[0:00] Okay, good morning everybody and welcome
[0:02] uh to this edition of the Great Salt
[0:05] Lake Advisory Council. I'm going to call
[0:07] this meeting to order and declare that
[0:09] we have a quorum present. Um
[0:14] before we get into the agenda, which I'm
[0:16] just pulling up here, uh I wanted to
[0:19] talk about just a couple of changes to
[0:20] membership. Uh, one is, uh, Trevor
[0:23] Nielson. Some of you may know or may not
[0:25] know, but Trevor just accepted a
[0:27] position in South Texas to become
[0:29] general manager of very large uh,
[0:30] irrigation district down there. Uh,
[0:33] Trevor has um, played an important role
[0:36] in the water community for many years
[0:38] and he's been a liazison representing
[0:39] the Bear River Watershed uh, here on the
[0:41] Great Salt Lake Advisory Council. So, we
[0:43] want to thank Trevor for his time and service and and wish him the best as
[0:47] he moves on. Um, also in terms of uh
[0:51] members on the council, Megan Hillyard,
[0:53] who we see is joining us remotely. Hi
[0:55] Megan. Um, I think Megan's been formally
[0:58] nominated and approved. I think not yet,
[1:00] but she's in the process of being
[1:02] nominated approved to represent um Salt
[1:05] Lake County, right? Is that right? The
[1:07] county or the city?
[1:09] >> One of those
[1:10] >> county.
[1:11] >> The county. Um Megan's going to
[1:13] represent Salt Lake County on the Great
[1:15] Salt Lake Advisory Council. So, welcome
[1:16] Megan. It's great to have you with us.
[1:19] Thank you so much. Look forward to to
[1:21] being here.
[1:23] >> Okay. Uh let's see. I got to pull up my
[1:26] agenda here.
[1:36] Sorry, I didn't have it up. And so now
[1:38] I've got five billion windows. Anybody
[1:40] else do that?
[1:47] Um,
[1:50] Angela, can you maybe share yours while
[1:52] I'm trying to pull this up
[2:01] on the calendar invite itself? Okay.
[2:08] [clears throat]
[2:12] Okay. Thanks for your patience. At ease
[2:14] everybody.
[2:15] I'm technologically challenged.
[2:24] And can I just borrow your computer for
[2:25] a second?
[2:32] I know it's in there somewhere, but
[2:36] thanks.
[2:41] All right. Um, as is I could have
[2:43] stalled better if I'd thought through
[2:44] it. Um, as is our practice, we do
[2:47] introductions uh just uh to start and so
[2:49] we'll start over here. Maybe we can
[2:51] start with Brad. If we could start with
[2:52] you over there and we'll come around the
[2:54] table first, then we'll go over here to
[2:55] the audience.
[2:56] >> Hi, I'm Brad Perry. I'm the vice chair
[2:57] for the Northwestern Man of Shony
[2:59] Nation, also their natural resources
[3:00] officer and I'm representing the tribe.
[3:06] Hi, I'm Heidi Hovind with National
[3:07] Ottabban Society at Gilmore Sanctuary
[3:09] and Jordan River Watershed Council Vice
[3:13] Chair and Liaison.
[3:19] » Hi, I'm Emily Timer from BLM Salt Lake
[3:22] Field Office. I'm filling in for Jessica
[3:23] Wade today.
[3:26] >> Hi, I'm Angela Gong from the um DNR
[3:29] Division of Forestry Fire and State
[3:30] Lands G Slack.
[3:34] Uh Tim Hawks representing aquaculture.
[3:37] >> Joe Havsy representing mineral
[3:39] extraction.
[3:41] >> Leon Meyers with the sewer folks.
[3:45] John Crofts Davis County Commission.
[3:48] >> Brian Dhy to County.
[3:52] » Lynn Defratos, Friends of Great Salt
[3:54] Lake.
[3:57] >> Marcel Shupe, National Ottabon Society.
[4:00] >> Ben Styman, Forestry, Fire and State
[4:01] Lands.
[4:03] Emma Clinton with Envision Utah.
[4:07] >> Jack Ray with Utah Waterfell
[4:08] Association.
[4:10] >> Wayne Wardsba Utah State University.
[4:13] >> Jeff Denler Jacobs.
[4:17] >> Joshua Ward, Bowen Collins.
[4:19] >> Eileen Lukans, Utah State University.
[4:23] >> Bronte D Roshi, Great Salt Lake
[4:24] Watershed Enhancement Trust.
[4:26] >> Shayla Adams, National Ottabon Society
[4:28] in the Trust.
[4:30] Lily Wetland, SWCA, Environmental
[4:33] Consultants.
[4:35] Ari Mason, SWCA.
[4:38] >> Adam Wickline, Great Salt Lake Watershed
[4:40] Enhancement Trust.
[4:42] >> Keith Hamrech, Forestry, Fire and State
[4:44] Lands.
[4:47] >> Ted Balling, Forestry, Fire and State
[4:48] Lands,
[4:50] >> Breaking Up FSL. Marissa Weinberg, Great
[4:52] Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape.
[4:55] >> Emma Whitaker, Forestry, Fire and State
[4:57] Lands.
[4:58] Uh Stuart Laybourne, turn two studio and
[5:01] Aiden Roberts, turn two studio.
[5:04] >> And I want to point out our AV folks,
[5:07] Paul and Jen back here, who came super
[5:08] early to test run the brand new AV
[5:11] system in here. Oo. Ah,
[5:14] [applause]
[5:17] » thanks Anra. Thanks to Paul and Jen,
[5:19] thanks to Carmen and Salt Lake. And
[5:20] thanks to you, Angela for all the work
[5:23] you do to get our agendas together and
[5:25] keep us moving. Um, we don't normally do
[5:27] the onlineines, but I do want to
[5:28] acknowledge we have Elizabeth Kitchens,
[5:30] also a council member, uh, joining us
[5:32] online. Uh, Tyler Smith, Warren Peterson
[5:35] are both liaison. Darren, another
[5:38] council member, and I'm sure we've got
[5:39] others there. But welcome all those that
[5:40] are joining us online. It is typical
[5:42] these days to have almost as many people
[5:44] online, if not more people online, as we
[5:46] have in person. So, thanks all for
[5:48] taking time out of your busy schedules
[5:50] to be here. Uh you uh council members
[5:54] and liaison should have received a copy
[5:56] of the agenda in advance and it was uh
[5:58] posted publicly as well. Uh can I get a
[6:01] motion to approve the agenda? John,
[6:04] >> I make a motion to approve the agenda.
[6:06] >> John moves and a second. Thank you. We
[6:09] have a second. Um all in favor, please
[6:11] say I. Raise your hand.
[6:12] >> I.
[6:14] >> Any opposed? Rule that motion carries
[6:16] unanimously. We also have meeting notes
[6:18] dated um May 13th. So from our last
[6:23] meeting uh and there we're not formal
[6:26] minutes in the traditional sense but we
[6:28] do approve those as well. So can I get a
[6:29] motion to approve
[6:31] >> approve those minutes.
[6:34] Okay and Joe thank you. Um all in favor
[6:37] that motion has been made and seconded.
[6:38] All in favor please say I.
[6:40] >> I.
[6:42] >> Any opposed?
[6:44] a rule that motion carries unanimously.
[6:47] So today we have kind of an ambitious
[6:48] agenda. It's a little bit of a look a
[6:50] look back and a look forward and it
[6:51] relates to and we'll talk about this a
[6:53] little bit more, but just to the
[6:54] $125,000 that the Great Lake Advisory
[6:57] Council has the ability to direct each
[6:58] year. And so what we wanted to do is
[7:00] kind of do a little bit of a lightning
[7:02] round uh to look back at the projects
[7:04] we've funded this last year. And so
[7:06] we're going to hit them in kind of quick
[7:08] succession, just quick reports on what's
[7:11] been done and then we'll talk about what
[7:13] we're thinking about doing um for moving
[7:16] forward for this next year. So that's
[7:18] kind of uh the run of show today. Then
[7:20] we'll have some specific uh reports and
[7:23] discussions towards the end. So, uh,
[7:26] starting out, I think we are looking
[7:28] back at those 2026,
[7:30] uh, projects, and the first one we have
[7:32] is from Lily Wetland from SWCA to talk
[7:36] about the update to the drying lakes
[7:38] around the world study. Lily, the time
[7:40] is yours.
[7:47] » Oh, can everyone hear me?
