![Amy Joi O’Donoghue](/images/authors/amyjoi.webp#joomlaImage://local-images/authors/amyjoi.webp?width=600&height=600)
Amy Joi O’Donoghue
Deseret News Reporter
Amy Joi O’Donoghue is a reporter for the Utah InDepth team with decades of expertise in land and environmental issues. In 2019 she received a silver medal in the prestigious Kavli competition by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Amy’s family lives in Weber County with their horses, chickens, Irish Wolfhounds and Jack the cat.
![Solar fields and wind turbines near the site of the FORGE geothermal demonstration sight near Milford on Thursday, July 6, 2023. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/816/intro/500/solar-milford.jpeg)
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Solar advocacy group says some areas are just not appropriate The Biden-Harris administration wants to open up an additional 31 million acres in the West for development of utility scale solar develop...
![A sailboat is seen at the Great Salt Lake State Park in Magna on Saturday, June 15, 2024. A new analysis identifies gaps in infrastructure and ways the state can improve how water gets to the Great Salt Lake. Marielle Scott, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/799/intro/500/sailboat-gsl.jpeg)
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A recently completed yearlong analysis probed how water moves through the Great Salt Lake basin and how to better understand what improvements need to manage the finite resource. The study was done by...
![Uranium tailings are pictured near the Colorado River, north of Moab in Grand County on Sunday, April 28, 2024. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/797/intro/500/moab-tailings-km-12134a.jpeg)
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Sixteen million tons of radioactive uranium tailings once sat near the banks of the Colorado River, putting the waterway in peril of contamination on the outskirts of Moab. Removal began in 2009 and w...
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Hungry bovines chomp on aggressive water-hungry reed, helping environment. Caretakers of the land around the Great Salt Lake, at wildlife management areas and Utah Lake over the years have used a vari...
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New research shows heightened vulnerability among certain populations The 800 square miles of exposed bed of the Great Salt Lake is disproportionately affecting Pacific Islanders and Hispanics, accord...
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Briefing details successful on the ground projects in Utah, Colorado How much money will it take to save the Colorado River? And is money the answer? It turns out with money, as is with water, every d...
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Audit finds inconsistent royalty rates, incorrect payments and missing documentation A legislative audit heard in a committee Tuesday found glaring inconsistencies in the application of royalty rates...
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New construction is key to saving water, including the Colorado River Zach Renstrom has been called a lot of things, and some of them are expletives not suitable for print. Renstrom didn’t get sideway...
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Money designed in part to improve water supply in the Colorado River Basin In another move to build water resilient systems in the West and particularly in the Colorado River Basin, the U.S. Bureau of...
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Money could help improve Great Salt Lake wetlands The Department of the Interior Wednesday announced more than $87 million in funding has been approved by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, p...
![The Colorado River is pictured by Dead Horse Point State Park in Grand County on Friday, April 26, 2024. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)](/images/econa-article-images/701/intro/CR Collab Overview_KM_17.jpg)
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New media collaborative seeks answers, solutions for the hardest working river in the West Here in a canyon northeast of Moab, it is difficult to fully understand or appreciate the power of this wild,...
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Davis County jewel offers chance to get back to nature, learn about the lake Editor's note: This article is part of an occasional series by the Great Salt Lake Collaborative showcasing the fun side of...
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Plan tackles a number of ways to help the ailing saline body of water, basin The Utah Division of Water Resources and the Bureau of Reclamation announced Monday the finalization of the “work plan” for...
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Commissioner Brian Steed breaks down legislation affecting the Great Salt Lake Baby steps and long jumps. There are advocates who firmly believe the state of Utah is not doing enough to save the ailin...
![The east end of the Behrens Trench of Compass Minerals connected to the Great Salt Lake is seen on Oct. 18, 2016. | Ravell Call, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/643/intro/compass minerals 2016.jpg)
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It is not without controversy, its naysayers and organizations opposed to the new tax burden it imposes on extraction industries operating on the Great Salt Lake, but a legislative measure advanced Tu...
