Note to readers: This transcript was generated by AI and proofed by humans. Some of the questions were muffled and thus weren't able to be transcribed.
Gov. Spencer Cox
Welcome. It's great to have you with us. This is a special day for all of us. We just had an incredible meeting with stakeholders from all across the great State of Utah, stand here on the shores of the beautiful and precious Great Salt Lake. The main message today, the takeaway today, is that we will not let the Great Salt Lake fail, period.
The Great Salt Lake is part of who we are. It's, of course, part of our economy and that matters. It's part of our geography, which is truly important. But it's more than that. It's, it's the namesake of our capital city. It's, it's part of our environment, it's part of our culture, it's part of the soul of Utah. It's who we are. It's what we're known for across the world and across time from the from the very beginning, when the first people, the Native Americans, came to this part of the state, when the pioneers came to the state, this was the defining feature.
I have to mention as well, just the incredible ecosystem here. Not only do millions of people across the world recognize this place because of its name and this saline body of water behind us, but tens of millions of migratory birds come here every year, and that matters.
We have done so much over the past couple of years. I hear that too many people don't understand all the great things that have happened, the legislature, the private sector, the nonprofit sector, working together to help preserve this lake. We've cut out thousands of acres of invasive water sucking plants. We've launched hundreds of agriculture optimization projects to use water more wisely. We've installed thousands of secondary water meters so every drop can be accounted for. We've expanded voluntary water leasing for the lake. We've passed timely, precise, common sense legislation that has already made the lake healthier, over 200,000 acre feet of water coming to the lake that were not coming before.
But we're not done. There's so much more that we have to do. We're really just getting started. Our commitment today is that we are doubling down and preserving this this lake with additional investment. Today, with this charter that we have signed, we're asking all Utahns, families, farmers, business leaders, researchers, elected officials, to stand shoulder to shoulder in their commitment to save the and restore the lake.
We appreciate the philanthropic community, who has has announced about $200 million of fundraising investments that they are committing towards the lake. And I just want to say that this is not a short term fix this. We didn't get here in a short amount of time. It's going to take us a while to get out of this, but we can do it working together. It's a multi decade commitment to the lake.
We know that we have a big event coming here to the State of Utah in eight and a half years, the 2034 Olympics, and we think that gives us a marker for all of us to work towards as we work to make sure that we have healthy lake levels when the world comes to Utah in 2034 so that the world can see our pioneer spirit.
I do have to say that these saline lakes, these great saline lakes all across the world, have failed. Never has a community come together to be able to save one yet, and we are about to be the exception to that rule. This will be one of the great environmental successes in the in the history of humankind, and Utah is going to write that that next chapter, we will save the lake, because it is our lake. It is our heritage and is it is our responsibility.
I'm happy to turn the microphone over to my dear friends who are engaged in this, both of them who grew up and represent areas right along the Great Salt Lake. We have the Speaker of the House and the President the Senate here who will say a few words, and then we're happy to take some questions.
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz
It's great to be here with so many people, dedicated people that are very passionate about the Great Salt Lake. And I appreciate the governor's comments when he talked about, you know, how far we've came just over a short three year period. Over 288,000 acre feet of water is now dedicated to the lake that wasn't dedicated to the lake three years ago. I
t's been a huge team effort from a lot of times, political foes, people that don't see eye to eye on so many issues we came together as a state. We've set aside political ideology differences to focus on what's best for the state of Utah and focus on what's best for the Great Salt Lake.
And I just want to emphasize we're not done in this effort. We are committed to this, not just for the 2034 Olympics and setting that goal, but for the next 100 years. Policies that we had to work to change over the last three years were put in place, in some cases, more than 100 years ago. We had to find ways to unwind and undo some of those, those policies that were put into place because the leaders at the time didn't understand what we might be facing.
