A little more than $50 million would do a lot in our lives, creating new destinies and charting a brighter future.
Just imagine what you could do with that money and how you could make a difference.
While no one is knocking on our doors offering that sum of money, the Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner, the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands announced that up to $53 million in grant funding is available for projects that support Great Salt Lake and its wetlands.
While you may crave a luxury car, the state craves a healthy and vibrant Great Salt Lake replete with the promise of remaining a cultural icon that has helped forge the state’s identity.
What is the purpose of the money?
The new opportunity comes from three separate funding pools provided by each organization.
The Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner, in coordination with the Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, is providing $50 million. This funding is available for projects in three categories:
- Voluntary water transactions: Compensation for a temporary or multiyear voluntary reduction in diversion of water or consumptive water use.
- System conservation projects: Voluntary system conservation projects that reduce consumptive water losses through improvements to water distribution infrastructure.
- Ecosystem and habitat projects: Ecosystem and habitat restoration projects to address issues directly caused by drought in a river basin or inland water body.
“The abundance and diversity of funding available through this multi-organizational partnership will give project managers the opportunity to apply for the funding that will best fit their needs,” said Brian Steed, Great Salt Lake commissioner. “The commissioner’s office is excited to coordinate its release of federal funding available for projects that will benefit the Great Salt Lake with our partners at the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust and the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.”
Of the remaining funding, $2 million will come from division of forestry and $1 million from the trust. The state and the trust have partnered to provide up to $3 million for projects that will protect and/or restore wetlands and habitats in the Great Salt Lake’s surrounding ecosystems, benefiting the hydrology of the lake.
“This coordinated funding effort presents unprecedented opportunities to support projects that will enhance Great Salt Lake’s habitats, reduce water consumption, and deliver water to the lake and wetlands benefiting the overall health of Great Salt Lake. Partnership and collective efforts are essential to preserving Great Salt Lake,” said Marcelle Shoop, executive director of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust.
Regardless of what grant process applicants select, all applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 24 through a variety of ways, including the Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner or the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, as well as the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust.
The infusion of money is designed to help the imperiled lake, which saw its levels drop to historic lows in 2022.
Despite the challenges, advocates, policymakers, the state Legislature, governor and Utah’s congressional delegation have not been deterred.
The continued health and vitality of the eighth largest terminal lake in the world has been a driving concern for those who recognize its integral link to the cycle of nature, and to the cycle of health for those who live in its midst.
Studies have shown that wind-blown dust from exposed beds of the Great Salt Lake contain harmful toxins such as arsenic and lead that blanket the Wasatch Front and can get in our lungs.
That dust also accelerates snow melt in the mountains in a symbiotic relationship. The “lake effect” can turn a normal winter storm into something spectacular when it comes to snowfall.
Yet, the less lake there is, the less chance Utah has of that lake effect dynamic — the dust just compounds the problem by accelerating snowmelt.
The Great Salt Lake is also an economic powerhouse for Utah.
It generates $1.3 billion for Utah’s economy with the industry it supports and the visitors it attracts. It is a “Pacific Flyway” for millions of migratory birds each year and attracts wildlife watchers from all over the globe.
Terminal saline lakes, which are the remnants of a different time, are struggling throughout the world.
These funding offerings are a way to help the one closest to home have a better chance at survival.
