Gillmor Audubon Sanctuary is part of the Great Salt Lake wetland ecosystem; an internationally recognized site in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, and a vital pathway for millions of nesting and migrating birds.

The five major bays of Great Salt Lake are individually recognized as Globally Important Bird Areas. The world's largest breeding populations of Snowy Plover, White-faced Ibis, California Gull, and Franklin's Gull gather each year on the lake. The rich abundance of brine shrimp, brine flies and other insects produced at Great Salt Lake provide forage for the world's largest staging numbers of migrating Marbled Godwit, Wilson's Phalarope, Eared Grebe, and American Avocet. Large percentages of other world populations of bird species, such as Wilson's Phalarope, Tundra Swan, American White Pelican, and Northern Pintail, use the lake for some part of their life cycle.