Excerpts from the student essay: "A Great State of Emergency; The Decline of the Great Salt Lake and What Can Be Done," authored by Evan Birkinshaw (SLCSE, Salt Lake City School District)

For full essay: file:///C:/Users/evanb/OneDrive/Desktop/EvanBirkinshaw.SeniorCapstoneFinalEssay.GSLPolicy.pdf

    Lake Owens is an echo chamber that now resounds the possibility of an end to yet another terminal lake; one which is the most definitive body of water in the Western United States and provides the namesake to the capital city that puts Utah on the map: the Great Salt Lake. Much like Lake Owens, the problem of this shrinking lake originates from the depraved use of water that our state has tolerated. Degradation is exacerbated through the excessive use of outdated agricultural practices, water diversion, private industries and resource culture throughout the state which reciprocate ecological and economic consequences for the Salt Lake Valley. This is acceptable under the current state legislature which fails to protect water rights, provisioning, and consideration of the inherent climate change that comes with economic prioritization over the preservation of the GSL and Salt Lake Watershed. In short, too little action is being taken to address the emergency state of the Great Salt Lake and much more could be done even just by cutting back water use. While we benefit tremendously from our state’s greatest asset in the short-term, it is equally important to look at how human activity is impacting the Great Salt Lake as an ecosystem and in turn our ability to sustainably live in such a unique, beautiful place. 

    The Great Salt Lake is in a state of emergency. Agricultural practices, water diversion, private industries and resource culture throughout the Salt Lake Basin have brought about reciprocating ecological and future economic consequences that not only impact us now, but years into the future; compromising the survivability of Salt Lake City. And yet emergency responses in state policy are not on par with the urgency of the GSLs decline. One of the fundamental principles proposed by a leading study on the Great Salt Lake, “Emergency measures needed to rescue Great Salt Lake from ongoing collapse” (Abbott, et. al, 2023), is the practice of “learn, conserve, augment.” This serves to survey and study the biotic, abiotic, and social components of water and make informed decisions about reducing water waste and overuse which can then be changed in the future once in a more sustainable position (Abbott, et. al, p. 14). This simplified process shows the chronology and time put towards conservation, however with the state that GSL is in, action must be taken based off what is already known. The current and proposed policies do not resolve the problem. It is assumed there is more time than what is the stark reality. Further research and methodical measurement are a start but do not address the state of the GSL. True conservation of the lake starts with reevaluating and reducing water use, providing funding, re-naturalizing surrounding environments, resolving privatized water rights, and punishing water waste. And although politics should have no role in how urgently action is taken, there is a path of bipartisan approach. The Great Salt Lake is in danger. So many people and species rely on this defining body of water and once it is lost, the future is uncertain. It is in everyone’s interest to act now and stand up for the GSL which is truly a part of all of us. It is our responsibility to protect it; we took the water. 

    The irresponsibility of lawmakers this legislative session of 2023 on the state capital has been beyond disappointing. With only a few years left to take action to replenish the GSL, it is time more than ever for the future of our state, the students, to take initiative and push for change over the prioritization of profit by our state. This petition is will be used to gather signatures of students in the Salt lake Valley in order to better lobby for and provide overwhelming support and pressure towards effective policies that will save our Great Salt Lake.