[7:49] Perfect. Um, so I'm actually going to be
[7:52] presenting on two projects, so I'll
[7:54] probably go through both of them and
[7:55] then save questions for the end just to
[7:57] be a little bit more efficient. Um, kind
[8:00] of combined the PowerPoints. Um, the
[8:03] first project I'm talking about is an
[8:05] update to the 2019 report, uh,
[8:09] consequences of drying lake systems
[8:12] around the world. So we updated it this
[8:14] year. Um so seven years later from the
[8:18] past report. Um we work closely with
[8:22] many of you in this room. I recognize so
[8:24] many faces that were participating in
[8:26] this report and the review process. So
[8:28] thank you. Um and then Martin and
[8:30] Nicholson's also supported this.
[8:35] So the point of this report was to do
[8:38] global uh global case studies on drying
[8:41] terminal lakes. Um so we looked at nine
[8:44] different terminal lakes around the
[8:46] world um and the great salt lake and
[8:50] compared their relevance to the great
[8:52] salt lake system. Um and all of these
[8:55] lakes face very similar pressures as the
[8:58] great salt lake. Um and we assessed you
[9:01] know drivers of decline. um the
[9:04] economic, social, and environmental
[9:06] impacts associated with that decline um
[9:09] and restoration efforts to mitigate that
[9:12] decline. Um and the findings from this
[9:15] report Oh, thank you, whoever did that.
[9:19] Um will help, you know, inform future
[9:22] terminal lake management and
[9:24] conservation. So, our different terminal
[9:27] lakes, which I think are on the next
[9:29] slide, um we generated this graphic just
[9:32] to note these are not to scale. Some of
[9:34] them would be pretty tiny next to some
[9:36] of the big ones like the Aerial Sea. Um
[9:39] but yeah, we looked at like Lake Yurima,
[9:42] Aerial Sea, Dead Sea, Marqueta Lake, uh
[9:46] Sultan Sea, Walker Lake, Owens Lake, Popo, and Mono Lake. Um and as you
[9:51] can see, all of these lakes are facing
[9:54] decline. The lighter blue um is historic
[9:57] lake area. The darker blue is a current
[10:00] lake area. You can see that's missing
[10:02] from some of the lakes like Owens Lake.
[10:05] Um and just some general characteristics
[10:09] of each of these lakes.
[10:13] So again, how did this relate to us and
[10:16] the Great Salt Lake? Um all of these
[10:19] lakes have very similar trends and they
[10:22] when they're declining they affect the
[10:25] economy um the societies that live
[10:27] around them and uh the ecology and
[10:31] environmental um aspects. So we all know
[10:34] a lot of these statistics but if the
[10:37] lake continues to decline we will face
[10:40] uh economic consequences. Um there'll be
[10:44] social consequences including health
[10:45] related issues uh from dust um and
[10:49] reduced recreational opportunity and
[10:51] possibly you know living in not a so
[10:55] nice place without the lake. Um it also
[10:58] affects our birds and wildlife um and
[11:01] our climate.
[11:04] All these lakes kind of share a similar
[11:06] story. Um they all suffer from declining
[11:10] levels from mostly human pressure. Um so
[11:14] they are declined due to upstream water
[11:16] diversions, agriculture um and climate
[11:18] stress. Um a theme is that prevention is
[11:23] critical. um once lakes collapse or near
[11:26] collapse, restoration and mitigation
[11:29] becomes a lot more challenging and a lot
[11:31] more expensive. So early intervention um
[11:34] is definitely something that you know
[11:37] was seen in some of the lakes as you
[11:40] know helping that prevention of the
[11:43] decline. Um and then also a lot of these
[11:46] lakes um have similar themes which I
[11:49] know is uh present in Salt Lake is the
[11:52] dust and health risks with the increased
[11:55] uh um lake beds that are drying and
[11:58] those expose you know toxic dust
[12:00] containing metals, pesticides um and
[12:02] pollutants that get airborne. Um and
[12:05] then another you know common theme is
[12:08] that as these lakes decline salinity
[12:10] increases, wetlands disappear. um and
[12:14] wildlife and ecosystem services decline.
[12:17] Uh also, you know, all of these
[12:20] restoration efforts that are happening
[12:22] at all of these lakes, you know, the
[12:24] main issue is getting water to the
[12:27] lakes. So, the recovery can't really
[12:30] happen unless there's long-term water
[12:32] management and reduced diversions.
[12:36] So, I'm going to just skip through this
[12:38] unless we want to stop for questions
[12:40] really quick. Yeah,
[12:41] >> just plowing through. Thank you all.
[12:43] >> Okay. Um Okay. The next project we've
[12:46] been working on for actually the last
[12:48] three years um is we've been supporting
[12:50] G Slack with water conservation work. Um
[12:53] three years ago we developed the water
[12:55] conservation toolbox. Um after we
[12:58] developed that toolbox um Gack wanted to
[13:01] do outreach for the toolbox and be able
[13:04] to provide that information to cities
[13:06] and municipalities across the Great Salt
[13:08] Lake Basin. Um, we decided that we
[13:11] shouldn't just be sharing the tools that
[13:13] G-Slack has developed, but that all
[13:15] conservation folks in the state have
[13:17] developed. Um so we worked with Division
[13:20] of Water Resources, Utah Waterways, um
[13:23] USU, Great Salt Lake Commissioner's
[13:26] Office, um U of and the Water Districts
[13:30] and Utah League of Cities and Towns to
[13:32] develop a recorded presentation that
[13:35] could be shown to city councils and
[13:38] staff and it just shows in 20 minutes
[13:40] kind of a suite of tools available from
[13:43] all these different organizations. So,
[13:45] um, [clears throat] that's a QR code if
[13:47] you guys want to scan it and watch it.
[13:48] We don't have time to watch it. It's
[13:50] about 22 minutes. Um, but that's also on
[13:53] the GS Slack website.
[13:56] Um, so this presentation really, you
[13:59] know, tries to highlight all the
[14:01] different um, amazing tools and
[14:04] resources that each of these entities
[14:06] have. Um, many of these entities do, you
[14:08] know, custom support for rate structures
[14:11] and ordinances where they can actually
[14:13] sit down with the city and help them
[14:15] draft those. There's workshops. There's
[14:18] things to help with planning. Um,
[14:20] there's a lot of incentives and rebates,
[14:22] but essentially this outreach is
[14:24] supposed to just in 20 minutes kind of
[14:26] show city councils what is available to
[14:29] them and resources.
[14:33] We made quite a few cut sheets. Um, we
[14:36] have another one that's pretty useful.
[14:38] It's on the GSAC website. Um, but it
[14:40] outlines kind of what each of these
[14:42] entities role is in water conservation,
[14:45] what they are able to support, and then
[14:48] links to all of their um, resources and
[14:52] tools and that's also available on the
[14:54] website. Um but yeah, most importantly
[14:57] with this project, you know, we have all
[14:59] these great entities that are helping
[15:01] from the level up, but really we're
[15:03] trying to get to the implementation. Um
[15:05] which really happens with the water
[15:06] conservancy districts and cities and
[15:09] counties.
[15:11] Um I would call this maybe somewhat of a
[15:14] pilot project. After we developed this
[15:16] presentation, we did some outreach to 21
[15:19] cities within the Great Salt Lake Basin.
[15:21] Um, again, we were showing them the
[15:23] recorded presentation. The point of the
[15:26] recorded presentation is it's really
[15:28] hard to get that many entities in a room
[15:30] together. Um, so scheduling 10 people to
[15:33] go present every city council would be
[15:35] [clears throat] tough. So that's why we
[15:36] recorded it so that we have consistent
[15:38] messaging. Um, and yeah, so SWCA and G
[15:42] Slack would attend those meetings. um
[15:46] show the presentation and then be
[15:48] available to answer questions, discuss
[15:50] kind of what they're already working on
[15:51] related to conservation and help connect
[15:54] them to the right folks if they wanted
[15:56] to keep moving forward with um different
[15:59] aspects of their planning. Um some
[16:02] [clears throat] of our key lessons
[16:04] learned is it was really hard to get
[16:06] city councils to want us to come and
[16:08] present to them. Um we I think only
[16:11] presented to about five city councils.
