State forestry division plans open houses to craft Great Salt Lake management plan
BRIGHAM CITY — With the wind rustling in the cattails and birds bobbing on the water of the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, members of the new Great Salt Lake Advisory Council convened their second meeting — a get-acquainted session on topics related to the unique body of water.
The Thursday session included a brief summary of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands' effort to craft a new comprehensive management plan for the Great Salt Lake, as well as a minerals leasing plan.
A series of open houses is planned for August in each of the five counties bordering the lake following presentations delivered to county commissioners.
Those meetings are:
Aug. 10, Weber County.
Aug. 17, Salt Lake and Davis counties.
Aug. 24, Tooele County.
Aug. 31, Box Elder County.
More information can be found at www.ffsl.utah.gov/sovlands/gsl.php.
The last management plan was adopted in 2000, but it must be updated every 10 years to reflect new challenges facing the lake, including use by industry such as mineral extraction and pressures brought by changes in salinity levels or mercury pollution.
Over the next two months, the division will continue to solicit public input from a variety of groups with a vested interest in the lake — from environmentalists to duck clubs and bird watchers.
"The global importance of this lake is worldly known," wildlife refuge manager Bob Barrett told the council. "There are people who travel here from all over the world; people from 21 countries came here last year to see this bird mecca. From a bird use standpoint, it doesn't get any better on a global scale than what you have here."
Once public input has been gathered, the state will define the issues based on feedback and identify four alternatives to handle those issues, said Laura Burch Vernon, an environmental consultant contracted by the state to assist with the plan's compilation. Input on those alternatives will be gathered, with a draft plan anticipated to be ready by July or August of next year.
The draft will include a synopsis document before the final plan is ready.
Once the final plan is completed, that will serve as the "mandate" for management of the lake and its resources, said Dick Buehler, state forester and director of the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
Utah Division of Water Quality director Walt Baker also announced the receipt of a $100,000 grant from The Nature Conservancy intended to help the council in its mission to advocate for a balanced-use approach that protects its resources.
Members of the Legislature's Executive Appropriations Committee will be asked to sign off on receipt of the grant in their meeting scheduled for mid-August.
Additionally, Baker said the division and other agencies are embarking on a unique wetlands assessment study that will attempt to measure the health of the lake's adjacent wetlands and identify "tolerance" thresholds in their management.
The study will utilize a variety of tools in the analysis, including infrared technology and aerial mapping. An estimated 80 percent of the state's wetlands are part of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.
e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com
