KUER
As Utah’s San Rafael River dries, scientists try to give native fish a fighting chance
April 16th 2025 by David Condos / KUER
The San Rafael River has a problem. As it winds through red rock country northwest of Canyonlands National Park, it increasingly runs dry. Drought is again taking hold across Utah, and that could sp...
Utah approves plan to pay farmers to leave water in the Colorado River
March 20th 2025 by David Condos / KUER
Utah is launching a plan to pay farmers to leave some of their irrigation water in the Colorado River system. The Colorado River Authority of Utah board has approved the first round of applicants fo...
Utah beat back the Russian olive on the Escalante River. That progress is in peril
March 7th 2025 by David Condos / KUER
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 huma...
Utah seems ready to pay farmers to leave more water in the Colorado River
February 23rd 2025 by David Condos / KUER
Utah is another step closer to paying farmers to leave more water in the Colorado River system. The state’s Demand Management Pilot Program will use around $4 million in state money to compensate fa...
Utah’s big water efficiency push may help farms more than the Colorado River
February 10th 2025 by David Condos / KUER
Water is precious to Dwight Brinkerhoff. Over the decades he’s farmed in Wayne County, the goal has been to stretch water supplies. “It is the resource that we have that if we did not have, we would...
Utah’s big water efficiency push may help farms more than the Colorado River
February 6th 2025 by David Condos / KUER
Water is precious to Dwight Brinkerhoff. Over the decades he’s farmed in Wayne County, the goal has been to stretch water supplies. “It is the resource that we have that if we did not have, we would...
What swapping crops for houses means for Utah’s water and agriculture future
January 22nd 2025 by David Condos / KUER
Farms are quickly becoming mementos of a different time in Moab. Over the four decades Gary Wilson has grown alfalfa in this touristy corner of southeast Utah, his fields have increasingly become is...
Sorry, Utah, Great Salt Lake license plates are still months away. Here’s why
January 16th 2025 by Macy Lipkin / KUER
If you are still waiting for your Great Salt Lake license plate, be patient. Despite hope that they would be ready by now, they won’t be out for a few more months. That’s because the 2024 license pl...
Utah wants to shore up its Colorado River share with a water ‘savings account’
December 19th 2024 by David Condos / KUER
Coby Hunt’s farm field near the southeast Utah town of Green River would normally be filled with alfalfa growing up to his knees. This year, however, it was barren — pale gray dirt cracking under th...
New data could tell us how much of Utah’s water simply disappears into the air
December 10th 2024 by David Condos / KUER
For all the talk about how much water exits Utah through the Colorado River, that’s not the primary way water leaves the state. Much of it simply floats off into the air. Right now, Utah doesn’t hav...
St. George has cut a slice of turf from its golf game — and is eyeing more
December 10th 2024 by David Condos / KUER
On the edge of St. George’s Sunbrook Golf Course, manicured greens give way to a mound of gray rock dotted with small palm trees, yuccas and desert shrubs. Compared to the sea of green turf, it migh...
Think Utah farmers should do without irrigation? Here’s what that looks like
November 26th 2024 by David Condos / KUER
Shay Lewis waded into a stand of thigh-high wheat, snatched one of the seed heads and tossed some grain into his mouth. “Those are plump kernels,” he said, gesturing to the harvest waiting in his fi...
How unconventional crops could save water — and reshape Utah farming
November 22nd 2024 by David Condos / KUER
Just outside Canyonlands National Park in San Juan County, rancher Matt Redd walked to a spot where two of his pastures meet. One side is growing alfalfa and other traditional grazing crops with wh...
With water rights in hand, Navajo still hope to restore farms on Utah’s San Juan
October 31st 2024 by David Condos / KUER
Navajo family farms once lined the San Juan River in southeast Utah, but many have fallen idle. A water rights settlement with Utah has given some Navajo residents hope those farms can return. The S...
Navajo food traditions tap into the past, and future, of farming the arid Southwest
October 31st 2024 by David Condos / KUER
When you imagine a ripe, juicy peach, you might not picture it growing in a red rock canyon. Centuries ago, however, tribes in the Four Corners cultivated vast orchards of an heirloom variety called t...