And so I hope that as we move through this process that we're not just thinking about 5, 10, 15 years down the road, we're thinking about the next generations that come after us. And so I can't express the gratitude from the state leaders, perspective of the philanthropic community and everybody coming together to help save the Great Salt Lake. And I appreciate the dedication. It's going to take all of us, all of the citizens of the state, to do the impossible, as the governor mentioned, and save the Great Salt Lake. We're grateful for your support. Thank you.
Utah Senate President Stuart Adams
The governor has led this effort, and I want to thank the governor. I see his administration here. He has been committed to this from the very beginning, total administrative effort, and they've done a lot of work. The Speaker talked about the things that have been done that we spent a lot of money on the lake, but we spent a lot of time and effort. And those that have done so much, I wanted to recognize them also.
There's never been a time, I think, when the governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Legislature [has had] total bipartisan, not bipartisan, non partisan support, united support for any issue as great as the Great Salt Lake. We are united.
You know, as I thought about the Great Salt Lake, this is my my home. I grew up in Davis County, Farmington Bay bird refuge is where we're at. This is where I grew up. Five generations of Utah in my family grew up here, enjoying the lake, taking advantage of the lake this and I think about also, what is Utah known for? What would Salt Lake be without the Great Salt Lake? I mean, that's what Utah is known for. We're known for it around the world. We're committed to the same lake. We're here united. And again, I would like to also thank the philanthropic community today, a pretty amazing event. Josh Romney, $100 million. Ducks Unlimited. $100 million. A very exciting time. Thank you for that commitment.
Gov. Spencer Cox
Josh [Romney] would like me to make it clear that he's not donating $100 million of his personal [money]. That check might bounce. [laughs] That is the coalition together. Together, we really are going to make the Great Salt Lake great again.
Reporter
So Governor, how does this translate to actually what the lake needs, which is water? You've got a lot of money. You've spent more than a billion as a legislature on water conservation efforts, but the lake still ain't filling up.
Gov. Spencer Cox
Sure, still, I would say we're still spending that money that has been set aside for that. So these are the projects that we're working on. There will be additional projects that come out of this funding that will will help us get more water to the lake.
I do want to say that there is water coming to the lake that was not coming before. That's really important. That's as we were told, that 280,000 football fields with one foot of water, that's what we're talking about. And so big, big, big, new resources coming to Lake, but it's not enough. You're absolutely right.
One of the things that, one of the reasons that we did this today, Ben, that I think is so important for people to understand two fold. One, as I mentioned inside one, is we want people to understand what we've done. Because there's a lot of people don't think anything has happened out there. And that is not true. And many of these policies that were put into place, these changes that were put into place, put into place, take time, so they're still happening, and we are going to get more water to the lake because of those changes.
But number two is to get people focused again on the lake, as as Mr. Romney mentioned earlier, we had some really good water years, and I that made too many people think that, oh, the Great Salt Lake is fine, and it's not fine, right? We have a drought year this year, and you're seeing the lake levels go down and so, so we need to get people refocused, all of us re-energized to continue to do this work. So there are real policy pieces that will come out of this. Those discussions are still ongoing, and we'll have more updates as time goes on.
Reporter
Some of the people who say this can't be done say, Well, there's a lot more people on the Wasatch Front people, a lot more people means a lot more water being used, therefore we can't get water to the Great Salt Lake.
Gov. Spencer Cox
What I saw is that's a scarcity mentality. The average home in Utah right now is using significantly less water than a home 30 years ago. Our family sizes are smaller. The technology is better. So it's not just about adding people again, it's how we use those drops of water that matter, and technology is going to play a big role in this. That's why the Ag optimization pieces are so important, those are projects that take a long time back to the original question. Those projects have been approved. The money is being spent. They're happening that will allow farmers to grow the same amount of food with much less water, which means more water to the Great Salt Lake.
So I always tell people, Look, these are not zero sum games. They may feel like it, but they are not. We are smarter, we're better, we can figure this out, and there are opportunities for us to work with, with our partners in other states as well. This water issue is not just a Great Salt Lake issue.
