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 Great Salt Lake and the Colorado River, subscribe here for free.
Dear readers,
Through our partnership with Utah State University's Institute for Land, Water and Air, local reporters have been able to travel throughout Utah telling stories of how the Colorado River affects our future. The latest story from that effort came out this week by KUER, on the importance of beating back the invasive Russian olive tree. Now, we're also learning that the progress is in peril because funds have been frozen by the Trump administration.
You can read and listen to the story here.
Our work on the Colorado River will gain national attention: KUER is hosting Science Friday on March 29 in Salt Lake City, and will feature a story reported by KUER and KSL TV from last year on efforts to bring back the Southwest peach that once thrived in the Colorado River Basin. The event will be broadcast on NPR later this year.
This kind of collaborative, in-depth work is possible through your contributions. We are funded through donations.
You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Also in this issue:
- LDS Church adding more water-saving controllers
- BLM efforts to control invasive plants
- A recap of lake legislative efforts
- Lagging water outlook on the Colorado River
- Progress in removing an invasive species faces setback
As always you can find all of our stories at greatsaltlakenews.org.
— Heather May, Great Salt Lake Collaborative Director
KSL.COM
Church of Jesus Christ plans to add more water-saving controllers at churches across West
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says it plans to add about 1,800 more smart controllers this year at meetinghouses in Utah and across the West as part of an ongoing plan to address water consumption in "drought-prone" areas across the world.
How much water will they save?
KSL NEWSRADIO
BLM completes mitigation on invasive Phragmites australis near Great Salt Lake
The Bureau of Land Management recently did some work to control Phragmites australis, an invasive plant species growing on the shores of the lake. BLM officials hope their efforts will prevent the invasive species from outcompeting native plants along the lake’s shoreline. In the future, they hope invasive species mitigation will help native plants flourish and restore the habitats in the area.
Learn more about ongoing efforts
SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Colorado River 'running out of time' to improve lagging spring outlook, forecasters say
With spring on the horizon, snowpack in the Rocky Mountains and forecasted inflows for Lake Powell remain below average.As of March 6, snowpack above Lake Powell was at 88% of average; “average,” in forecasting, refers to the average precipitation in the area between 1991 and 2020. That’s similar to the snowpack level last month, which was 86% of normal as of Feb. 1.
GREAT SALT LAKE COLLABORATIVE
What did Utah lawmakers do for the Great Salt Lake this year?
The 2025 Utah Legislative session is over, and after 45 days of debates and votes, we can share with you what happened and what didn’t related to water and the Great Salt Lake:
Most bills that would encourage water conservation failed. Some money — a sliver of what was asked — was given to monitor dust coming off Great Salt Lake, to lease water for the lake and to protect wetlands. And lawmakers prioritized requests for a visitor center at Antelope Island and cloud seeding.
What passed, failed, was funded or not?
KUER
Utah beat back the Russian olive on the Escalante River. That progress is in peril
The Russian olive tree doesn’t mess around.
It grows aggressively, choking out native plants. It weaves a dense web of branches armed with sharp thorns — inhospitable territory for wildlife and humans alike. And it produces more than enough seeds to invite all its friends.
“So, when you started with one tree, all of a sudden you have 100 trees. Then all of a sudden you have 1,000 trees, and then you have 10,000 trees,” said Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Botanist Christine Prins.
