Gov. Cox announces $45 million proposal to help protect Great Salt Lake
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is proposing to spend $45 million to help preserve and protect the Great Salt Lake. (Photo: Lincoln Graves, KUTV)
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is proposing to spend $45 million to help preserve and protect the Great Salt Lake.
Cox made the announcement at the Antelope Island Visitor Center Tuesday as he unveiled his proposed Fiscal Year 2023 Budget.
The $45 million comes from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). It’s added to $5 million allocated in May for a total of $50 million. In addition, the governor wants to allocate $600,000 in restricted funds to update the Great Salt Lake comprehensive resource management plan.
At his press conference, KUTV asked Cox if $45 million was enough money and whether it was backed by science.
“Well, part of that money is to get better science,” Cox said. “So part of that planning process is to make sure we get the best scientists here. We don’t think $45 million is enough or the end of the story. But we think it’s what we need for the next year to get that process started.”
Cox also said preserving the Great Salt Lake was a priority of his administration.
Cox was joined by other state leaders, including Rep. Tim Hawkes, R-Centerville, who also serves as general counsel for the Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative.
“There are things we can do, we are doing, that can change the trajectory of the lake,” Hawkes said. “People are starting to realize it’s something we can’t take for granted. We have to do something about it.”
RELATED: Wildlife, air quality at risk as Great Salt Lake recedes
The lake reached historic lows in the summer of 2021. Advocates said a dried up lake, or even a smaller lake, could lead to a host of environmental, ecological and economic catastrophes. Exposed lake bed could lead to more dust, worsening the Wasatch Front’s already bad air quality. Industries that depend on the lake could go out of business. Even Utah’s world-famous snow is in danger because of less lake effect snow.
“It’s really important to have this sink of water,” said Bonnie Baxter, a professor of biology and director of the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College. “When storms come in over the Great Salt Lake, it’s like the perfect proximity to then dump snow on the Wasatch Mountains. One of the worries is as this amount of water recedes in this very shallow lake, is that we will impact the delivery of that snow.”
Steve Erickson is the policy advocate for the Utah Audubon Council and has done advocacy work for the Great Salt Lake for years. He’s cautiously optimistic about the governor’s budget proposal.
“Certainly heading in the right direction,” Erickson said. "Change comes slowly sometimes but we’ll take it when it arrives. That said, we now are tasked with getting the legislature to act along the same lines as the governor. That’s not always a simple task. The governor’s budget is a recommendation so there will be a challenge to all of us to make sure this comes to fruition.”
You can read Cox’s proposed budget here.