This growth issue is not just a Utah issue. The entire western United States is struggling. The Colorado River, which doesn't feed into the Great Salt Lake, is another that we're all trying to figure out together. And so we're working with our partners in California and Arizona, in the lower basin states that our partners in the upper basin states, and all of us are trying to figure this out. But again, when you use one less drop of water in your personal residence on your farm, that's good for everything. That's good for the Colorado River. That's good for the Great Salt Lake as well. And so conservation is a piece of this, but trying to get more wet water here is going to be piece of it as well. We know that desalination is important. You know, we're we have water issues in St George that we're working on, and the reuse down there is going to be really important. And so there are a whole bunch of different pieces to to the water issues in the West. But again, I truly believe that we are smart enough and dedicated enough that we can solve these together.
Reporter
I'm just curious what is a healthy lake level and when? What level do you want it to be at by the Olympics?
Brian Steed, Great Salt Lake Commissioner
If you look at a 2013 study, that level, you know, is around 4,198 and I think that's what the Great Salt Lake strategy envisions. That being said, I think that we have to keep in mind that any water get in the lake and the lake going up is a healthier lake. And really, the worldwide trend has been for decline in these terminal, say that in lakes, we're working very hard to make sure that we can reverse that trend here and actually have a recovery. And so I think that really the metric, I think we have to look at is, is, are we providing, still the ecologic functionality of the lake? Are we providing for the things that people care about? And really, as we head back up to 4198 there's really a lot of room to make good progress.
Gov. Spencer Cox
I mean, I will just say, like our goal, we want to get to 4198 by the Olympics. I mean, that's, I think that's important to all of us, if there, and we're going to do everything we can to make that happen. Yes, please.
Reporter [Question about agriculture’s role]
Gov. Spencer Cox
Well, we appreciate that community who is represented today, today was part of that. We will continue to work very closely with them. They are a major piece of all of this helping them, and again, the money piece that's flowing into this agriculture is a business. First and foremost, it's a way of life for many of us that is important as well. And so making sure that we're that we're not just we're not just reviving the lake on the backs of a small group of people who are providing food for our state and for our country, is going to be really critical. So having them at the table, that's how you build trust, is that you're involved, that we're transparent, that we're working closely together, and that they start to see some of those wins. I think the Ag optimization program has been a real blessing to them. They've been able to do projects that they couldn't have done in the past, and so those types of things showing that the rest of the state is supportive of the ag community is going to help the ag community much, be much more supportive of these efforts. Governor,
Reporter
You said that this is, you know, a business. Are you looking at just buying water straight out with this $200 million?
Gov. Spencer Cox
Yeah, we haven't talked about how the 200 million has been spent. Literally, we just this just happened, and so we're really proud of these groups and and them coming together. I didn't know the number until last night, so there were no discussions about how the money is going to be spent yet. I would just also mention that above and beyond that, we have representative Blake Moore, who is here with us. Thank you, Congressman Moore for his work. The federal government is going to have to be a part of this as well, certainly a drying lake impacts not just Utah, but the entire region and so we'll be working with our federal partners to get additional funding as well.
Reporter: [Question about science and the lake].
Gov. Spencer Cox
Well, the good news is that the science is on our side in helping to fix this. And we, you know, again, there's, we can't control climate. We know that the climate is changing and and if that's, you know, that's a global issue. Lots of lots of people are certainly working on that, but it but it's not a reason to stop. In fact, it's a reason to to lean into science and to use science to help us with what we're trying to do, understanding salinity, understanding lake levels, understanding how we can engineer the lake as we're as we're recovering it, to help make sure that we reduce dust. Those are things that we can do, investments that we can make, again, using science. Science is what's helping on the Ag optimization piece. Utah State University, Southern Utah University, the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, these groups have been working together on these projects. We have active projects all across the state right now, figuring out how to grow crops with less water, figuring out new crops and different crops that work with less water, that's all science helping us get where we need to go. And so again, that's why I say I believe in a super abundant mentality. I believe that that science is going to help us recover the lake and make sure that we don't have to destroy the quality of life for the people that live here to get there. We can do both of those things.
