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Great Salt Lake Collaborative

(Robert Lawrence via KSL)

Ways to get involved this week, May 23

May 22nd 2025 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This is an adaptation of our free, weekly newsletter. You can subscribe for more content like this here. Watch a site-specific performance inspired by the lake "Feathered Tides" is...

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 Artist Nick Pedersen’s design represents two distinctly different futures for Great Salt Lake. (Nick Pedersen)

A conversation with the artist behind two Great Salt Lake billboards in Poplar Grove

May 12th 2025 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Utah Artist Nick Pedersen’s recent work, “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” currently stands on two billboards on the corner of 870 South and 900 West, in Salt Lake’s Poplar Grove neighborhood. The display f...

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Ways to get involved this week, May 12

May 12th 2025 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This is an adaptation of our free, weekly newsletter. You can subscribe for more content like this here. Join Seven Canyons Trust for trivia night Looking to test your knowledge of...

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Weber State University Professor John Cavitt and a student look for Snowy Plovers during a survey in 2008. (Weber State University)

Weber State professor teams up with DWR to host Snowy Plover survey

May 8th 2025 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

SALT LAKE CITY — A Weber State University Professor has teamed up with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to organize a Snowy Plover survey. From May 15 to June 15, a team of volunteers will w...

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U of U study examines impact of dust on snowmelt in Colorado River Basin

April 24th 2025 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

SALT LAKE CITY — In a recent study, University of Utah researchers found that dust accelerates snowmelt in the Colorado River Basin. They analyzed 23 years of satellite imaging, noting patterns of...

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Photo of Pat Bagley via The Salt Lake Tribune

A conversation with Pat Bagley, the cartoonist behind Great Salt Lake Collaborative’s mascot

April 4th 2025 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Pat Bagley is a Utah cartoonist who has worked with The Salt Lake Tribune for the past 45 years. He’s the artist who drew “Briney,” Great Salt Lake Collaborative’s friendly mascot. Collaborative Fr...

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Just in: Great Salt Lake air quality monitors will be funded

March 21st 2025 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This is adapted from our weekly, free newsletter from March 21, 2025. You can subscribe here. Dear readers, Some good news I heard yesterday: It appears money will be found to pay f...

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13 ways to get involved this coming week

March 14th 2025 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Great Salt Lake Collaborative shares updates from many organizations as part of our mission to connect people with information about Great Salt Lake and the Colorado River. Tune in to Birds 'n Bite...

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LDS Church adds water-saving tech to churches

March 14th 2025 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This story is adapted from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's weekly newsletter, Lake Effect from March 14, 2025. To keep up-to-date on water news from around Utah with a focus on Grea...

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What did Utah lawmakers do for the Great Salt Lake this year?

March 11th 2025 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This story is an excerpt from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's weekly newsletter, Lake Effect from March 11, 2025. To keep up-to-date on water news from around Utah with a focus on G...

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Utah adds $50K for dust monitoring after initially skipping it in budget

March 7th 2025 by Carter Williams / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers have opted to spend at least some money toward monitoring dust issues, following concerns brought up by environmental researchers. The Utah Executive Appropriations C...

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Three conservation bills and $50 million for Great Salt Lake stalled: Week 6 recap of the Utah Legislature

March 6th 2025 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This story is an excerpt from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's weekly newsletter, Lake Effect from Feb. 28, 2025. To keep up-to-date on water news from around Utah with a focus on Gr...

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Utah Royals reveal Great Salt Lake-themed secondary uniform, donation to lake trust

February 27th 2025 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

HERRIMAN, Utah — The Utah Royals unveiled a new uniform inspired by Great Salt Lake on Thursday morning. A press release from Utah Royals said the uniforms were designed “in conjunction” with Nike...

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Are Utah lawmakers doing enough to save the Great Salt Lake? Week 5 of the Utah Legislature

February 20th 2025 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This story is an excerpt from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's weekly newsletter, Lake Effect from Feb. 21, 2025. To keep up-to-date on water news from around Utah with a focus on Gr...