Audio: Utah has a $276M bet on farms to save Colorado River water. How’s it going?
September 11th 2024 by David Condos / KUER
BOULDER — South-central Utah is not your typical farm country. To the eye, there appears to be more red rock than green fields To make a go of it, farms often huddle around the precious few rivers t...
Utah’s 4th-largest city isn’t a part of the state’s grass replacement plan. Why?
July 25th 2024 by Tilda Wilson / KUER
Utah launched its Landscape Conversion Incentive Program in 2023. It offers a rebate to homeowners who switch out their grass with more water-efficient landscaping. But there’s a catch. To get the r...
Can the military and conservation coexist? Great Salt Lake says yes
June 25th 2024 by Sean Higgins / KUER
Conservation and military use don’t always go hand in hand. But in the case of Great Salt Lake, it’s a different story. From Logan to Utah Lake in the south and the Wasatch Front to the western shor...
Southwest Utah’s horde of tourists and snowbirds are a stealthy demand on its water
May 18th 2024 by David Condos / KUER
It’s no secret that the expanding population in St. George is on a collision course with its limited water supply. But what about the tourists and snowbirds flocking there? According to a 2019 estim...
When the Salton Sea shrank, it took Bombay Beach with it. Utah should heed the warning
May 13th 2024 by Saige Miller / KUER
Candace Youngberg's feet crunch across the parched playa as she walks to her favorite art installation on the Salton Sea shoreline in Bombay Beach, California. The large, handmade metal sign reads “S...
Lingering drought effects are stealing the runoff thunder from Utah’s snowpack
May 13th 2024 by David Condos / KUER
I Runoff from mountain snowpack is particularly precious in Utah. It provides 95% of the state’s water supply. In recent years, however, getting above-average snowpack hasn’t necessarily led to abov...
Thanks to NASA-born tech (and lasers), Utah is getting a precision look at its snowpack
May 9th 2024 by David Condos / KUER
A new way to snow survey that originated at NASA is flying over Utah for the first time this year. Airborne Snow Observatories’s founders, including Chief Technical Officer Jeff Deems, developed the...
Wet ‘miracle springs’? Utah shouldn’t count on ‘em and keep its eye on conservation
April 27th 2024 by Tilda Wilson / KUER
In Utah, a long dry winter is often followed by heavy drought-busting rain in the spring. A new study from Utah State University defines these as “miracle springs.” It also indicates that as climate c...
These are the 2024 policy wins for Utah’s Great Salt Lake
March 13th 2024 by Saige Miller KUER / KUER
When Utah lawmakers went to work in 2022, it was dubbed “the year of water,” with a big focus on the ailing Great Salt Lake. A good chunk of the 45-day work session was devoted to revamping water law...
Like Utah, California has had pipeline dreams to save its drying Salton Sea
February 8th 2024 by Saige Miller KUER / KUER
Most people don’t know that California’s largest lake — the Salton Sea — was a mishap. Birthed in 1905 when the Colorado River experienced massive floods, the accidental lake soon became a community...
Lakebed dust is a worry in Utah. For California’s Salton Sea, it’s a full-blown problem
February 7th 2024 by Saige Miller / KUER
Sitting on the couch next to his mom inside their mobile home in Mecca, California, 5-year-old Ruben Mandujano lets out a gurgled cough while playing on a tablet. The phlegm stuck in his throat is not...
Audio: Kazakhstan’s drying Aral Sea carries a message for those worried about the Great Salt Lake
January 18th 2024 by Levi Bridges / KUER
Will Utahns need to adapt to a smaller, dustier salt lake? Or can the watershed unite to reverse its decline? Great Salt Lake is often compared to a lake in Central Asia: The Aral Sea. Back in the ‘...
The Salton Sea shows why Utah should pay attention to Great Salt Lake’s stench
January 4th 2024 by Saige Miller / KUER
The eighth largest saline lake in the world is a Utah icon. More than 10 million birds take sanctuary there every year. And sometimes, Great Salt Lake smells like rotten eggs. That distinct tang i...
