Collaboration and Concerted Efforts are Needed to Preserve Great Salt Lake and its Wetlands and Protect the Communities and People that Rely on It

By: Marcelle Shoop, Executive Director, Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust

The Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust (Trust) understands that the path to preserving Great Salt Lake and its wetlands depends on long-lasting collaborative partnerships. As the Trust continues its work to advance voluntary water transactions for the lake, we continue to focus on building strong relationships with water users and providers, including farmers, irrigation and canal companies, municipal and industrial users, and government agencies.

We are aware a petition has been filed to list the Wilson’s Phalarope as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. While we too are concerned about the decline of shorebird species at Great Salt Lake, the Trust is focused on immediate steps to bring water to Great Salt Lake and protecting its wetlands—for people and birds.

The Trust’s water transactions to date have largely been in partnership with water conservancy districts, industry, and others, along with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. As outlined in the Trust’s Five-Year Strategy, we aim to increase efforts to partner with producers and irrigation companies through voluntary water transactions or other innovative projects to provide an avenue for water rights holders to sustain their economic viability while providing water for Great Salt Lake.

The Trust is just one of many solutions the State of Utah initiated to address the lake’s challenges. The Trust’s efforts are working in parallel with other state programs and initiatives, including many funding or adopted by the Utah State Legislature, such as: modernizing Utah water policy; establishing the office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner and providing millions of dollars to implement the Commissioner’s strategic plan; more than $200 million in funding for agricultural water optimization and policies to encourage water conservation by recognizing saved water; incentives for water conservation in landscaping and turf removal; and most recently, legislation to manage water levels in the lake.

The Trust and its co-managers, the National Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy look forward to continuing our collaboration with many partners.