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Drought on Capitol Hill: Little water legislation in Utah Legislature

February 14th 2025 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This story is an excerpt from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's weekly newsletter, Lake Effect from Feb. 14, 2025. To keep up-to-date on water news from around Utah with a focus on Gr...

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Wasting water may get pricier in Utah: Week 3 of the Utah Legislature

February 7th 2025 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This story is an excerpt from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's weekly newsletter, Lake Effect from Feb. 7, 2025. To keep up-to-date on water news from around Utah with a focus on Gre...

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Farmers fear water grab: Week 2 recap of the Utah Legislature

January 31st 2025 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This story is an excerpt from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's weekly newsletter, Lake Effect from Jan. 31, 2025. To keep up-to-date on water news from around Utah with a focus on Gr...

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Rancher Andy Rice plucks a handful of plants from one of his pastures in Garfield County, Aug. 21, 2024. (David Condos/KUER)

Does Utah's governor saves water on his farm?

January 30th 2025 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This story is an excerpt from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's weekly newsletter, Lake Effect from Jan. 24, 2025. To keep up-to-date on water news from around Utah with a focus on Gr...

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(Mariah Maynes)

Here are five ways to get involved with Great Salt Lake in 2025

January 15th 2025 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

2025 is setting in, offering a fresh start and new opportunities to get involved. As you look to find ways to get involved in your community, CNN recommended setting small, manageable, and exciting go...

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Caption: From right to left, Matt Beatty, Noah Myers, Vanessa Adams, Bella Beatty and Amy Beatty take a selfie eating watermelon during the 118th annual Melon Days Festival in Green River on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. The Beattys have been coming to Green River’s Melon Days Festival with family and friends for over a decade. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News

Our impact in 2024, our plans for 2025 — and why we need your support

December 30th 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Better together It's Heather May here from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative and Colorado River Collaborative. I want to share with you the accomplishments we've made in 2024. By we, I mean the part...

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File -- Mark Milligan, with the Utah Geological Survey, takes a photo of a mound formed by the mineral mirabilite on the shores of the Great Salt Lake on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. (Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News)

Our most engaging stories of 2024

December 26th 2024 by Becca Green / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

As we head into 2025, the team at Great Salt Lake Collaborative would like to thank each of you for taking the time to be engaged on these important issues.Our coverage spanned a wide range of topics...

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What are the solutions to save the Great Salt Lake? Here are five ideas

December 13th 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Editor's note: This list of potential solutions was made for students who are learning about the Great Salt Lake through a partnership the Great Salt Lake Collaborative has with Spy Hop, a nonprofit d...

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Utah artist kicks of Wake the Great Salt Lake with 'By a Thread' exhibit

October 31st 2024 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

SALT LAKE CITY – Ogden artist Kellie Bornhoft’s has a goal with her latest work, ‘By a Thread.’ She wants to break the notion that the Great Salt Lake is a barren wasteland. “I often hear people in...

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Why do you love the lake? And what are you willing to give up to protect it?

October 30th 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

The Great Salt Lake Collaborative is partnering with Plan-B Theatre on a play about the Great Salt Lake, through Salt Lake City Arts Council's Wake the Great Salt Lake program. Your answers could sh...

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Live. Laugh. Lake: Buy a tote to support local water coverage

September 23rd 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

"Do we really need a sign to live, laugh and love?" asks Dr. Rick Methods in those funny Progressive commercials. The answer is yes. It's even better when the sign says "Live. Laugh. Lake." Score...

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Volunteers with Friends of Great Salt Lake clean up the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake Sept. 16, 2023, as part of International Coastal Cleanup. (Courtesy: Friends of GSL)

Friends of Great Salt Lake to host southern shore cleanup event

September 5th 2024 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

SALT LAKE CITY — On September 14, Friends of Great Salt Lake will host a cleanup on the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake. From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., volunteers will meet at Great Salt Lake State...

