Ensuring Utah’s Water Plan Protects the Great Salt Lake and Rivers

As Utah continues to create a 50-year blueprint for state water policy, called the Utah Water Strategy, residents are concerned that the health of the state’s rivers, the largest saline lake in North America, and the birds that rely on them could be left out of consideration.  Advisors to Governor Gary Herbert reluctantly posted the draft water plan online last fall and received hundreds of public comments, including from Great Salt Lake Audubon Society.  Now, some voices are clamoring to be invited to the ongoing advisory team meetings that continue to shape the state’s water policy, including potential major river diversion projects like the Lake Powell pipeline and the Bear River diversion.  Stay tuned for information about the next opportunity for public comment to make sure they don’t jeopardize some of the most important wildlife habitats in the western hemisphere like the Great Salt Lake.