[16:14] Um, all of them went really well though
[16:15] that we did present at. Um, I think a
[16:19] lot of the city councils we were
[16:20] reaching out to didn't have the
[16:22] bandwidth, didn't have a planning staff,
[16:24] so it was hard to kind of get our feet
[16:26] in um with them. Um, we also ran into
[16:30] the issue that maybe contractor-led
[16:31] outreach might be tricky. Um, you know,
[16:34] an email coming from me, uh, they might
[16:37] be like, who's this person trying to
[16:38] sell me something? Um, and so we're
[16:41] worked with having Tim send out some
[16:43] emails. We got some more leeway with
[16:45] that. Um, and then this project is going
[16:47] to carry on even though the fiscal year
[16:49] is done and SBCA is no longer on it. And
[16:51] Utah waterways is going to continue
[16:53] doing this outreach to city councils.
[16:57] And yeah, there's another QR code if you
[16:59] want more information on that project.
[17:01] >> Okay,
[17:02] >> I can take questions if there's time. I
[17:04] >> think time for just briefly. Um, any
[17:06] questions for Lily? Great presentations
[17:07] on either the update to the drying lake
[17:09] study or the municipal conservation
[17:12] toolbox. We'll start on the table. Any
[17:14] questions around the table? Any
[17:16] questions from the audience? Yeah.
[17:22] » Question is when will the report be
[17:23] available online?
[17:25] >> That might be an Angela or Tim question.
[17:27] I sent it to um G Slack and I think
[17:30] we're just waiting for Division of Water
[17:33] Quality to upload it to your guys' site.
[17:38] Maybe I'll go.
[17:40] >> Okay. [laughter]
[17:42] >> It'll be one of the discussion points a
[17:43] bit later.
[17:44] >> Yeah.
[17:44] >> So, thanks. Any other questions for
[17:46] Lily?
[17:47] >> Lynn, [clears throat]
[17:50] >> thank you. um in the pie chart and the
[17:53] maybe mixed success of outreach. Um the one uh piece that had city said no
[18:02] and then number two, does that mean that
[18:05] you asked them twice or what does that
[18:08] mean?
[18:08] >> Oh, that two cities just kind of
[18:10] straight up said no to us being able to
[18:13] present.
[18:14] >> Um
[18:15] >> one was honest uh Salt Lake City. They
[18:18] honestly just had a very full agenda and
[18:21] they're they're pretty like set with
[18:23] their they have like a whole
[18:24] conservation team. Um so mostly their
[18:27] reasoning was they didn't have room and
[18:30] I forget the other city off the top of
[18:31] my head but they it was a similar reason
[18:33] just kind of squeezing into those city
[18:36] council agendas was tough for those two
[18:39] cities.
[18:40] >> Right. So the benefit of the time and
[18:43] energy and the funding support that went
[18:46] into this um are we are we going to
[18:50] consider trying to keep exercising the
[18:53] opportunity and the invitation for
[18:56] cities and the community entities to
[19:00] create that engagement.
[19:02] >> I think Lily mentioned but I think the
[19:04] idea is the Utah waterways will largely
[19:06] um take that over but still that same
[19:07] idea. Um, and I think they're trying to
[19:09] go through league more through the
[19:11] league direction route to see if they
[19:13] can't get continue the effort.
[19:17] >> One one comment on that. I spoke with
[19:18] several city council folks and also at
[19:23] least one mayor and and I think there is a feeling from a governance at
[19:30] the municipal level that there is a lot
[19:32] of saturation on this issue and they've
[19:35] heard it enough. So the the real issue
[19:38] is how do you drive home action?
[19:43] I mean, that's where the that's where the the rubber meets
[19:47] the road is what a creative or
[19:50] initiative they're going to take to
[19:52] drive home additional conservation
[19:55] and and providing them with the tools
[19:58] was step one. I think that if we're
[20:01] going to put further resources into it,
[20:04] I think we have to say what would make
[20:07] additional action happen. And and that a
[20:11] real challenging question. I think that
[20:14] in my own mind I'm seeing it's going to
[20:16] have to come from probably the
[20:19] legislature to drive home the uh
[20:22] conservation at a higher level because
[20:23] people think they've made great strides
[20:26] at the municipal level and some of them
[20:28] are saying uh the mayor and bountiful
[20:31] for instance said we've done as much as
[20:33] we think we can do citizens are going to
[20:35] allow us to do and so I think that's a
[20:38] challenge that you're faced with.
[20:40] >> Thanks Susan. We need to move the
[20:42] agenda, but I think do I see somebody is
[20:44] somebody online? I can't see the full.
[20:50] » Yeah, [clears throat] Tim, this is
[20:51] Warren.
[20:51] >> Yeah, Warren, go ahead.
[20:53] >> Thank you. Toward the end of the global
[20:54] studies of drying terminal lakes, the
[20:57] recommendations, what one of the items
[20:59] said long-term long-term water
[21:01] management, and that's a very broad
[21:04] topic, and it's not it needs to be
[21:06] specific to each lake. And I building on
[21:08] what Leland just said, one one of the
[21:10] problems with the agricultural community
[21:12] is we're asked to attend various
[21:14] meetings and we we attend them and we
[21:17] find people are basically saying there's
[21:18] a problem. We know that we've heard it.
[21:20] It's I call it the groundhog groundhog
[21:23] day effect after the Bill Murray movie.
[21:25] We keep hearing the same having the same
[21:27] experience over and over and over again.
[21:30] Um, [clears throat] I I wondered if
[21:32] there's any specific strategic steps or
[21:35] if there's a strategic plan that could
[21:37] be developed for what long-term water
[21:40] management looks like at the Great Salt
[21:41] Lake so that we know what to be working
[21:43] toward when we know how to set
[21:45] benchmarks and and know whether we're
[21:47] improving or not. And [clears throat] I
[21:49] suggest that these things need to be
[21:51] rather quantitative
[21:53] so that we know at specific points maybe
[21:56] the strategy evolves into something
[21:59] different. But having that long-term
[22:02] strategy I think would be very helpful
[22:04] instead of having the Groundhog Day
[22:06] experience of hearing the same message
[22:09] repeatedly which is the lake needs help
[22:12] and we and we need to do we need to be
[22:14] part of that. Now, could we turn to what is our part of it? So, it's just a
[22:22] rather broad observation I'm putting out
[22:23] there as well, Tim, that u I'd really
[22:27] like to see these kind of action steps
[22:28] and I would expect that the Great Salt
[22:31] Lake management plan as it's as
[22:33] developed and published this year will
[22:34] help that, but if not, let's let's make
[22:37] sure that it does. Thank you.
[22:39] >> Thanks, Warren. Okay, Lily, thank you so
[22:41] much. Uh, let's
[22:44] round of applause.
[22:50] Next, we're going to pivot to uh Aiden
[22:52] Roberts and Stuart Leburn. They're with
[22:54] Turn Two Studios, and they've been
[22:56] working on the success stories for the
[22:57] Lakes. So, we'll turn it over to them. I
[23:00] don't know if you guys want to come up
[23:01] or we're just going to roll it or how
[23:02] are we going to do it? It's up to you.
[23:08] » Well, we may not have let you know.
[23:19] So, first
[23:32] » turn your mic on, please.
[23:35] >> Uh, sorry. There we go. Let's try that
[23:38] again. Um, so first of all, we just want
[23:40] to kind of thank council for the
[23:41] opportunity for the videos. I think
[23:42] we're going to show two of the six we
[23:44] ended up producing. Um, one about
[23:47] legislative changes and one about water
[23:49] leasing. Um, you know, and and I think
[23:52] the story here is there's a lot of doom
[23:54] and gloom as you all know in the stories
[23:56] that are out there and these are meant
[23:57] to be positive stories, right? Stories
[23:59] that tell a little bit more about the
[24:00] work that has been done and highlighting
[24:02] those um kind of issues.
[24:05] >> Anything you want to say or
[24:06] >> No. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, we just appreciate
[24:08] uh one everything that everyone is doing
[24:10] to help the lake get better and then for
[24:13] allowing us to play our little tiny part
[24:14] in it.
[24:15] >> Absolutely. So, thank you.
[24:18] >> Right now, there's not a more important
[24:20] issue to the people of Utah,
[24:22] to the well-being of the people of Utah
[24:24] than making sure that we have a healthy,
[24:26] stable, recovered Great Salt Lake. So,
[24:28] we're doing this because we care about
[24:30] our future. We're not thinking of just
[24:31] today. We're thinking of this in the
[24:34] long term. Listen,
[24:42] we're a growing state where water is
[24:44] scarce and so saving grades like putting
[24:48] the amount of water necessary to save
[24:50] that lake to stabilize it and then to
[24:52] start to bring it back. I mean, it is a
[24:54] massive amount of water. This is an
[24:56] enormous challenge, but it's one that we
[25:00] absolutely have to do.