So far, Utah’s water banking is showing the path beyond ‘use it or lose it’
November 10th 2023 by David Condos / KUER
In a dry state like Utah, there’s not always enough water to go around. But when there is extra water, how exactly do you spread it around? Over the past three years, the state’s water banking progr...
Great Salt Lake wetlands are the latest battleground with the Utah Inland Port
November 10th 2023 by Sean Higgins / KUER
Opponents of the Utah Inland Port say the shipping and logistics hub is the single greatest threat to the Great Salt Lake’s wetlands. Stop the Polluting Port, Great Salt Lake Audubon, Utah Physician...
Last winter was good to Great Salt Lake, but Utah Rivers Council says more can be done
November 1st 2023 by Saige Miller KUER / KUER
As Great Salt Lake experiences what is traditionally its lowest point of the year, things aren’t looking too bad. “It's been a good October,” said Ben Stireman, a deputy director in the Utah Divisio...
Salt Lake City west-siders dealing with bad air are disconnected from their politicians
August 17th 2023 by Saige Miller and Alixel Cabrera / KUER
Editor’s note: This story is part of Reaching for Air — a collaboration of The Salt Lake Tribune, KUER and the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, which explores air quality along the Salt Lake Vall...
What oily, sticky tar seeps can teach us about saving Great Salt Lake
April 20th 2023 by Ciara Hulet and Emily Pohlsander / KUER
Near Spiral Jetty on the northeast shore of Great Salt Lake, there is a phenomenon known as tar seeps. Sticky, black oil bubbles up to the dry lake bed and entraps unsuspecting birds and small mammals...
What vital signs will show us that the Great Salt Lake is improving?
April 5th 2023 by Saige Miller KUER / KUER
Utah’s record-setting winter has been exciting for both skiers and lawmakers working to revive the ailing Great Salt Lake. Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters in mid-March that lake levels were up 2 feet...
Danger Cave still evokes life as it was at a Great Salt Lake of 8,000 years ago
February 6th 2023 by Elaine Clark / KUER
Many Salt Lakers driving the 120 miles to Wendover are after the kind of rest and relaxation they can’t find in the beehive state: gambling, cheap liquor or maybe even some recreational marijuana. B...
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‘Mother Earth cries’ but hope remains for the Great Salt Lake, says poet
December 29th 2022 by Ciara Hulet / KUER
Poetry is magic. That’s what poet Elizabeth Cruz says — she firmly believes her writing can help save the drying Great Salt Lake. “Mother Earth cries. Mother Earth suffers. Sometimes it is because o...
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Utah author pens a tale of parental anxiety that parallels a drying Great Salt Lake
December 28th 2022 by Pamela McCall / KUER
“The Edge of Something” is author and playwright Elaine Jarvik’s emotional short story. The backdrop is the dwindling Great Salt Lake. Her work appears in the Great Salt Lake Anthology. In Jarvik’s...
Utah’s population boom could further strain its limited water
December 18th 2022 by Saige Miller KUER / KUER
A report published by the Utah State University Institute of Land, Water and Air shows that Utah’s rapid population growth could further strain the state’s limited natural resources. A group of rese...
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Will time run out on Romney’s bill to fund research to save the Great Salt Lake?
December 6th 2022 by Saige Miller KUER / KUER
Utah’s Great Salt Lake is at a record low and has already begun its ecological collapse. But it’s not the only salty lake in despair. On the final day of November, the Saline Lake Ecosystems in the...
Utah youth hold “die-in” to mourn the decline of Great Salt Lake
September 4th 2022 by Saige Miller KUER / KUER
Over 100 people walked silently in a single file on the dry Great Salt Lake bed Saturday. They wanted to send a message to elected Utah leaders that a healthy Great Salt Lake is vital to the environ...
Utah can’t save or stretch its precious water if it can’t super accurately measure it
August 22nd 2022 by Saige Miller KUER / KUER
As the Western megadrought stretches on, conservation, rate hikes or tearing out turf may not be enough. There’s still a thirsty population, anagricultural industry and the shrinkingGreat Salt Lake to...