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In this photo from spring 2024, students from Wasatch Elementary in Salt Lake City work on an art project about the Great Salt Lake with Utah Poet Laureate Lisa Bickmore. (Photo courtesy Lisa Bickmore)

Ahead of September book discussion event, Utah Poet Laureate shares the role of Great Salt Lake in her work

August 26th 2024 by Mariah Maynes / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

SALT LAKE CITY — Lisa Bickmore, Utah’s Poet Laureate, will lead a discussion of Terry Tempest Williams’ book ‘Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place.’ The free event will be hosted by the...

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(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Vicki Thomas, left, and her husband Jerry Thomas study different types of plants as they plan to “flip,” or redesign, their park strip at Conservation Garden Park in West Jordan on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.

How to get paid to rip out your lawn: A user guide

July 16th 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

So you’re thinking about ripping out your lawn — and getting paid a government rebate to do it. Some advice: There are plenty of funds available — if you live in a qualifying city. Know that...

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Brad Parry, vice chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, in front of the Utah Capitol building on June 6, 2023. (Photo credit: Shara Hiller)

‘Cultural healing’: a Q&A with Northwestern Shoshone Vice Chairman Brad Parry as restoration at Bear River Massacre Site begins

May 21st 2024 by Andrew Christiansen / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

This story was updated 6/10/24 to reflect the correct year the Bear River Massacre occurred. During the Bear River Massacre in 1863, around 200 U.S. Army soldiers killed at least 350 Shoshone men, w...

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Row, hunt, play at Great Salt Lake: Special recreation edition

May 2nd 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

This is adapted from our free weekly newsletter Lake Effect, which comes out every Friday. Sign up for free here. It's time to get outside and play at Great Salt Lake. News about the lake shouldn...

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Screenshot from Utah Division of State History's collection on Saltair.

Share your concert memories from Saltair

April 8th 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Post Malone once called it a "dope venue" that "kinda stinks." This is adapted from our free weekly newsletter Lake Effect, which comes out every Friday. Sign up for free here. In honor of spring...

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People dress up as different Great Salt Lake creatures and hold signs in support of the lake during a rally celebrating new efforts to protect the Wilson's phalarope at the Utah Capitol on Thursday. (Photo: Carter Williams, KSL.com)

Your guide to the Endangered Species petition to save the Great Salt Lake

March 29th 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

What do the birds sounds like? Why does the state oppose the listing? What's the next legal fight? This is adapted from our free weekly newsletter Lake Effect, which comes out every Friday. Sign up...

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GSL films and writing contests: Upcoming Great Salt Lake events in April

March 28th 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

The events listed here are from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's free, weekly newsletter called Lake Effect. Sign up to get local, lake-related news delivered to your inbox every Friday. Have an...

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GSL films and writing contests: Upcoming Great Salt Lake events in April

March 28th 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

The events listed here are from the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's free, weekly newsletter called Lake Effect. Sign up to get local, lake-related news delivered to your inbox every Friday. Have an...

Read more …

 


 

The five-year plan to get more water to Great Salt Lake

March 14th 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

The Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust — created to improve water quantity and quality for the lake — released its five-year strategy this week. The Utah Legislature created the Trust with...

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(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Workers with Foxtail Turf remove the grass from Patricia Council's North Las Vegas yard, replacing it with artificial turf on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022.

Water conservation and the 2024 Utah Legislature: A comprehensive guide

March 8th 2024 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Headlines from the beginning of the 2024 Utah Legislature declared that lawmakers were considering spending millions for the Great Salt Lake and conservation. So what got passed — and passed over —...