[25:03] People
[25:06] are much more aware of the importance of
[25:07] Grace out Lake locally than they have
[25:09] ever have been. They're aware that there
[25:11] is direct linkages between lake health
[25:13] and snowpack. They're aware that there's
[25:16] direct linkages to to lake health and
[25:19] air quality. And all of those things I
[25:22] think are quite important. Uh, and I
[25:24] think that as the lake remains in in
[25:26] crisis, people become all the more aware
[25:29] still.
[25:30] >> What has brought it to the forefront of
[25:32] public perception is now we're in dire
[25:36] straits to some degree. At the same
[25:38] time, while it is in a bad way, what I
[25:42] most am grateful for is that we have the
[25:45] tools in place because legislatively
[25:47] we've been working on this for the
[25:48] better part of almost 10 years. We have
[25:51] the tools in place to fix this problem.
[25:57] Historically, the way we administer
[26:00] water rights in the western United
[26:01] States is this idea of use it or lose
[26:03] it. And if you don't lose it, you can
[26:05] forfeoot it. And and the other thing in
[26:08] that is that it's first in time, first
[26:09] and right. So the first person to
[26:11] physically divert water out of a natural
[26:13] system and put it to what we call a
[26:14] beneficial use, they have the priority
[26:17] right. We've really had a series of
[26:19] bills, but um there was a significant
[26:21] one that was run by Representative Joel
[26:23] Ferry, and it built on work that I done
[26:25] on what's called instream flow, but
[26:27] really recognizing environmental flows
[26:29] as beneficial use. Uh House Bill 33,
[26:33] which was the instream flow bill, I
[26:35] actually as a sponsor of that
[26:36] legislation, I ran that legislation, and
[26:39] that is what ultimately gave and allowed
[26:43] individuals to dedicate water to
[26:45] sovereign lands to Great Salt Lake.
[26:48] Recently, we we've we as a state, the
[26:50] Department of Natural Resources,
[26:51] acquired water rights, and it's what has
[26:53] enabled us to take those water rights,
[26:56] shepherd them downstream, deliver to the
[26:58] Great Salt Lake, monitor,
[27:02] um, dedicate, deliver that water in a
[27:06] way that wouldn't have been possible
[27:08] otherwise.
[27:11] the legislature a couple years ago um
[27:14] dedicated [music] some money so that we
[27:17] could actually do what's called a gap
[27:19] analysis study on the Great Salt Lake
[27:22] Basin and determine where measurement
[27:24] was missing.
[27:25] >> Acquiring significant amount of funding
[27:28] to help pay for some of these
[27:29] investments. So $265 million to
[27:32] metering, $276 million to the a water
[27:36] optimization program. With those
[27:39] dollars, now we're [music] actually
[27:41] installing that physical measurement to
[27:43] make sure that we can measure those
[27:45] releases that are coming down through
[27:47] the system to get them to the lake.
[27:53] » We passed a bill that and it was right
[27:55] as I was leading that established the
[27:57] office of the Great Salt Lake
[27:58] Commissioner.
[27:59] >> The intent behind uh the legislation
[28:01] that created it is to really create a
[28:03] quarterback for uh the various efforts
[28:06] the state has on Great Salt Lake.
[28:07] There's at least 12 state agencies that
[28:09] have jurisdiction on Grace Lake, an
[28:12] additional four or five federal agencies
[28:14] that have jurisdiction. And so we really
[28:16] did need to have someone that's able to
[28:18] coordinate those efforts and make sure
[28:19] that we're all, you know, pulling in the
[28:21] same direction. One of the the the
[28:24] groups that have been mo most
[28:25] forthcoming have been those mineral
[28:27] operators around the lake. And if you
[28:28] see a satellite image of the lake, you
[28:30] see big evaporative ponds around the
[28:31] lake where they're taking lake water.
[28:34] They're concentrating that lake water
[28:36] through evaporation. Then they're taking
[28:37] the minerals out and they're really
[28:39] important minerals. Sulfated pod ash
[28:40] goes to to uh as a really important
[28:43] fertilizer to fruits and nuts in
[28:44] California. Mag chloride is what we use
[28:47] for dust suppression everywhere, right?
[28:49] We use salt. We get a lot of salt for road maintenance in the wintertime.
[28:54] the discussions that we've had with the
[28:56] mineral companies on on this system,
[28:58] they've they have not been easy because
[29:01] we we really have fundamentally asked
[29:03] them to do something different. some of
[29:05] the most tur conversations that I've had
[29:08] in my legislative career around this
[29:11] issue because we were moving from what
[29:13] was to what needed to be and yet even
[29:17] from coming from where that place was
[29:20] which to industry felt very
[29:23] difficult just a few years ago you now
[29:25] have that same industry embracing water
[29:28] savings which we're very appreciative of
[29:30] here at the state of Utah but also
[29:32] announcing new cutting ed technology ies
[29:34] that are going to allow them to do
[29:36] lithium extraction, which this country
[29:38] needs, while at the same time
[29:40] maintaining this Great Salt Lake, which
[29:42] is critical.
[29:45] >> The legislature really did see that the
[29:47] part of how we're going to save Great
[29:49] Salt Lake is we're going to have to
[29:50] start engaging with business
[29:52] transactions with those with water
[29:53] rights. And so, the legislature put
[29:55] together uh in collaboration with a
[29:58] couple of environmental groups, the
[29:59] Great Salt Lake Wershed Enhancing Trust.
[30:02] The idea there was to take um some
[30:05] significant state funds and to partner
[30:08] with a private group that could manage
[30:11] the money uh and and actually has had
[30:14] the expertise to really figure out how
[30:16] to secure water for the lake.
[30:19] >> It's been cool to watch because then
[30:20] this puts farmers and ranchers in a
[30:23] position to where they don't perceive
[30:25] the lake as adversarial, but they see
[30:28] the the lake as potentially a business
[30:30] opportunity, right? And I don't want to
[30:32] put farmers and ranchers out of
[30:33] business. I think they're still a vital
[30:35] part of our community. And so if we're
[30:36] able to have them treat their water as
[30:38] another commodity and say, "Hey, maybe
[30:40] this year I will lease my water on
[30:43] expectation the next year I'll plant a a
[30:45] bunch of crops." I think that's that's a
[30:47] good transaction for the state and it
[30:49] preserves both agriculture as well as
[30:50] gets water to the lake.
[30:54] I think the Great Salt Lake is one of
[30:57] those unique problems that can bring
[30:59] everybody together regardless of class
[31:01] or station or interest. What's critical
[31:05] to maintaining this forward progress is
[31:07] what has gotten us to this point from
[31:10] before.
[31:12] Collaboration,
[31:14] uh, lack of painting anyone as the
[31:16] villain or the problem. It's it's
[31:18] working together and that's really a
[31:20] fundamental tenant of who we are as a
[31:22] people here in this state.
[31:26] » Those of us that have been working on
[31:27] the lake have really tried to maintain
[31:29] it as a nonpartisan issue. If we do come
[31:31] together, I am 100% convinced that we
[31:34] can solve this problem. And I'm just
[31:37] very aruck and grateful for the capacity
[31:41] of Utons to [music] work together to
[31:43] solve tough problems. This is the
[31:45] biggest, baddest, toughest problem out
[31:46] there. And yet, I'm optimistic that we
[31:49] can get it done.
[32:04] So, we're just going to watch the one.
[32:06] You're going to have to wait with baited
[32:07] breath to watch the rest of them. But,
[32:08] um, really appreciate Aiden and Stuart,
[32:10] your great work on that. And I'm sorry
[32:12] for the balding white guy that wrapped
[32:14] that that one up. But um any any
[32:18] comments or questions for the producers
[32:22] just looking around. Yeah, Brad, go
[32:24] ahead. Make sure to talk in your mic if
[32:26] you will, just so the online people can
[32:28] hear us.
[32:29] >> I'm a little louder. Um yeah, so I just,
[32:32] you know, that is amazing and I know
[32:34] that I was on the committee that helped
[32:36] do this.