![A sprinkler runs at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City on Thursday, July 7, 2022. A resolution before the Utah Legislature urges communities to adopt water efficiency standards for new construction. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/644/intro/sprinkler dnews.jpg)
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Lawmakers say they represent 40% of population While a lot of emphasis has been placed on the agricultural use of water in Utah, particularly in the Great Salt Lake drainage, a resolution is asking ci...
![A man explores a jetty in the Great Salt Lake at Great Salt Lake State Park in Salt Lake County on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/646/intro/jetty dnews story leg.jpg)
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Tracking saved water, wrangling with extraction companies on the menu The popular saying that you can’t manage what you don’t measure is the underlying theme of a legislative proposal that received a...
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GSL briefing details multifaceted effort to help the saline lake A number of legislative proposals and appropriations dealing with the drought and diversion-stricken Great Salt Lake are winding their...
![The Willard Spur Waterfowl Management Area near the Great Salt Lake is pictured in Box Elder County on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/634/intro/willard spur.jpg)
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Willard Spur is in desperate need of water, and so is Ogden City A partnership proposed by Ogden City with the state of Utah has the potential to save millions of gallons of water per day, ensure a re...
![The water level is rising in the Great Salt Lake due to snowmelt on May 3, 2023. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.](/images/econa-article-images/631/intro/evaporation ponds.jpg)
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Utah lawmaker presses measure to prioritize water for the Great Salt Lake Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, wants to “color” the water saved for the Great Salt Lake. If you can imagine taking a red marke...
![Phragmites line the shore of Utah Lake near Mulberry Beach in Utah County on Jan. 13, 2022. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/624/intro/phragmites.jpg)
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Proposal outlines stepped-up removal program for plant As Utah lawmakers, advocates, state agencies and researchers continue to look for answers to help the Great Salt Lake, one funding request aims t...
![Farm fields in Utah County, near Spanish Fork, on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/628/intro/farm fields utah county.jpg)
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Water funding requests get a hearing at Capitol For the third consecutive year, water is once again a dominant issue at the state Legislature as lawmakers grapple with the issues of water scarcity, an...
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Area has not been mapped since 1990s, groundwater is diminishing Cache Valley is highly dependent on groundwater from springs and the valley aquifer, but most groundwater wells monitored by the U.S. G...
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Panel votes to exempt small water districts of 2,500 or less from metering A committee of lawmakers voted Tuesday to potentially broaden the exemptions for those water providers subject to the meterin...
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The pipeline is for future water deliveries A future pipeline for water deliveries to the growing Wasatch Front may be decades off, but the state of Utah is buying land now in Box Elder County to make...
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It may have snowed and snowed and snowed some more last winter, but the record precipitation has done little to douse the concern a majority of Utah residents have over the Great Salt Lake’s condition...
![The west end of the Behrens Trench of Compass Minerals is seen on Oct. 18, 2016. The trench moves brine from the west pond complex to the east pond complex of Compass Minerals.](/images/econa-article-images/487/intro/compass minerals deseret new.jpg)
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Legislature intends to rein in Compass Minerals’ operation on the north arm Utah House Majority Leader Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said Compass Minerals operating on the north arm of the Great Salt Lake i...
![Brad Blanch looks over a dam on the Weber River in Weber County on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Blanch is a West Weber resident who wants to lease several hundred acre-feet of water to benefit the Great Salt Lake. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/483/intro/brad blanch donation.jpg)
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Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust helps people like this Weber County farmer help the lake President Joe Biden made an historic announcement Tuesday designating a new national monument in Ar...
![The Great Salt Lake is pictured on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. The Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act, sponsored by Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is a way to tap into a pool of money already set aside for water projects, but unused.Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/481/intro/GSL 5:3:23.jpg)
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Curtis, Lee push adoption of key legislation The importance behind a key piece of legislation designed to help the Great Salt Lake and its vast watershed was detailed in a congressional subcommittee h...
![The Antelope Island marina is pictured in the Great Salt Lake on Monday, June 5, 2023. Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Utah Rep. John Curtis unveiled the Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act, which addresses the ecological crisis facing the Great Salt Lake.Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/459/intro/antelope island marina.jpg)
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Legislation expands spending authority of Central Utah Completion Act A proposed boost in federal money to help the Great Salt Lake watershed and ultimately the lake itself was introduced Wednesday in...