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David Williams listens to his duck hunting guide Breck Dickinson as they get ready to load their boats into a truck near Red Hill Park, in Imperial County, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. Dickinson has been hunting in the area for around 30 years and has watched the bird populations change along with changing water levels of the Salton Sea. He also said brown pelicans disappeared as fish in the lake died off, eliminating their food source.Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Are artificial wetlands, nearing completion at California’s Salton Sea, the future of the Great Salt Lake?

February 21st 2024 by Emma Penrod and Alex Cabrero / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Wildlife managers already maintain hundreds of thousands of acres of artificial wetlands around the Great Salt Lake. But as the lake shrinks, the opportunity to build more grows IMPERIAL COUNTY, Cal...

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Photo showing crowds on the walkways at Saltair Resort, Utah, in 1908. From the Edward P. Jennings Photograph Collection housed at Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.  

Utah’s inland sea already has the world’s attention, brace yourselves for more

December 12th 2023 by Emma Penrod / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

The lake’s Glory days need not be a thing of the past. Its best days may be yet to come–and are perhaps already here. Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of stories by the Great Salt Lake...

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Aerial view of harvester and speeder boats deploying containment booms in preparation for harvesting brine shrimp (Artemia) on Great Salt Lake. Courtesy Great Salt Lake Artemia.

The world needs to feed 10 billion people. The Great Salt Lake could teach us how.

December 5th 2023 by Emma Penrod / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Saving the Great Salt Lake is important because it makes a critical international industry more sustainable. Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of stories by the Great Salt Lake Collabor...

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This photo from 1930 shows a promotional sign at Saltair. In 1893 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built Saltair on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake, sixteen miles from downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It was sold to a private individual in 1906. The main attraction was swimming in the Great Salt Lake. There was also a roller coaster, a merry-go-round, a ferris wheel, midway games, bicycle races, touring vaudeville companies, rodeos, bullfights, boat rides on the lake, firework display and even hot-air balloons. In 1925 it burned to the ground. A new pavilion was designed and built but it never regained its popularity. It closed for good in 1958. It was again destroyed by fire in November of 1970. Photo used by permission, Uintah County Library Regional History Center, all rights reserved.

Why save the Great Salt Lake? A special report

November 30th 2023 by Emma Penrod / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Here’s a question that catches people off guard: What would happen if Utah is successful in saving the Great Salt Lake? For the past two years as the lake has been the subject of intense public scru...

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(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jake Young, landscape architect designed this park strip in Farmington, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023.

Fixing the lake could pave the way to solving Utah’s mental health crisis

November 28th 2023 by Emma Penrod / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

How thinking about water when planning cities and homes can save the lake and lead to happier, more connected Utahns Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of stories by the Great Salt Lake C...

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This illustration shows a way to develop communities along the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake so that sprawl is limited and the wetlands are buffered. It was created by Utah State University’s Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning seniors in their capstone class in Spring 2023.

How to build a lake-friendly yard, neighborhood

November 28th 2023 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Is it possible to create a Great Salt Lake friendly neighborhood? Seniors in Utah State University’s Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning Department capstone class have created a waterwis...

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Caleb Wilkins is the CEO of the agricultural startup Renaissance Ag. Courtesy Renaissance Ag. His goal is to produce more food in less space by using vertical farming techniques.

Farming goes high tech

November 28th 2023 by Emma Penrod / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Renaissance Ag CEO Caleb Wilkins does not believe farmers set out to destroy the environment, the land on which they depend. They know how to graze and feed animals and raise crops in ways that minimi...

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Kelby Johnson with his sons Luke (in his arms) and Wyatt. Johnson runs a 100-acre farm in Benson, Utah, and hopes his children will become fifth-generation family farmers. But the Johnsons must withstand pressure to sell to developers and cut costs and water for the Great Salt Lake. (Jeffrey Dahdah, KSL-TV).

The Great Salt Lake and Utah farms could save each other. Here's how.

November 28th 2023 by Emma Penrod / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Surprise: Agriculture and the lake need each other to survive Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of stories by the Great Salt Lake Collaborative that asks the question: Why save the Great...