[32:38] what what the tribe is going through
[32:40] with um the data center people saying
[32:44] that they're sticking up for us and
[32:46] they're not you know anyone that's not a
[32:47] member of our tribe you know um I'll
[32:49] just say that Kurt Mcconi has created a
[32:51] cease and desist template um for this
[32:55] specific thing and so
[32:59] if anyone sees this and calls in you
[33:01] just tell them to call me because we we
[33:05] agreed that hey we work together with
[33:07] you. And so if we produce something, we
[33:09] want you in it, you know, and this is I
[33:11] this is Utah's video. So I just want
[33:13] people to be cognizant of that because
[33:15] of what we're going through with the
[33:17] data center and people, you know, saying
[33:19] you need to come out and do this and you
[33:21] come out and they're calling the state
[33:22] agencies and they're sending emails to
[33:25] 250 people and, you know, making stuff
[33:27] up and so, you know, just just in case
[33:31] I've seen it happen like, hey, you
[33:32] didn't include the shony. Well, they
[33:33] asked to not be in it
[33:36] and they include us and they include us
[33:38] in ours and then just send them me and
[33:39] then I'll deal with it. Sorry, I didn't
[33:41] mean to take that time, but
[33:42] >> No, no, that's fine. Thanks, Brad. I
[33:44] appreciate that. Um, any other sort of
[33:46] comments or reactions to the movie? So,
[33:49] we're going to I don't know what the
[33:50] time frame is um in terms of rolling
[33:52] those out, but I think we're just
[33:54] finishing them up.
[33:55] >> So, the the the working committee has
[33:58] seen I think three of them. So, there
[34:00] are three more. So, I'll I'll send these
[34:02] out for any final feedback and I we're
[34:04] hoping to finish them up by next week.
[34:07] >> Okay. So, we're excited to see uh the
[34:10] rest of those and again really
[34:11] appreciate the great work. This is the
[34:13] opportunity to tell tell some really um
[34:14] unique stories about the lake and some
[34:16] positive stories about the lake. One of
[34:17] the things we'll talk about in a little
[34:18] bit is whether we want to continue to
[34:20] try to tell these kind of stories. So,
[34:22] um with that, we'll move to the next
[34:24] agenda item. We got Lynn Defrightus to
[34:26] talk about the issues forum and that was
[34:28] one of the things that the the council
[34:31] chose to uh fund this year or to help
[34:33] fund this year was to help sponsor the
[34:34] issues forum. It's important meeting
[34:36] that's been held uh kind of every other
[34:38] year but it's kind of a who's who of
[34:40] everybody working on the lake. So Lynn,
[34:42] we'll turn it over to you to talk
[34:43] briefly about the issues forum.
[34:44] >> Yeah, good morning and thank you. I um I
[34:47] brought art just to be a part of the
[34:49] conversation. Um the quote from um Brian
[34:54] Steed is something that I dine out on
[34:56] often. Um and it's also kind of a deja
[34:59] vu. Next slide. Because when Friends was
[35:03] founded in 1994 with the example of
[35:06] understanding what was going on with
[35:08] other saline systems, um we realized
[35:11] that here was an opportunity and a
[35:14] responsibility uh for us to get together
[35:18] and create a conversation with the
[35:20] watershed community on behalf of the
[35:23] lake. And so one of the ways in which we
[35:26] thought we would do that is two years
[35:28] after we were founded to create a Great
[35:31] Salt Lake issues forum and we hosted our
[35:34] first one in 1996. Next
[35:38] [snorts] and now we're up to our 15th
[35:41] bianual Great Salt Lake issues forum. We
[35:43] had a hiccup with COVID. Um otherwise it
[35:46] would be 16. But that being said, a
[35:49] three-day jam-packed conversation,
[35:53] opportunity to network, opportunity to
[35:57] learn and recognize the fact that, you
[36:00] know, the policies that are initiated
[36:02] and that we implement, the science and
[36:05] the research um that we reap the
[36:07] benefits of need to work in tandem um so
[36:11] that the outcomes can be effective in
[36:13] addressing what the lakes's needs are
[36:15] and where we are. Next, please. So,
[36:19] thank you very much for your sponsorship
[36:21] support and thank you to many others who
[36:23] realize that um you know the opportunity
[36:27] uh to share uh the funding gift um to
[36:30] promote such a gather is really deeply
[36:33] appreciated and so briefly I want to
[36:35] show you kind of the return on your
[36:37] investments. Um but many of you were
[36:39] there so you've experienced that. But
[36:42] next please. So, because 2034
[36:46] is something that we're using as a
[36:48] touchstone, as a goal, um I wanted to
[36:51] bring Brad Wilson in to provide the
[36:54] opening ceremonies for the Great Salt
[36:56] Lake Issues Forum since he's the CEO of
[36:59] the Utah Winter Olympics 2034. And he
[37:03] did a fine job in kind of helping us
[37:05] understand that endurance is really a
[37:08] part of the commitment to make a
[37:11] difference. Next.
[37:14] And we also had a video uh from Igor
[37:17] Zadariv who's the president of the
[37:19] International Society for Salt Lake
[37:21] Research. Uh he's in um Siberia. And
[37:25] again, the emphasis of the message that
[37:27] he provided was the fact that policy and
[37:30] science have to work together in order
[37:33] to translate into the conservation value
[37:36] that we all want to um achieve. Next.
[37:40] So, with 2034
[37:43] and Governor Cox's 2034 Great Salt Lake
[37:47] charter, um, Great Salt Lake Rising,
[37:50] next please.
[37:53] And those guys, next please.
[37:56] [snorts]
[37:57] and Ducks Unlimited and an extended
[38:00] reach of interests and businesses in a
[38:03] cohort have committed uh to raising
[38:06] significant amounts of funding to
[38:09] support achieving a goal of 2034 and
[38:13] bringing the level up to a world notable
[38:17] achievement for the the Winter Olympics.
[38:20] Next.
[38:22] And [snorts] because way back what 10
[38:25] years ago when Steve Clyde shared his
[38:27] white paper on Great Salt Lake, water
[38:30] rights for Great Salt Lake, is it the
[38:31] impossible dream? I wanted to bring
[38:33] Steve back into the conversation to see
[38:36] so what do you think? Next, please.
[38:40] And with that, we put together, you
[38:42] know, I call everyone part of the class
[38:44] of 2026, but we put together this great
[38:48] cohort of good thinkers and uh to talk
[38:51] about looking ahead and is it the
[38:54] impossible dream? Next.
[38:57] Um and again, we have policy examples
[39:01] and science coming together and creating
[39:03] a conversation that really go hand in
[39:06] hand. And we have to really continue to
[39:08] practice that with commitment and
[39:10] integrity. Next,
[39:13] and then Ben, I love you, Ben. So, Ben
[39:16] in his responsibility on behalf of
[39:18] sovereign lands and Great Salt Lake um
[39:20] and mentioning the opportunity for the
[39:23] public to engage in the development of
[39:26] the next iteration of the Great Salt
[39:28] Lake comprehensive management plan. Next
[39:31] and also um Ben is a part of and
[39:35] overseeing the salinity advisory uh
[39:38] committee to work on behalf of
[39:40] understanding how we can responsibly and
[39:43] effectively work with the adaptive
[39:46] management tool of the burm and the
[39:47] brereech in the railroad causeway to
[39:49] control flows from north to south but
[39:52] also with the relevance of nutrients and
[39:55] you know circulation salinity um so it's
[39:58] a big responsibility And it's ongoing,
[40:01] but it's very impressive. And um you
[40:04] know, we go next.
[40:07] And then, you know, some people have an
[40:09] elephant in the room. We have the
[40:11] invisible sweaty giant in the room. And
[40:14] so we had a conversation about that
[40:16] knowing that evaporation is a huge part
[40:18] of how can we bring water to the lake
[40:22] and make a difference with achieving an
[40:24] elevation. Next.
[40:27] Um and then we heard from mineral
[40:29] resources of the lake and just you know
[40:32] the work that's ongoing and to to Casey
[40:35] Snider's remark about you know it was
[40:37] really um a heavy lift for many but um
[40:42] the result is really significant. Uh,
[40:45] next and by example, the state's
[40:48] purchase of US magnesium. Big deal, big
[40:52] responsibility, but um I do believe that
[40:55] Jamie got a round of applause when she
[40:58] finished her her talk. So, thank you.
[41:01] Uh, sovereign lance next.
[41:04] Um, and of course, we have to talk about
[41:06] the birds. You know, over 12 million 338
[41:10] different species. um you know the
[41:12] responsibility of understanding
[41:14] salinity, elevation, uh all of those
[41:17] parts of the hole do come into play as
[41:20] far as our continuing responsibility.
