See Mountain Goats in Unique Terrain

Free viewing event Aug. 7 on Tushar Mountain

Beaver -- You could see as many as 100 mountain goats on Aug. 7.

And you may not need binoculars to see them. At some of the past
viewing events on the Tushar Mountains, the goats have gotten as close
as 35 feet to those viewing them!

On Aug. 7, the Division of Wildlife Resources will host its annual Goat
Watch on the Tushar Mountains east of Beaver.

The event is free.

The trip will begin at 8 a.m. at the convenience store at the bottom of
Exit 109 off Interstate 15. (Exit 109 is the exit on the south side of
Beaver.)

From there, participants will caravan to the top of the Tushar
Mountains. When you reach the top, you’ll be close to 11,500 feet
above sea level.

Lynn Chamberlain, regional conservation outreach manager for the DWR,
says the view from the top of the Tushars is amazing. “You can see
all of southern Utah,” he says. “And we can almost always find the
goats.”

If binoculars or spotting scopes are needed, Chamberlain will have some
you can borrow. But if you have your own viewing equipment, please
bring it.

Chamberlain also encourages you to bring water, a hat, a jacket and a
sack lunch. It’s also a good idea to travel in a vehicle that has
high ground clearance. “The road can be rocky towards the top,” he
says.

A unique area

In addition to seeing the mountain goats, you can explore the
alpine-tundra ecosystem in which the goats live. Found only above the
timberline at high elevations, it’s an ecosystem that’s uncommon in
southern Utah.

Chamberlain says unique animals live in this alpine-tundra terrain,
including yellow-bellied marmots and pika. “These high-elevation
areas get extremely cold in the winter,” he says. ”To survive, the
animals that live in them have adapted some pretty interesting
behaviors.”

For more information about the goat watching event, call the DWR’s
Southern Region office at (435) 865-6100.