Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Deseret News

December 18th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

Focused funding, donations of water, new laws and wetlands protection are highlights from 2024 The levels of the Great Salt Lake may be in decline, but the year 2024 saw a tremendous uptick in effor...

 

 

December 12th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

Brian Moench says the Utah Inland Port Authority’s plans for new development spanning the Wasatch Front and multiple counties is a death knell for Utah’s environment, thousands of acres of wetlands an...

 

 

November 22nd 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

Commissioner outlines next steps to help the ailing saline lake So far, 70,000 acre-feet of water has been dedicated to the Great Salt Lake either through leases or outright donations, including pa...

 

 

November 14th 2024 by Emma Pitts / Deseret News

Sediment is filling Lake Powell at an alarming rate. What can be done to keep this water source viable? Will Lake Powell become Lake Mud?  

 

 

November 14th 2024 by Emma Pitts / Deseret News

Sediment is filling Lake Powell at an alarming rate. What can be done to keep this water source viable? Will Lake Powell become Lake Mud?  

 

 

November 5th 2024 by Kristin Murphy / Deseret News

'Mudbergs' in Lake Powell and new white water rapids. What is it like to travel down Cataract Canyon on the Colorado River? The Colorado River Collaborative recently sent two journalists from the De...

 

 

November 5th 2024 by Emma Pitts / Deseret News

Returning Rapid’s Mike Dehoff likens the river to a friend who is sick in the hospital ― and its symptoms are worsening As I hopped onto a raft, surrounded by deep red, rugged river canyons, submit...

 

 

November 4th 2024 by Emma Pitts / Deseret News

Lake Powell and Lake Mead’s declining water levels force basin states to confront old rules in a new reality The Colorado River is managed like a joint bank account — seven states have equal shares...

 

 

November 4th 2024 by Emma Pitts / Deseret News

In 1963, the Glen Canyon Dam was built. It created Lake Powell Reservoir, which straddles Utah and Arizona, to ensure a water supply for the lower Colorado River basin states and Mexico. Over the past...

 

 

October 9th 2024 by Brice Tucker / Deseret News

The Colorado River Collaborative recently sent two journalists from the Deseret News — reporter Amy Joi O'Donoghue and photographer Brice Tucker — to the town of Green River, Utah, to chronicle Melon...

 

 

October 8th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

Green River, Utah’s main waterway, helps sustain this southeastern Utah town Mark Twain once said, “When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what angels eat.” If so, the angels would love the mel...

 

 

October 8th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

How life in Green River is intertwined with water from the river that shares its name Sonya Nelson Spackman stood in line on a mild Saturday afternoon, waiting patiently to purchase a bag of kettle...

 

 

October 3rd 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

As a new water years begins, officials plan next steps in the fight to save the lake Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed and Deputy Commissioner Tim Davis had the ideal setting Wednesday for th...

 

 

September 26th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

Led by Rep. Curtis and Utah’s congressional delegation, two stewardship bills pass on Tuesday A bill some advocates say is historic in nature was endorsed in the House on Tuesday, expanding the geog...

 

 

September 18th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

There are unique ways to help save the ailing Colorado River, and a nonprofit foundation is awarding millions to boost drought resistance in two of the seven basin states. On Thursday, the Foundatio...

 

 

September 6th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 deve...

 

 

August 14th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

August 8th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

July 16th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 va...

 

 

July 9th 2024 by Emma Pitts / Deseret News

‘The bottom line is we’re pursuing the opportunity to give credit where credit is due for this conserved water,’ Colorado River Authority of Utah Executive Director Amy Haas said The issue of water...

 

 

July 3rd 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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, acco...

 

 

June 22nd 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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, e...

 

 

June 18th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 rate...

 

 

May 28th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 sid...

 

 

May 11th 2024 by Amy Joi O'Donoghue and Emma Pitts / Deseret News

A first-person look at why the Colorado River matters Amy Joi O’Donoghue: I have been on the Colorado River a few times, the first in 2014. It is hard to believe that in August, it will represent a...

 

 

May 9th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

May 6th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

May 2nd 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 wi...

 

 

May 2nd 2024 by Emma Pitts / Deseret News

The proposed luxury resort on a former campground site has sparked outcry over environmental and community impacts Utah’s Wild West is no stranger to land conflicts. Unlike the days of the American...

