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Utah legislature eyes changing approach to saving Great Salt Lake
to how the state is responding to the lake shrinking to historic lows and the environmental catastrophe it presents with toxic dust storms, reduced snowpack and harms to wildlife and public health. Rep. Schultz said what policymakers need is a...
February 15, 2023
Tribes still not consulted as state tries to save Great Salt Lake
State leaders say they want native perspectives included in conversations about the lake, but action to date shows otherwise. Utah leaders have redesigned the state flag to better represent tribal nations. But when it comes to policy — specifically...
February 9, 2023
How the LDS Church could prevent its headquarters from becoming a toxic wasteland
Utah’s predominant faith has a huge stake — and could have a huge say — in the Great Salt Lake’s survival. It sounds like a plot from an apocalyptic movie. A beleaguered 19th-century band of spiritual seekers settles around a salty lake in what they...
February 9, 2023
Great Salt Lake 'strike team' tells lawmakers to push conservation, commit water
decline has presented an ecological and economic crisis for northern Utah. The shrinking lake impacts Utah's snowpack, toxic dust storms impact population centers. The lake is a refuge for millions of migratory birds and other wildlife, as well as over...
February 8, 2023
Gov. Cox orders Great Salt Lake causeway be raised again in effort to stave off ecological collapse
Sacrificing the north arm could slow further environmental implosion, but it comes with its own consequences. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox issued an executive order Friday that will once again raise the causeway bisecting the Great Salt Lake in an effort to...
February 4, 2023
After Great Salt Lake bill stalls, some question legislature's commitment
D-Millcreek, asked his legislative colleagues for $72,000 to expand air monitoring around the Great Salt Lake because of toxic dust. Rep. Owens, who co-chairs the legislature's newly-formed Great Salt Lake Caucus, told FOX 13 News he was not concerned...
February 3, 2023
Small caucus of Utah lawmakers will push Great Salt Lake bills
and climate change. The harms from an exposed lake bed present an environmental and economic crisis for the state with toxic dust storms, reduced snowpack, impacts to wildlife and public health. Rep. Owens said he is optimistic the legislature will pass...
February 1, 2023
Water, Great Salt Lake bills to be unveiled in the Utah State Legislature
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there still is a long ways to go. A declining lake presents an environmental catastrophe for Utah with reduced snowpack, toxic dust storms and impacts to public health, wildlife and the economy. Lawmakers are expected to spend upwards of $500 million on...
January 29, 2023
Utah lawmakers unveil two pieces of ‘historic’ legislation for the Great Salt Lake
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at that level, Blouin said, was in 2012. Currently, the lake is around 4,190 feet, leaving levels low and vulnerable to toxic dust. “There’s no specific timeline here,” Blouin said. “The date is, unofficially, as soon as possible.” According to Frankel,...
January 26, 2023
Utah, Salt Lake leaders unveil new plans to improve the struggling Great Salt Lake
state of the community this month. That's because the lake's downfall exposes the areas surrounding the lake to its toxic dust plumes among other potential issues. The lake also contributes to more than $1.3 billion and 7,700 jobs in local economic...
January 25, 2023
Bills begin to be introduced to save the Great Salt Lake
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for the state as a result of water diversion, climate change and drought. There are impacts to Utah's economy, wildlife, toxic dust storms and reduced snowpack. The drying up and potential disappearance of the Great Salt Lake is the existential crisis...
January 25, 2023
Scientists sounded the alarm about the Great Salt Lake. Are lawmakers listening?
to recover from. At stake are millions of migrating birds, multimillion dollar lake-based industries, along with a toxic dust problem for the millions of people living near the lake’s shores. “We’re not at a time we can take another five or 10 years to...
January 18, 2023
'On my watch we are not allowing the lake to go dry,' Utah's governor says of Great Salt Lake
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water diversion, a changing climate and Utah's mega-drought. It presents an ecological catastrophe for northern Utah with toxic dust storms, reduced snowpack, impacts to wildlife and public health and a multi-billion hit to the state's economy. While...
January 13, 2023
Researchers, environmental groups call for 'emergency rescue' of Great Salt Lake
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climate to its lowest levels in recorded history. A declining lake presents an existential threat to Utah. There's toxic dust storms, decreased snowpack, billions in economic losses and the loss of habitat for millions of migratory birds and other...
January 11, 2023
Great Salt Lake set to vanish in 5 years, experts warn Utah lawmakers
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Utah has months to reverse the lake’s decline before it’s too late, according to a dire report. Days before Utah lawmakers are set to convene, dozens of researchers are calling on them to take bold action and save the Great Salt Lake before it withers...
January 5, 2023
Dear Legislature: Here’s what you can do in 2023 to save the Great Salt Lake
of property tax revenue to fund water infrastructure, treatment, and delivery.” Meanwhile, researchers have also found toxic dust is already blowing from the Great Salt Lake’s sprawling exposed bed, creating a public health risk to millions living on...
January 3, 2023
Reports call for more water saving measures and help for the Great Salt Lake
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and the environment. The report warned of the impacts of water levels dropping to new lows and the increasing threat of toxic dust storms. "Honestly we’re not seeing huge inflows into the lake anymore. That’s because humans are using a lot of it. As a...
December 15, 2022
‘We must do whatever is necessary’: Mitt Romney’s bill funding study of Great Salt Lake sails through Senate
Shriveling salty lakes across the Great Basin, including the Great Salt Lake, will receive millions to aid scientific assessment. A bipartisan bill meant to address declining saline lakes in the West, including the Great Salt Lake, passed the U.S....
December 8, 2022
Great Salt Lake levels stabilize — for now
drought and climate change. It has become an ecological and economic crisis for the state with reduced snowpack, toxic dust and impacts to people's health and wildlife. State leaders have reacted by enacting water conservation policies and funding to...
November 22, 2022
The Great Salt Lake’s ecological collapse has begun
to find a way to make the lake rise again, it faces major consequences now, including endangeredspecies listings and toxic dust storms. “To what extent have you lost a lot of important muscle tissue of your heart because you waited,” de Freitas said,...
November 20, 2022
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