“The decisions we make today will have a huge impact on the Lake and its future, as well as on the quality of life Utahns have historically enjoyed.” Brian Steed, GSL Commissioner
Just a few years ago, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to even ask that question. Great Salt Lake was the cause célèbre and was finally getting some much-deserved attention. The Lake was constantly in the press; there were symposia and summits focused on it; the Legislature was passing an avalanche of bills aimed at saving it; and, there seemed to be no end of money that the State was willing to throw at the problem. But after a few years of this, mostly things have become disappointingly quiet.
I know. We all have a short attention span and there’s a lot that’s been going on in the political landscape. But still…
I’ve said this before, but that brief burst of attention almost made up for the previous 25 years where FRIENDS was one of the few organizations even paying attention to the Lake. Almost. But it won’t be enough to actually save the Lake going forward. I know that it’s difficult to come to grips with the fact that saving the Lake can’t be done in a handful of years—regardless of how many laws are changed or how much money is spent. Saving the Lake can’t be done in a year, or ten years, or even a lifetime. It certainly can’t be done in a political attention cycle. In fact, I’m sorry to say, the continual challenge of saving Great Salt Lake will be a legacy that our generation will pass on to the next, and they to the ones that follow. “Protecting the Lake in Perpetuity” means just that—it will always need someone to stand up for it.
Don’t get me wrong—I remain confident that “we” will figure this out and will do whatever it takes to save the Lake, but right now it seems like a lot of folks have moved on. One of the signs pointing to this is the Great Salt Lake Commissioner’s recent demotion. No, Brian Steed hasn’t stepped down from his role as Commissioner, but HB 520 moved the Commissioner’s office from what was essentially a cabinet-level position that reported directly to the Governor and the Legislative leadership, to what is effectively a division-level position within the Department of Natural Resources.
You know, I have all the faith in the world in Joel Ferry, the Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources. Joel is absolutely committed to saving the Lake, and the Commissioner’s work won’t miss a step under his leadership, but Joel is not always going to be in that position. What if the next Executive Director isn’t as committed to the Lake? More importantly, what does this change say about our collective dedication to doing whatever it takes to save the Lake?
But what’s more concerning to me is what’s happening—or rather not happening—with the Commissioner’s 10-year Strategic Plan. At last November’s Great Salt Lake Advisory Council meeting, the Commissioner, briefed the Council on his intermediate timeframe Strategic Plan on what he hopes the State can achieve by the 2034 Olympics. That plan includes specific conservation goals, including a 10% reduction in water use across the board resulting in additional conserved water of about 250,000 acre-feet by that date.
Those savings won’t be enough to get the Lake to the low end of the healthy level of 4,198’, as identified in the GSL Commissioner’s January 15, 2024 Great Salt Lake Strategic Plan, but they will get us to 4,195’, moving us much closer towards a healthy level. To put that 250,000 acre-foot number in perspective, it gets us on track to achieve the additional 770,000 acre-feet inflow that the Great Salt Lake Strike Team estimates will be necessary to reach a healthy level by 2054, which is the Commissioner’s stated goal.
Word on the street, however, is that publication of the plan is being held back by State leadership because it’s being viewed as too aggressive—at least from a political perspective. What that means for the Commissioner’s plan is anyone’s guess, but I can tell you that it leaves me with a sinking feeling.
If anyone thought that saving the Lake would be easy, they haven’t been paying attention. Every single one of the saline lakes around the world is being depleted because they depend on inflows that have been diverted for human use. Yes, every single one. Great Salt Lake is no different. The challenge we face is that there are no success stories when it comes to saving saline lakes; only failures with dire consequences. If saving these lakes were easy, everyone would have done it, but nobody has. The question is: are we different? Is our society willing to make the sacrifices that will be needed to save OUR Lake? When the world shows up at our doorstep in 2034, will we be the shining example in the desert, or be just like everyone else—unwilling to do what has to be done?
Meanwhile, as State leadership contemplates the Lake’s future, the required due diligence to address existing and future needs of Great Salt Lake must continue. Implementation of existing legislative measures that generate data and funding that drive informed and responsible management decisions is critical. Included in that legislative toolbox is the development of a GSL Basin Integrated Plan (HB429). The goal of the plan is to ensure a resilient water supply for Great Salt Lake and all water uses including people and the environment, throughout the watershed as Utah continues to grow. And as stated in the workplan “The GSL Commissioner plays a pivotal role in leading the development of the GSLBIP by fostering collaboration, promoting science-based decisions, and overseeing the integration of the plan with the overall strategy for the Great Salt Lake's sustainability.”
The ongoing work of established GSL institutions and resources like the GSL Advisory Council, the GSL Salinity Advisory Committee, the GSL Ecosystem Program, the GSL Technical Team, the GSL Watershed Enhancement Trust, the GSL Strike Team, the Utah Geological Survey, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the development of the GSL Comprehensive Management Plan by the Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands, just to name a few, continue to raise public awareness and watershed wide engagement in the collective work that’s required to address the Lake’s future. But all of this effort will be for naught if State leadership ignores the findings and recommendations on what it will take to save the Lake. This shouldn’t be a game of “Mother May I” where political winds are tested at each step along the way before permission is granted to move forward.
It's time to get down off our horses and walk this through together.
We’re at a crossroads now and—like it or not—it’s up to our State leadership to do what they were elected to do: lead. The Commissioner was put in place to guide the State in the direction we need to go to save the Lake. And, he and his team have done a remarkable job in a very short period of time. Now it’s time for the State to give him the support he needs to do what he was hired to do: Save the Lake. He has had the courage to show us the way forward, but do our leaders have the courage to lead us there?
The fact is that we need goals to work toward, and a roadmap on how to reach those goals—we can’t just wing it and hope for the best. That roadmap is what the 2034 Strategic Plan is supposed to be, and I fully expect State leadership to give the Commissioner the support he needs to move us in the right direction. Will it be easy to achieve those goals? No, of course not. Will we have to make difficult choices, put up with inconveniences, fundamentally change the way we use our water? Yes, yes and yes.
This is the time to rush forward in support of the Lake—not fall back. It’s the time to show courage—not worry about political minefields. The optimist in me whispers that this is just a stumble, not a trend. But I don’t know if that’s true.
The decisions and investments we make today will determine the legacy we leave future generations. Will we leave them a healthy Lake, full of life and vibrancy? Or will we leave them with a dusty, toxic mess along with the bill to clean that mess up?
Now more than ever it feels like we need to rededicate ourselves to this cause, this mission, this exercise in community self-preservation. Are we moving in the right direction? Yes, but the effort doesn’t feel quite equal to the moment. It’s time to lengthen our stride, to kick it up a notch (or two), to win more friends to the cause. As the GSL Commissioner’s office has advocated: Conserve. Dedicate. Deliver. We can do it—we must do it—together.
WE GO!
In saline and solidarity,
Lynn de Freitas
Executive Director