Utah agriculture wants more support and research to reach future water-saving goals
August 8th 2022 by Saige Miller KUER / KUER
The Utah Legislature, the federal government and community members are all weighing in on how best to address the ongoing drought, but all eyes are on Utah’s agricultural industry to reduce its water...
Critics say the Great Salt Lake Recovery Act pushes more study when action is what’s needed
July 21st 2022 by Sean Higgins / KUER
State leaders are optimistic federal legislation that could provide millions in funding to help the shrinking Great Salt Lake will have traction in Washington, but some water advocates in Utah are sti...
Wasatch Front data centers are thirsty for water, and in a drought that’s a bad look
July 15th 2022 by Pamela McCall / KUER
The usual drought talk about clouds asks when and where it will rain. Not this time. We’re still talking about the cloud, but now we’re focused on the computers that power it — and the water used to c...
Romney, Stewart and Owens pitch Congress on a Great Salt Lake rescue bill
July 14th 2022 by Saige Miller KUER / KUER
The ailing Great Salt Lake has caught the attention of Washington. Sen. Mitt Romney announced Thursday that he and fellow Republican Reps. Chris Stewart and Burgess Owens introduced a bill to preserve...
Are you watering your lawn wrong? USU’s Water Checkers will help you figure it out
June 30th 2022 by Nadia Pflaum / KUER
At Nick Clayton’s house in Cottonwood Heights, it looks like a squadron of tiny aliens has landed. Little blue, plastic cups on tripod legs dot the lawn, placed by Charlotte and Caroline Jacketta. T...
Toxic dust warnings might be our future as the Great Salt Lake shrivels up
June 20th 2022 by Ivana Martinez / KUER
The Great Salt Lake is shrinking at an alarming rate, and it’s about to reach a new record low following an extreme drought. That’s raising concern about potential health impacts as dust storms roll...
RadioWest: It's Not Too Late (Yet) For A New Water Policy
June 10th 2022 by Doug Fabrizio / KUER
Water policy shapes how we live in the West, and for years, we’ve carried on, changing very little in our water consumption, even in the face of megadroughts, increasing population density and shrinki...
The State And Fate Of The Great Salt Lake, Part I
May 2nd 2022 by Doug Fabrizio / KUER
There’s no sugarcoating it: The Great Salt Lake is dying. In fact, the obituary has already been written, and according to the people studying the problem, we may only have a matter of months before t...
A century of human activity is coming back as toxic dust as the Great Salt Lake shrinks
April 27th 2022 by Pamela McCall / KUER
The scenario reads more like apocalyptic science fiction than reality. The Great Salt Lake recedes and an ecological disaster, fanned by the wind, hits the Wasatch Front. But it’s not fiction. A team...
Interview: Why a dry Chilean lagoon matters to the future of the Great Salt Lake
April 22nd 2022 by Caroline Ballard / KUER
KUER's Caroline Ballard interviews Will Munger from Utah State University and Amy Joi O'Donoghue of the Deseret News about the connections between Great Salt Lake and a dry lagoon in Chile. {sourc...
A poet is keeping vigil at the Great Salt Lake during Utah’s legislative session
February 15th 2022 by Emily Means / KUER
The salty, eggy stink of the Great Salt Lake smacks you right in the face on the drive to Antelope Island. Along the nearly seven-mile-long causeway to the island, there are hundreds, maybe thousand...
The State and Fate of the Great Salt Lake, Part III
February 3rd 2022 by Doug Fabrizio / KUER
Everybody seems to agree the Great Salt Lake is in dire straits. So, what can be done to help it? A lot of ideas have been proposed for getting more water to Great Salt Lake. This Friday at 11 a.m.,...
The State And Fate Of The Great Salt Lake, Part II
October 8th 2021 by Doug Fabrizio / KUER
According to scientists who study it, the Great Salt Lake — the largest saltwater lake in the western hemisphere — is drying up.The lake has already reached the lowest water level in history, and its...
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