Why we should act at Great Salt Lake before it's too late.
Saline Lakes
Saline lakes and their associated wetlands throughout Intermountain West create a network of critical habitat that millions of birds depend on for breeding, resting and feeding during migration, and wintering.
Audubon identified nine priority lakes that historically provided essential habitat and food sources for shorebirds, waterbirds, and waterfowl. They include Great Salt Lake, Salton Sea, Lake Abert, and the Lahontan Wetlands. More than half of these lakes have shrunk by 50 to 95 percent over the last 150 years due to a combination of upstream water diversions, consumption, and drought.
Drier conditions under climate change will exacerbate effects of water diversions by decreasing flows to lakes and wetlands. Lower water levels increase lake salt content, altering the food web that resident and migrating shorebirds and waterbirds rely on. No other ecosystems in the arid West can meet these species’ unique requirements. Since shorebirds and waterbirds congregate in large numbers at these sites, they are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss.
Maintaining healthy bird populations depends on proactively managing these habitats amid water demands across the region. Solving these water challenges will require collaboration, innovation, and flexibility in how we use, share, and manage water so that people, birds, and wildlife can thrive together.
Key findings from our Water and Birds in the Arid West Report:
Key stopovers at Great Salt Lake and Mono Lake allow for 10000 mile migrations.
Nearly all Eared Grebes spend part of their flightless lives at Great Salt Lake or Mono Lake.
Unlike other drying lakes, Utah has the opportunity to change course and avoid those costs.
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