawks, owls, eagles, antelope, kangaroo rats, deer mice and bats. How many
can you see?
Please enjoy this oasis. We hope that you will help us protect this area for wildlife
and for other people who come to enjoy this area.