![Two people watch the sunset over the Great Salt Lake from Ladyfinger Point on Antelope Island on Monday, June 5, 2023.Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/454/intro/sunset gsl.jpg)
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Poll shows concern remains strong, but slightly diminished in light of snowpack The endless winter storms that draped Utah’s watersheds in a canopy of white, breaking records, collapsing roofs and bur...
![New wetlands are seen following the completion of the Freeport Drain project at the Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve in Layton on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.Ryan Sun, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/439/intro/new wetlands Dnews story 5_18.jpg)
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Layton shoreline preserve showcases 40-acre wetlands project years in the making A red vintage 1950 McCormick Farmall tractor in cherry condition has been loaded up with hay on its trailer, ferrying g...
![The Willard Bay spillway gates are opened for flood mitigation in Box Elder County on Thursday, May 11, 2023.Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/432/intro/Willard Bay spillway Dnews.jpg)
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71.6 billion gallons of water will come from upstream reservoirs With the turn of a wheel, 650 million gallons of water a day will eventually travel from Willard Bay to the ailing Great Salt Lake. Alt...
![The water level is rising in the Great Salt Lake due to snowmelt as photographed from above on Wednesday, May 2, 2023. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.](/images/econa-article-images/426/intro/water level rising ecoflight.jpg)
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Aerial tour by EcoFlight showcases uniqueness of Utah’s saline lake
![Boats are pictured on land at the Great Salt Lake State Park marina in Magna on Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Rising water levels are making the lake accessible to boats again.Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/413/intro/boats on GSL again.jpg)
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Utah state parks plan for open boat ramps at popular reservoirs After being forced to dock their boats at the Great Salt Lake State Park and Marina due to the drought two years ago, sailors are readyi...
![Dust blows across the dry lakebed of the Great Salt Lake near Salt Lake City on Aug. 12, 2022. The Utah Air Quality Division’s technical team will begin reviewing strategic locations for the placement of four new dust monitors to capture wind events over the Great Salt Lake’s exposed bed to determine the levels of arsenic and other pollutants carried to the Wasatch Front.Spenser Heaps, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/386/intro/dust on gsl.jpg)
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Utah’s pollution problems get a state funding boost to help clear the skies The Utah Air Quality Division’s technical team will begin reviewing strategic locations for the placement of four new dust m...
![A couple and their dog walk near the Great Salt Lake on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/383/intro/walk dog near lake.jpg)
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Utah Farm Bureau says new law is a game changer in agricultural water use Critics panned the Utah Legislature for failing to set a target elevation for the Great Salt Lake via a nonbinding resolution....
![I-80 near the Great Salt Lake on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. The Kem Gardner Institute will soon release a policy briefing on the Great Salt Lake containing six major policy insights and recommendations.Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/359/intro/lake near i80.jpg)
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Even in ‘wet’ years, conservation, policy changes are paramount to restore the lake Life as usual cannot go on in northern Utah if the state wants to replenish the Great Salt Lake to an ideal elevatio...
![A northern harrier flies over the Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve next to a school in western Davis County on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. Development in Davis County has tripled between 1997 and 2022.Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/347/intro/northern harrier.jpg)
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A growing bird count over 3 years defines success, defies GSL drought The 22-year drought in Utah has been the harbinger of bad news, with everything from the Great Salt Lake dropping to a historic lo...
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Legislators commit to spending a half billion or more on Utah’s water It took more than 150 years since pioneers first arrived in Utah to drop the level of the Great Salt Lake by 11 feet with developm...
![Phill Kiddoo, air pollution control officer for the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District, shows journalists a tube that collects fine particulate, one measure of how much is being blown around in the wind, at an air quality monitoring site on the north shore of Mono Lake in Mono County, California, on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/234/intro/California Salty Lakes_sh_27.jpg)
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Is Utah behind the curve when it comes to dust mitigation from the drying Great Salt Lake? Owens Lake in California, once the nation’s largest source of dust pollution, has nine monitoring stations to...