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Great Salt Lake goes to school

November 10th 2023 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

The University of Utah’s College of Humanities is partnering with the award-winning Great Salt Lake Collaborative to give students real world journalism experience. The groundbreaking collaborative...

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Hay fields and pivot irrigation systems on a farm in Paradise, Utah. (Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News)

Search Utah ag companies that received state funds to save water

November 8th 2023 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

This data comes from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. The Great Salt Lake Collaborative requested records of the state's Agricultural Water Optimization Program — the grantees, amount of m...

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Trevor Nielson of the Bear River Canal Co. talks about the new high tech gates and equipment with water officials during a tour of various canal sites in Box Elder County Thursday, October 19, 2023. Photos by Brian Nicholson, Special to the Standard-Examiner.

Utah is spending $265 million for farms to save water. But is the water getting to the Great Salt Lake?

November 8th 2023 by Carter Williams, KSL.com and Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

TAYLORSVILLE — While Utah’s Agricultural Water Optimization Program has the potential to save tens of thousands of acre-feet of water annually, Hannah Freeze says it may take years to know the true im...

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Trevor Nielson, right, of the Bear River Canal Co. talks about the new high tech gates and other issues with water officials during a tour of various canal sites in Box Elder County Thursday, October 19, 2023. Photos by Brian Nicholson, Special to the Standard-Examiner.

How we did the story about how farmers are saving water

November 8th 2023 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

The Great Salt Lake Collaborative — a solutions journalism organization made up of local newsrooms — requested data from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. We asked for records of who had re...

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Jaemye Brandon, left, talks about converting an alfalfa farm to a Christmas tree farm near Tremonton. (Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News)

Utah is going big on helping farmers grow crops with less water. Here’s where the water and the money is flowing

November 8th 2023 by Carter Williams, KSL.com | Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner | Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

TREMONTON, Utah — Jaemye and Bryan Brandon are getting ready for the holidays. String lights are transforming their picturesque farm into something straight out of a Hallmark holiday movie. But the...

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Ogden mayoral candidate Ben Nadolski answers 10 questions about Great Salt Lake

September 27th 2023 by Ben Nadolski / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, with the many city priorities you will face as Mayor, where do you rank the Great Salt Lake and why? I have been a natural resource professional and practitioner for the pa...

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Ogden mayoral candidate Taylor Knuth answers 10 questions about Great Salt Lake

September 27th 2023 by Taylor Knuth / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, (with 10 representing most important) with the many city priorities you will face as mayor, where do you rank the Great Salt Lake and why? 10. The Great Salt Lake is a term...

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SLC mayoral candidate Michael Valentine answers 10 questions about Great Salt Lake

September 27th 2023 by Michael Valentine / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, with the many city priorities you will face as mayor, where do you rank the Great Salt Lake and why? At an 11. I have said I think the two most important issues facing us r...

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SLC mayoral candidate Rocky Anderson answers 10 questions about Great Salt Lake

September 27th 2023 by Rocky Anderson / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, with the many city priorities you will face as mayor, where do you rank the Great Salt Lake and why? The threatened GSL ranks as a top priority. That would be a 1 if that’...

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SLC mayoral candidate Erin Mendenhall answers 10 questions about Great Salt Lake

September 27th 2023 by Erin Mendenhall / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, with the many city priorities you will face as mayor, where do you rank the Great Salt Lake and why? Six (with ten being the highest). The Great Salt Lake sits just after h...

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10 questions for SLC mayor candidates

September 27th 2023 by Carter Williams / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Utah's capital city will always be connected to the Great Salt Lake through its name. And as the lake continues to struggle as a result of factors like drought and overconsumption, it will likely im...

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Recommended books about water, drought or the West

July 20th 2023 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

We asked readers of our newsletter what books they've read to understand water issues in the West. Here is a list that will be updated as more recommendations come in. You will find speculative fictio...