[41:22] Next,
[41:24] and part of that is a selenium numeric
[41:29] standard in bird egg tissue with that
[41:31] was established 15 years ago and a
[41:33] conversation that is now ongoing about
[41:36] an observation of some some um elevation
[41:40] of that selenium concentration level in
[41:42] bird egg tissue. So, how are we going to
[41:45] effectively implement policy and
[41:49] research for a beneficial outcome for um
[41:52] aven species? Next,
[41:56] don't you just love it? It's like, yeah.
[41:58] Um anyway, and you know, the dream team,
[42:01] US Geological Survey, talking about
[42:03] hydrarology and ecology of terminal
[42:05] lakes in the Great Basin. Next.
[42:09] And we also every year we give our Doyle
[42:13] Stevens scholarship to a graduate and
[42:15] undergraduate uh to recognize their
[42:17] commitment to research as it relates to
[42:19] the watershed in Great Salt Lake. And we
[42:22] um we awarded two this year as we
[42:24] typically do next.
[42:28] And also a part of the whole get
[42:31] together of the issues forum is
[42:33] networking and how networking at work is
[42:37] handinand with creating conversations
[42:40] and effective communication. Next
[42:44] and then of course you know who's water
[42:46] whose responsibility
[42:49] a lot of pause lot of opportunity to you
[42:52] know ruminate on that. Next.
[42:55] Yo. Yeah. And you know the continuing
[42:59] challenge of tribal lands and the
[43:03] incorporation of science in order to you
[43:06] know address the restoration and
[43:08] conservation needs of that property.
[43:11] Next
[43:13] um again you know water is everything
[43:15] and timing and location is all about
[43:19] what we need to be effective in
[43:20] addressing. next
[43:23] and talking about agriculture, culture,
[43:27] agriculture, conservation and water for
[43:29] Great Salt Lake. Bringing together the
[43:31] parts of the whole to create an open
[43:33] conversation and translate that into
[43:36] results. Next,
[43:38] um yes, and then the two-year-old I call
[43:41] it I was telling Tyler it's like it's
[43:45] like Chuck Jagger breaking the sound
[43:47] barrier. you know, the Great Salt Lake
[43:49] Sentinel Landscape Program has only been
[43:51] in existence for two years and um an
[43:54] implementation plan is coming to a place
[43:57] near you sometime this fall. So, it's
[44:00] remarkable and it's integrated. Did I
[44:03] get that right?
[44:04] >> In the next couple weeks.
[44:06] >> Oh, next couple of weeks. Okay. All
[44:07] right. We go. Okay. Next.
[44:11] Um and then again what is the the social
[44:14] network where you know the example of
[44:17] trying to go to city councils and create
[44:20] conversations in education and how do
[44:23] you translate that into you know
[44:25] meaningful personal results that are
[44:28] going to translate into commitments and
[44:30] behavior changes. text
[44:34] and we had um a poster session with over
[44:37] 25 sharing uh research um work that's
[44:41] ongoing next
[44:44] and then you know we brought in our
[44:47] hemispheric neighbors and our global
[44:50] neighbors uh just to remind all of us
[44:52] that things are ongoing and the the lift
[44:57] is heavy um and we have an opportunity
[45:00] um to you translate that uh challenge
[45:05] into positive results. Next,
[45:09] and we had visitors from Argentina next.
[45:14] And Wayne, you know, provided that
[45:16] closing thought about Lake Oria dead,
[45:20] Great Salt Lake, there were sister
[45:22] systems, very similar. What are we going
[45:24] to do to prevent Great Salt Lake from
[45:27] turning into a lake or Mia? Policy and
[45:30] science. Next.
[45:32] Okay. We had a banquet at the Alta Club.
[45:35] Next,
[45:37] at which time we awarded our uh 2026
[45:42] Friend of the Lake Award to Bill Johnson
[45:44] for his service as an educator, as a
[45:49] researcher, um as a technical advisor on
[45:52] the Super Fund site of US Mag, and um
[45:56] just as a great guy. So, I think that's
[45:58] it. One more.
[46:01] Yeah. Thank you very much.
[46:09] » Thank you so much uh Lynn for your
[46:10] leadership and vision over the years. We
[46:12] really appreciate your dedication. So,
[46:13] everybody else that's an emotional
[46:15] support brine shrimp uh that my niece
[46:17] knitted. So, who doesn't who doesn't
[46:20] need an emotional support brain shrimp?
[46:23] Thanks so much, Lynn. Um, next up we
[46:25] have Marcel Shupe with National Ottabon
[46:27] here to talk about a water transaction.
[46:29] One of the things that the the council
[46:32] voted to support was a to help the trust
[46:36] in some fashion. And so Marcel's here to
[46:38] report on that.
[46:38] >> Thank you. And before I jump into uh my
[46:41] presentation, I just want to say how
[46:43] much I love the Issues Forum. And when I
[46:45] first started working full-time on Great
[46:47] Salt Lake issues, one of the things I
[46:49] took advantage of was their great
[46:51] library of videos from the prior
[46:54] sessions and it is just amazing and so
[46:57] much to learn and so for new folks
[46:59] coming in it's always um a great place
[47:02] to start. So thanks. Um I also uh on
[47:06] behalf of the trust which is managed by
[47:08] National Autobon Society and the Nature
[47:10] Conservancy want to thank the council
[47:13] for um agreeing to help us leverage the
[47:16] trust funding to support a water
[47:19] transaction for Great Salt Lake. Um this
[47:22] year the funding of $17,000 is going to
[47:26] help support a lease, a 5-year lease
[47:28] that we have with Jordan Valley Water
[47:30] Conservancy District. Um this involves
[47:33] some canal shares from Utah and Salt
[47:36] Lake Canal and this year um we
[47:39] anticipate the delivery of about 2200
[47:41] acre feet under this particular lease.
[47:45] Um it is going to be combined with other
[47:48] releases coming off of Utah Lake and
[47:50] Jordan River. Um we're hoping um July,
[47:55] August, September in that time frame to
[47:57] combine other leases that we have with
[47:59] Jordan Valley and other entities to
[48:02] approximately uh 15,000 acre feet coming
[48:06] in in that late um late summer, early
[48:08] fall to help support um a low river
[48:12] flows as well as important um bird
[48:15] migration in the wetlands and Great Salt
[48:17] Lake. Um this year um even though it's a
[48:21] really tough year water-wise uh this
[48:24] 15,000 acre feet combined with other
[48:26] flows um my quick math back of the
[48:29] envelope this morning uh was showed
[48:32] about 69,000 acre feet just in the
[48:34] Jordan River system for Great Salt Lake.
[48:37] Um and some of that has been being
[48:39] delivered throughout the course of the
[48:40] summer. So uh we're pretty excited about
[48:43] it. Jordan Valley has been a wonderful
[48:45] partner. Um we have about 20,000 acre
[48:48] feet of water uh that we're working with
[48:51] Jordan Valley on to deliver. Part of
[48:53] that water is really dependent on how
[48:56] well their constituents do in conserving
[48:58] water. Um some of our contracts uh
[49:02] depend year-toear on that water savings.
[49:05] And so um like all of you in this room,
[49:08] we're hoping that we see a lot more of
[49:10] that uh this year and going forward. And
[49:13] so I know this is a really quick
[49:15] presentation. Um happy to get into
[49:17] details, but if you want to understand
[49:18] more about our uh the trust's impact and
[49:21] its partnerships, um you can go to
[49:24] gslwater
[49:25] uh watertrust.org.
[49:28] And I just want to make a point. Go
[49:30] ahead. None of the work that the trust
[49:31] does is uh done alone. Everything is
[49:36] done in partnership. And for this
[49:37] particular transaction,
[49:39] um, in addition to the council being a
[49:42] partner in this, we've had, uh, and the
[49:44] Jordan Valley Division of, uh, forestry,
[49:46] fire, and state lands and division of
[49:48] wildlife resources are very, very
[49:50] important partners, as well as the
[49:52] members of our trust council who work
[49:54] really hard to make sure that um,
[49:57] they're supporting and advising the
[49:59] trust in ways that will help um, the
[50:02] work for Great Salt Lake be successful.
[50:04] So with that, thank you.
[50:06] >> Thanks, Marcel.