 

 

April 19th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

April 16th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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” f...

 

 

March 22nd 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 ail...

 

 

March 20th 2024 by Brigham Tomco / Deseret News

The 2 congressmen visited Willard Bay aboard an airboat after being paired up in an effort to find solutions across political parties Bobbing up and down on the otherworldly surface of the Great Sal...

 

 

February 20th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

February 16th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

February 14th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

February 7th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 thei...

 

 

February 7th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

February 1st 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

February 1st 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

January 30th 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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,...

 

 

January 23rd 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

January 23rd 2024 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 meter...

 

 

November 16th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 m...

 

 

October 11th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

August 17th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

August 10th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

August 10th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

June 15th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

June 13th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 b...

 

 

May 18th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

May 11th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

May 4th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

Aerial tour by EcoFlight showcases uniqueness of Utah’s saline lake Pilot Gary Kraft has flown over the Great Salt Lake at 15,000 feet, but this week was a different experience. At an altitude o...

 

 

April 25th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 read...

 

 

March 15th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

March 9th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 resolutio...

 

 

February 9th 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 elevat...

 

 

February 3rd 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

January 31st 2023 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 develo...

 

 

January 26th 2023 by Kyle Dunphey and Kailey Gilbert / Deseret News

Utah lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled two pieces of legislation aimed at helping the Great Salt Lake that advocates are calling “historic.” One is a resolution that sets a concrete goal for improving...

 

 

November 18th 2022 by McKenzie Romero / Deseret News

Do you feel like you’ve read/seen/heard more news about the Great Salt Lake in the past several months than you have in, like, years? You’re not wrong. This article is published through the Great...

 

 

October 24th 2022 by McKenzie Romero / Deseret News

Why Utah reporters are teaming up with their competitors to tell the lake’s stories — and search for solutions At 98 years old, Alice Telford has known the Great Salt Lake longer than most, with mem...

 

 

October 12th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

October 12th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

October 10th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

October 9th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

September 29th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

August 26th 2022 by Jacob Klopfenstein / Deseret News

About five years ago, Willy Stockman’s home on the bank of Emigration Creek became a wildlife hot spot. In the summers of 2017 and 2018, elk, coyotes and turkeys started showing up in her backyard...

 

 

August 18th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 S...

 

 

August 2nd 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

July 21st 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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, p...

 

 

July 14th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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, t...

 

 

June 29th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 are...

 

 

June 23rd 2022 by Marjorie Cortez / Deseret News

With the picturesque Farmington Bay as a backdrop, state legislative leaders, the president of the state’s flagship university, academics, scientists and advocates shared ideas about the next steps to...

 

 

June 18th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

‘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 t...

 

 

June 6th 2022 by Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Deseret News & Dan Spindle, KSL TV / Deseret News

From seed to livestock feed in 5 days with minimal water Rod Magnuson has a nice spread in rural Utah, raising cattle and alfalfa in an operation that is the backbone of a fourth-generation legacy s...

 

 

May 20th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 wa...

 

 

May 4th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 th...

 

 

April 21st 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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...

 

 

April 20th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 Co...

 

 

March 7th 2022 by McKenzie Romero / Deseret News

They say a rising tide lifts all boats. But if we’re hoping to lift any boats in the Great Salt Lake, we’re going to need a lot of help. Utah’s salty stalwart, the unique and often misunderstood e...

 

 

March 6th 2022 by Kyle Dunphey / Deseret News

‘I couldn’t be happier,’ Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said of lawmakers’ efforts in the 2022 Utah Legislative Session For Utah lawmakers, it was the year of the Great Salt Lake. After being accused of ye...

 

 

March 6th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 ai...

 

 

February 18th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 ailin...

 

 

February 15th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 drough...

 

 

February 1st 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 eas...

 

 

January 25th 2022 by Kyle Dunphey / Deseret News

A new bill unveiled Tuesday would establish unprecedented guidelines for how Utah should respond to its shrinking Great Salt Lake. Lake Mead, Lake Powell and the Great Salt Lake all hit record lows...

 

 

January 24th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 a...

 

 

January 4th 2022 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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. Wilso...

 

 

February 10th 2018 by Amy Joi O’Donoghue / Deseret News

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 Grea...

 

 

 

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