![Maj. Kristin “Beo” Wolfe flies during an F-35A Lightning II demonstration team show at Hill Air Force Base near Layton on Friday, June 3, 2022. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/232/intro/Military Hill AFB_merlin_2926594.jpg)
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Lone Pine, Calif — At Owens Lake in California, once the nation’s most notorious site for dust pollution so intense you could taste it in your mouth, the mission of the nation’s largest on-land naval...
![Arrash Agahi, who oversees regulatory compliance of Owens Lake for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, looks at an area of the lakebed that has been converted to a brine pool to reduce blowing dust while giving journalists a tour of the project area on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/226/intro/California Salty Lakes_sh_37.jpg)
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what makes Owens Lake in California different, but similar to Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Like Owens Lake, the Great Salt Lake is a terminal saline lake in the Great Basin. The basin covers more than 200,...
![The rising sun reflects off of pools of water and brine that are part of the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program on the mostly dry lakebed in Inyo County, California, on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/222/intro/California Salty Lakes_sh_02.jpg)
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This Great Salt Lake Collaborative story is part of day one of our series, “At water’s edge: Searching for solutions at the Great Salt Lake’s sister lakes across the Great Basin.” The in-depth project...
![Izabel and Mary LePique take photos at the Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022.Ben B. Braun, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/239/intro/poll story.jpg)
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The declining water levels at the Great Salt Lake and what it may mean for Utah’s future have a majority of Utah residents concerned about its condition, and they are willing to have lawmakers throw m...
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To save the Great Salt Lake, its complex ecosystem and its value to the state of Utah and the West, one has to know the Great Salt Lake. To that end, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and state House Spe...
![Record low water levels are seen in the Great Salt Lake by the Antelope Island marina on Friday, July 22, 2022. State leaders are working on solutions to help restore the lake. Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/171/intro/Picture1.jpg)
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Against the backdrop of lush marshes whistling along the shores of the Great Salt Lake at Farmington Bay, Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson worried the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere is a...
![Carroll Dolson, a member of the Chesapeake Duck Club near Corinne, Box Elder County, prepares his boat club on Wednesday, July 13, 2022.Ben B. Braun, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/147/intro/duck club 1.jpg)
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Conservation of Great Salt Lake wetlands dates back to the late 1800s. Now it’s more important than ever Hunting is about more than just killing, it is about saving. Shortly after the Civil War, priva...
![The Great Salt Lake State Park on Friday, June 10, 2022. Water levels at the Great Salt Lake are continuing to reach record lows due to drought.Laura Seitz, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/136/intro/GSL State Park.jpg)
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New measure explores ways to get more water to the lake, adds more money With the Great Salt Lake dropping to its new historic low this summer and projected to decline even more before year’s end, the...
![Christine Ray pushes daughter Bonnie Ray on a paddle board at Bear Lake’s Rendezvous Beach in Rich County on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. A new study reveals visitors to Bear Lake last summer pumped $48 million into the northern Utah region during more than a million days and nights of visitation.Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/133/intro/Bar Lake.jpg)
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A new study reveals visitors to Bear Lake last summer pumped $48 million into the northern Utah region during more than a million days and nights of visitation. That is a ton of money in a rural area...
![Lane Henderson, of Riverton, competes in a 1-mile open swim competition at Great Salt Lake State Park in Magna on Saturday, June 11, 2022.Laura Seitz, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/114/intro/GSL swim.jpg)
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‘You either love it or you hate it, there’s no in between,’ one swimmer says Forget about the bugs. They are only with you for a little bit on this journey. As intrepid water enthusiasts took to the d...
![One of two Arthur V. Watkins Dam siphon pipes that will be replaced with a direct outlet pipe is visible in Willard Bay’s low water levels in Box Elder County on Friday, May 20, 2022. The purpose of both the existing siphon pipes and future delivery conduit is to move fresh water from Willard Bay to the pictured canal that supplies several industrial customers.Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/87/intro/aquaduct.jpg)
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How money can help the West navigate the water supply issue of drought Communities across the West and elsewhere in the country are tapping more than 660 million reasons to boost the integrity of wate...