[50:12] Really great work and I love how it
[50:13] illustrates the power of partnerships
[50:15] and what's possible when we work
[50:16] together. So thanks again. Okay, our um
[50:19] last presentation in terms of things
[50:20] that we've funded this year is um a
[50:25] study from Utah State University on
[50:27] inflows to the lake and we have Eene
[50:29] Lukans and Melissa Stamp here to talk
[50:31] about that. So, we'll turn the time over
[50:33] to you Eileen and Melissa. Thanks.
[50:35] >> Thanks. Can you guys hear? Okay. Okay.
[50:38] I'm Melissa Stamp. This is Eileen
[50:40] Lukans. We're going to tag team a little
[50:42] bit, but it's a very brief presentation.
[50:44] Um, wanted to start off by just
[50:46] acknowledging and thanking GSA for
[50:49] providing funding towards this effort.
[50:52] Um it is part of a multi-funded
[50:55] multicontracted effort all tied to
[50:58] trying to characterize uh Great Salt
[51:00] Lake ecosystem inflows. We've been
[51:02] keeping Angela busy on the contracting
[51:04] side. We really appreciate funding also
[51:07] from the commissioner's office and
[51:08] forestry fire state lands. Um we'll be
[51:11] presenting kind of collectively on all
[51:13] the work tied to those different
[51:15] contracts.
[51:18] So quick project overview. We'll
[51:20] describe progress. Eileen will hit on
[51:22] that. Um, and also touch on next steps
[51:25] and some early takeaways. And by early,
[51:28] I mean early, caveed, preliminary, etc.
[51:31] We're about barely one year into a
[51:34] two-year effort. So, we're just barely
[51:36] getting some of our environmental tracer
[51:38] results in the first set of those and
[51:41] still working on getting a more complete
[51:44] annual picture of some of what these
[51:46] inflows look like. So, everything's very
[51:48] preliminary at this time.
[51:50] So, as you are very well aware, um
[51:54] thanks to ongoing and significant recent
[51:58] investments, [clears throat] as
[51:59] mentioned in that nice video that was
[52:01] shared, uh a lot of new improvements and
[52:04] efforts towards stream gauging have been
[52:07] established primarily on the major
[52:09] inflows to the lake. Um we know a lot
[52:12] less about the smaller, more minor or
[52:15] less highlighted inflows to the lake.
[52:18] kind of our uh informal
[52:22] way of describing this project to
[52:23] people, our oneliner is we're trying to
[52:25] protect the flows that people don't even
[52:27] know are getting to the lake. So, we're
[52:29] kind of through some of the gap analysis
[52:31] work that was also alluded to in that
[52:33] video, have a good sense of Eileen did a
[52:36] ton of this work, 135 spots where water
[52:40] is getting to the lake. They're the tiny
[52:42] dots on this map, the tiny white dots.
[52:44] Um, and part of the tasks for this
[52:46] project initially was trying to narrow
[52:49] down to a more reasonable number of
[52:52] inflow points that we could look at and
[52:54] begin to characterize. So, we've gone
[52:56] from that up to as many as 135 down to
[53:00] 18 sites that we're primarily focusing
[53:02] on. Um and that was done largely with
[53:05] input of what are the priority inflows
[53:08] to the wetland managers at some of the
[53:11] important um publicly accessible uh
[53:15] wetlands around the lake shoreline. So
[53:17] our WAS, the TNC's shorelands preserve,
[53:22] etc. Um, and so we've narrowed down to
[53:24] 18 sites and at each of those we've been
[53:26] working to temporarily gauge to quantify
[53:29] how much water is actually getting uh
[53:31] into these important wetland habitats.
[53:34] Um, and then also more recently begun
[53:37] some efforts to chemically characterize
[53:39] the sources of those inflows. So some
[53:41] tracer sampling to try to figure out how
[53:44] much is from storm water, groundwater,
[53:46] etc.
[53:50] So we'll hand off to Eileen to talk
[53:53] about some progress.
[53:55] So um at a subset of our 18 sites, we
[53:58] have installed game cameras and stage
[54:00] plates. And the purpose of this was
[54:01] really to watch the variability of these
[54:03] flows over time and understand what
[54:06] gauging methods going forward are going
[54:08] to be the best investment at each of
[54:10] these sites, especially considering that
[54:12] long-term funding um is limited and so
[54:15] we want to make the best investments
[54:16] where we can. Along with that, we have
[54:19] also been taking monthly flow
[54:20] measurements at all of these different
[54:22] sites uh starting in October of 2025,
[54:25] but also through June of 2026 and
[54:27] onwards. And we will continue those flow
[54:28] measurements through the end of the
[54:30] water year and beyond. The graph you see
[54:32] is kind of a preliminary summary of all
[54:35] of those different flows that we've seen
[54:36] around the lake over the past couple
[54:38] months. Consistently we've seen the
[54:40] largest flows at the south drain um
[54:43] which is the kind of tail drain of
[54:46] Willard Bay near Herald Crane WMA um and
[54:49] then also at Salt Creek WMA. At Salt
[54:52] Creek we've seen about um anywhere
[54:54] between you know 15 and 30 CFS pretty
[54:57] consistently coming from there. So it's
[54:59] been really good to get kind of an
[55:01] understanding of the variability of
[55:03] these flows as well as the quantity of
[55:05] these flows. With the GSAC funding, we
[55:08] have been able to purchase conductivity,
[55:10] temperature, and depth sensors, which
[55:11] will allow us to continuously monitor
[55:14] these inflows as well as help with our
[55:15] environmental tracer sampling work, um,
[55:18] which I'm going to talk about next here.
[55:20] The purpose of our environmental tracer
[55:22] sampling work is really to understand
[55:24] the sourcing of these flows. So, how
[55:26] much of these inflows are comprised of
[55:27] groundwater, irrigation return water,
[55:30] rainwater, storm water, things like
[55:32] that? We did some baseline sampling in
[55:34] March. Um but in partnership with the
[55:36] University of Utah as well as um in
[55:39] partnership with the Great Salt Lake
[55:41] Commissioner's Office and G Slack, we've
[55:42] been able to do some more comprehensive
[55:44] environmental sampling in June and we
[55:46] will continue to do that about every two
[55:48] months going forward. Um we're looking
[55:50] at different water quality parameters
[55:52] and environmental tracers. So these
[55:53] include stable isotopes, tridium,
[55:56] alkalinity, major ions. All of these
[55:58] things help us understand the
[56:00] proportional groundwater contributions
[56:02] to each of these inflows as well as the
[56:04] age of that groundwater. Um, and then
[56:07] also understand the chemical composition
[56:09] of other sources contributing like
[56:11] irrigation water and uh storm water. And
[56:14] so all of this is really important
[56:16] because we can't protect or enhance
[56:19] these inflows without understanding
[56:20] where they're coming from in the first
[56:22] place. So with that, I'm going to hand
[56:23] it back.