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(Laura Seitz | Deseret News) 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

How to visit the Great Salt Lake

May 25th 2023 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

According to Visit Utah — a website that promotes travel to Utah by the state of Office of Tourism — the Great Salt Lake boasts "magical walks in the wetlands to breathtaking sunset sails to unparalle...

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(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Workers with Foxtail Turf remove the grass from Patricia Council's North Las Vegas yard, replacing it with artificial turf on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022.

What Utah cities have water-efficient landscape ordinances?

May 4th 2023 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Utah lawmakers approved spending $10 million in the past two legislative sessions on turf buyback programs, to get Utahns to rip our their grass and save water. But to qualify for the rebate of $0.5...

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Great American Drought: Searching for Solutions in Israel

May 4th 2023 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Journalist Ben Winslow went to Israel in search of solutions to the U.S. megadrought in a country that has thrived despite being built in a desert. America is experiencing a historic, destructive me...

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The Old City of Jerusalem on March 26, 2023. (Ben Winslow / FOX 13 News)

Why did Utah leaders go to Israel?

April 30th 2023 by Heather May and Ben Winslow / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

One of the driest countries in the world, Israel once struggled to find enough freshwater to sustain its growing population in the midst of record droughts. Its largest body of freshwater, the Sea of...

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FOX 13 News reporter Ben Winslow films experimental wheat crops at the Volcani Institute in Israel on March 29, 2023. (Limor Ashkenazi / Israel Connect)

YALLA! How I ended up on a whirlwind trip to Israel for the Great Salt Lake Collaborative

April 27th 2023 by Ben Winslow / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

I had two days to prepare for a 7,000-mile trip to Israel with a delegation from Utah. When Heather May, director of the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, asked if I wanted to join a Utah delegation h...

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Great Salt Lake Solutions vs. Utah Legislative Action

March 23rd 2023 by Heather May / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Scroll through this graphic to learn what solutions the Great Salt Lake Collaborative reported on over the past year and what Utah lawmakers did to save the lake. {source}

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Bill restricting grass at new government facilities fails on last day

March 3rd 2023 by Alexis Perno / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Rep. Doug Owens’ bill to restrict turf on new government facilities failed in the Senate this afternoon with a 14 to 10 vote. Floor sponsor Sen. Wayne Harper (R-Taylorsville) described the bill as...

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Members of Save our Great Salt Lake pose for a picture with their “Great Salt Lake To-Do List” banner outside the House chamber Wednesday, March 1, 2023. (Photo by Emma Keddington)

Lake advocates rally to demand more action for Great Salt Lake

March 1st 2023 by Emma Keddington / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

As the 2023 legislative session draws to a close, community activists gathered at the Capitol Wednesday to call for emergency action for the dying Great Salt Lake. Unfurling a 10-foot banner dictati...

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Ski resorts raise awareness as Great Salt Lake crisis threatens ‘greatest snow on earth’

February 22nd 2023 by Emma Keddington / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Utah is known for having the “Greatest Snow on Earth.” People flock to Utah’s ski resorts to experience the deep powder that is in part powered by the Great Salt Lake. However, the drying of Great...

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Spiritual Leader Rios Pacheco of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation speaks to the importance of the Great Salt Lake to his community. Pacheco was the first speaker at the interfaith press conference Thursday morning. Photo by Alexis Perno, Great Salt Lake Collaborative

‘A crisis of faith’: spiritual leaders convene at Capitol to call for Great Salt Lake action

February 16th 2023 by Alexis Perno / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

The rotunda west steps were crowded Thursday morning. Members from various faith communities held signs reading “defend our future.” Front and center, a red and blue banner: “Save Our Great Salt Lake...

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Students from Emerson Elementary in Salt Lake City created a petition to name the brine shrimp as the state crustacean. Photo from change.org petition.