![The shores of the Great Salt Lake on the southwest side of Antelope Island are pictured on Thursday, May 10, 2018 Spenser Heaps, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/75/intro/dnews latest.jpg)
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SALT LAKE CITY — There are two things the waters of the Great Salt Lake and agricultural lands have in common: they are both in steady, rapid decline. A three-day forum hosted by Friends of the Great...
![Low water levels are pictured in the Great Salt Lake near Tooele County on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022.Kristin Murphy, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/74/intro/90.jpg)
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First Great Salt Lake Summit strives for solutions Brad Wilson, a bunch of other folks and a dog named Max took to the waters of the Great Salt Lake on airboats one recent December morning. Wilson, th...
![Traffic passes a grassy landscape on Green Valley Parkway in suburban Henderson, Nev., on April 9, 2021. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak signed legislation on June 4, 2021, to make the state the first in the nation to ban certain kinds of grass. The measure banned water users in southern Nevada from planting decorative grass in an effort to conserve water.Ken Ritter, Associated Press](/images/econa-article-images/73/intro/lawn.jpg)
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Southern Nevada prohibits ‘ornamental’ turf in some areas By 2027, more than 5,000 acres of what are deemed useless or simply ornamental turf will be ripped out of the Las Vegas Valley in what is the...
![Students from Creekside Elementary explore the marshes at the Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve as part of The Nature Conservancy’s Wings & Water program in Layton on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.Laura Seitz, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/65/intro/kids Dnews.jpg)
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Studies show link between youth education, protecting nature To save the Great Salt Lake is to know its worth. To know its worth is to be educated about why it matters. For 16 years, The Nature Conser...
![Will Munger, a doctoral student in Utah State University in the Department of Environment and Society, poses for a photo along Emigration Creek in Wasatch Hollow Preserve in Salt Lake City on Friday, April 15, 2022.Scott G Winterton, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/64/intro/Chilean Dnews.jpg)
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Back in its heyday, the shoreline of the Great Salt Lake boasted multiple resorts offering dining, dancing, concerts, picnic pavilions, a bowling alley. Thousands swarmed these resorts for entertainme...
![The Great Salt Lake as seen on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. Advocates, researchers and others are concerned about the future of the lake. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/33/intro/deseret-is-it-too-late.jpg)
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Advocates, researchers and others intimately acquainted with the Great Salt Lake have watched with dread over the last two decades as it has steadily dwindled to a trickle of its former self. Its aili...
![A Blackhawk helicopter flies over the Great Salt Lake as Utah lawmakers take an aerial tour of the Great Salt Lake with the Utah Army National Guard. The group left from the Capitol in Salt Lake City Utah on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022.](/images/econa-article-images/27/intro/deseret-blackhawk.jpg)
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Blackhawk tour highlights ‘shocking’ condition of lake A group of Utah legislators flew over the shrinking Great Salt Lake early Tuesday morning to see just how badly it is diminishing due to drought...
![The Great Salt Lake’s low water levels are visible from the air on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. A committee of lawmakers on Friday unanimously approved a measure that would infuse $40 million worth of solutions into helping the ailing lake. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News](/images/econa-article-images/16/intro/Deseret-40m-trust.jpg)
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Utah legislative committee unanimously endorses measure A committee of Utah lawmakers on Friday unanimously approved a measure that would infuse $40 million worth of solutions into helping the ailing...
![Water runs out of Tibble Fork Reservoir in American Fork Canyon on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022.](/images/econa-article-images/11/intro/deseret.Utah drought- Poll shows most Utahns are worried about drought.jpg)
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Forecast says Utah and the West look to remain in drought A new poll shows an overwhelming majority of Utah residents are concerned about the drought and a mostly dry January isn’t doing much to ease...
![What you need to know about water in Utah and why you should care](/images/econa-article-images/9/intro/deseret.brightspotcdn.com.jpg)
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Management is complex in one of the nation’s driest states Utah’s use of water and the delivery systems that get the finite resource to the tap, farms, fields and landscaping is likely to be front and...
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