Bill designating brine shrimp as Utah’s crustacean passes first test

February 15th 2023 by Emma Keddington / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Spurred on by students from Emerson Elementary in Salt Lake City, a House committee passed a bill to honor brine shrimp. HB137, sponsored by Rep. Rosemary Lesser (D-Ogden), designates the brine shri...

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Per Capita water consumption bill passed in House

February 13th 2023 by Emma Keddington / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

A bill redefining how water use and consumption is reported in Utah passed the House Monday, despite opposition from Great Salt Lake environmental groups. SB119 would change how some Utah water dis...

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Bill requiring golf courses to publish water use held in committee for second time

February 10th 2023 by Alexis Perno / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Despite changing his golf course bill to include a study and grants to reduce water use, Rep. Douglas Welton’s updated HB188 failed to make it out of committee for the second time. The House Natura...

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An educational illustration of the water cycle including human impact. This illustration comes from a project aiming to include human impact in water conservation discussions. (Courtesy Sophie Hill)

Utah organizations, individuals seek to increase access to water conservation education

February 7th 2023 by Emma Keddington / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

The Slow the Flow advertising campaign has helped Utahns save 9 billion gallons of water through billboards and social media posts. Now, the people behind it are seeking to “supersize” it and other wa...

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Bill creating water conservation nonprofit passes House committee

February 2nd 2023 by Alexis Perno / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Utah Water Ways is modeled after successful Utah Clean Air program A House Committee gave its approval Thursday to create a “one stop shop” for citizens, water companies and local governments to lea...

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Utah Republicans block resolution to create target level for the Great Salt Lake

February 1st 2023 by Emma Keddington / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

A resolution to create a target level for the Great Salt Lake was voted against by a Senate committee despite widespread public support. SCR006, sponsored by Nate Blouin, D- Salt Lake City, aimed t...

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The Bear River is pictured on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. The Bear River typically feeds the Great Salt Lake, but currently doesn’t reach the lake due to low water levels. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Bill to create studies on cost of water infrastructure proceeds

January 26th 2023 by Emma Keddington / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

A bill that would study how water districts use property taxes to fund water projects passed a committee Wednesday, Jan. 25. SB34, sponsored by Sen. Daniel McCay (R-Salt Lake City), directs the Dep...

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(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Old Mill Golf Course in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 25, 2021.

Bill that would publicize how much water golf courses use meets opposition

January 26th 2023 by Emma Keddington / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

A bill requiring both public and privately owned golf courses to publish their annual water usage was held Wednesday after it was opposed by the golf industry. “It’s not dead, so we’ll go work on i...

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Bill may help water conservation efforts

January 20th 2023 by Alexis Perno / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

The Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee unanimously approved a bill that supporters say will aid in coordinating water conservation efforts. Sen. Scott Sandall’s water a...

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Committee approves Great Salt Lake license plate

January 20th 2023 by Alexis Perno / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

A bill that would create a Great Salt Lake special license plate and direct revenue toward lake-related preservation efforts passed committee Thursday, Jan. 19. The Senate Transportation, Public Ut...

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(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Workers with Foxtail Turf remove the grass from Patricia Council's North Las Vegas yard, replacing it with artificial turf on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022.

Las Vegas vs. Great Salt Lake water districts: This graphic explains the differences

November 13th 2022 by Wendy Ogata / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Water Conservation: Utah vs. Las Vegas The Southern Nevada Water Authority is a leader in water conservation. But can their approach be compared to what is going on in Utah? What ideas can be taken...

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(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Las Vegas golf courses have an annual water budget under strict conservation methods. This picture shows Old Mill Golf Course in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 25, 2021.

Utah officials applauds Nevada’s water conservation measures; cautions against direct comparisons

November 8th 2022 by Wendy Ogata / Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Golf course “water budgets.” Pool size limits. A complete ban on grass landscaping. Full-time water wasting investigators. The Southern Nevada Water Authority is hard core in its water-conservation me...

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