[56:26] >> Okay. This is where we get into the
[56:28] provisional early takeaways here. But
[56:31] one of the important things to note and
[56:33] you can see on this chart um the colored
[56:36] stacked uh column on this plot on the
[56:39] far left uh is what how much water how
[56:43] many CFS our um in this case 13 sites
[56:47] that we sampled in early June. How much
[56:50] water that stacks up to and it it's
[56:53] significant. um on that date it was more
[56:56] than 100 cfs. And we kind of like the
[56:59] comparison here. If you look at the
[57:01] third column over, that's the flow on
[57:03] the Weber River during those same time
[57:06] frame. Flows were very suppressed on the
[57:08] Weber during our crazy dry year this
[57:11] year. And so there's more water getting
[57:14] to our wetlands during an important
[57:15] migratory bird um habitat period uh from
[57:19] these minor inflows. And this is only 13
[57:22] out of that. potentially 135, the 18
[57:25] priority ones that we're we're trying to
[57:26] focus on. So,
[57:29] you know, this is not the hundreds of
[57:31] thousands of acre feet that are going to
[57:32] get the lake back up to 44.98, but these
[57:36] are the flows that are critical as we
[57:38] work towards that bigger goal. This is
[57:40] the water that's supplying these
[57:42] important wetland habitats and the lake
[57:44] in the interim. So I feel like it's a
[57:46] very important interim resilience uh to
[57:49] know what these flows are and to make
[57:51] sure we're not losing them as we develop
[57:53] our land etc. Um I failed to mention
[57:56] we've been in partnership with GSL wet
[57:58] and autobon uh in doing all this work
[58:01] and part of their interest is are there
[58:05] important agricultural returns or tile
[58:08] drains feeding some of these areas that
[58:10] we need to pay attention to because they
[58:12] might be slated for development. those
[58:14] inflow points might be altered, that
[58:17] sort of thing. So, it's very important
[58:19] um I think and it's also relevant to
[58:21] recognize how much water this can stack
[58:23] up to. Um you know, even if these are
[58:26] only 50 cfs and usually these inflows,
[58:28] many of them are smaller in the winter
[58:30] because they're not receiving irrigation
[58:33] deliveries and returns. Um but even
[58:35] that's like 36,000 acre feet a year. So,
[58:38] that's not peanuts when we're talking
[58:39] about how many acre feet we're able to
[58:41] get through leasing, etc. So significant
[58:44] amounts of water. Um and that bump that
[58:47] we've seen in June on some of these
[58:49] sites is sort of indicating that the
[58:52] agricultural water source and is
[58:54] important. The fact that there's still
[58:56] significant flow in many of these during
[58:58] the winter period is telling us there's
[59:00] groundwater as an important flow source
[59:02] as well. And we'll be learning much more
[59:05] as we tease out some of that uh tracer
[59:07] sampling. So couple other points I want
[59:10] to mention with this is flow data is
[59:12] important as I mentioned to inform some
[59:14] of these opportunities to protect or
[59:16] enhance inflows land conservation where
[59:19] to target some of those efforts to make
[59:20] sure we don't lose these flows we didn't
[59:23] even really know were important for the
[59:25] lake. Um although the wetland managers
[59:28] certainly know. We've also with our game
[59:31] cameras that are taking pictures out
[59:32] there every 30 minutes on those 12
[59:34] initial sites we've focused on. We've
[59:38] been coordinating closely with the
[59:39] wetland managers and they are very
[59:42] interested in this information. I just
[59:43] had a call from one of them last night.
[59:45] They're like, "Oh, we've really seen a
[59:46] bunch of water, but it's been surging up
[59:48] and down. Could you maybe do a
[59:50] time-lapse video to show us how that's
[59:52] uh been fluctuating on the stage plate?"
[59:54] And once we are able to use the G-Slack
[59:57] money to purchase those conductivity,
[1:00:00] temperature, depth sensors, we'll have
[1:00:02] that information more quantitatively um
[1:00:05] as well. So, it's valuable for real-time
[1:00:07] management. Um, and it also is value
[1:00:09] added to other research efforts that
[1:00:11] we're collaborating with and sharing
[1:00:13] data with as well. So, those were our
[1:00:17] main
[1:00:18] uh takeaways. Just Eileen Iuded alluded
[1:00:22] to this. Um, we're going to continue our
[1:00:24] periodic monthly or bimonthly flow
[1:00:26] measurements. We're getting those CTDs
[1:00:28] installed hopefully within the next
[1:00:30] couple months. Um we'll continue this
[1:00:33] tracer sampling events every couple
[1:00:35] months through next spring. Um and also
[1:00:38] trying to uh identify a single inflow
[1:00:41] pathway where we'll do a compressed all
[1:00:45] in one day kind of snapshot in time to
[1:00:47] help identify some of those specific
[1:00:49] source points as well. Um and looking to
[1:00:52] wrap this up by next September. And I
[1:00:55] think that's all we have unless there's
[1:00:57] time for any question.
[1:00:58] >> I think in the interest of time we'll
[1:01:00] say thank you. Round of applause for
[1:01:01] Eileen and Melissa. U and if you do have
[1:01:06] questions, I think you're stu you guys
[1:01:07] are going to stick around. So they'll be
[1:01:09] around. I think um you can grab them and
[1:01:11] ask your questions if you have
[1:01:12] follow-ups. Thanks so much for the great
[1:01:14] work in the report. Um so the next item
[1:01:16] on the agenda is really a look forward.
[1:01:18] We we're into the next fiscal year. We
[1:01:20] have a new 125,000 to figure out how to
[1:01:23] spend. Uh and so we have a very short
[1:01:26] slide presentation. I think Angela we
[1:01:29] have that teed up
[1:01:31] um to to just overview that very um
[1:01:36] briefly.
[1:01:39] Okay. So, let's go forward. Let's go
[1:01:41] back a couple on those.
[1:01:44] Okay. So, um essentially just a reminder
[1:01:47] to everybody, we have $125,000 per year.
[1:01:49] It's basically use it or lose it. You
[1:01:51] spend it or it goes back. It comes out
[1:01:52] of the sovereign lands management
[1:01:54] account and the original sources from
[1:01:55] the brine shrimp royalty. uh and that
[1:01:59] came about in a bill in 2017 that
[1:02:01] basically said that GSLAC could direct a
[1:02:03] portion of those funds that 125,000 per
[1:02:06] year. Um the fiscal year aligns with the
[1:02:08] state's fiscal year and the basic
[1:02:10] purpose is just hey we were supposed to
[1:02:12] advise on great sal here's an
[1:02:14] opportunity to inform narratives for
[1:02:16] policy makers and the public tell them
[1:02:19] what's going on and so over time this
[1:02:21] has funded a lot of important reports
[1:02:23] the drying lakes report things like that
[1:02:25] but you can see from the reports that we
[1:02:27] just had how broad the scope of work
[1:02:30] that we've effectively funded and
[1:02:32] partnered with others to support when it
[1:02:34] comes to advocating and informing the
[1:02:36] public on Great Salt Lake. So, next
[1:02:38] slide.
[1:02:39] Uh, so with that in mind, oh, somebody
[1:02:42] had the where's Did it Did we lose that
[1:02:44] one that just had the timing one,
[1:02:45] Angela?
[1:02:48] There's a little timing slide that
[1:02:49] dropped out. I just wanted to say, so
[1:02:52] one of the things we've tried to do uh
[1:02:54] in the past few years is really
[1:02:55] accelerate the funding for timing by h
[1:02:58] considering things earlier in the cycle.
[1:02:59] We don't want to be scrambling at the
[1:03:01] end and not being able to spend the
[1:03:02] money. And so we've kind of settled on
[1:03:05] starting Kapal projects in January and
[1:03:07] then refining them over time and then
[1:03:09] finalized scope of work in May and then really start to implement those
[1:03:13] projects in July. You can see we're
[1:03:14] behind schedule, but I just say we're
[1:03:17] well ahead of where we normally were
[1:03:20] when we weren't using this kind of um
[1:03:22] this kind of pattern. So next slide,
[1:03:25] please. Thanks. So here's some options.
[1:03:27] And I do want to I want to go through
[1:03:29] this quite quickly, but then I do want
[1:03:30] to open it up for some discussion from
[1:03:32] liaison and council members in terms of
[1:03:34] what are you most interested in funding
[1:03:37] this next cycle. So one is our website
[1:03:40] is currently hosted um it's within the
[1:03:43] department of environmental quality and
[1:03:45] it's kind of buried there and it's a
[1:03:46] little bit hard to find. Um do we want
[1:03:48] to do something different there? Um
[1:03:50] actually construct kind of a
[1:03:51] freestanding website. It would probably
[1:03:53] be housed within DNR. We can talk about
[1:03:54] what that is. the cost is probably quite
[1:03:57] modest to do that. Um the second thing
[1:03:59] is some followup. We had a big
[1:04:00] presentation on a optimization. Um the
[1:04:03] work that's being done at Utah State,
[1:04:05] Matt Yos's work last time. Um there's
[1:04:07] additional work that can be done I think
[1:04:09] with particularly with surge irrigation
[1:04:11] and also irrigation conveyance
[1:04:13] efficiency. So this is not in the field
[1:04:15] but getting water to the field. Um
[1:04:18] there's something some phased work that
[1:04:20] we could support potentially there. Um,
[1:04:23] one of the things is that that it is
[1:04:24] poorly understood or only dimly
[1:04:26] understood. What does it really mean
[1:04:28] when we stop growing alalfa or hay or
[1:04:32] corn or whatever and we start growing
[1:04:34] houses there's a lot of conventional
[1:04:36] wisdom about that what that means but I
[1:04:38] think it's poorly understood what it
[1:04:39] means in practice. Back when the lake
[1:04:41] was surrounded by a lands and many most
[1:04:43] of the time it was doing great. Now it's
[1:04:44] surrounded by a lot more houses. It's
[1:04:46] not doing so great. So what what is
[1:04:47] that? Because conventional wisdom says
[1:04:49] you should get a net water savings from
[1:04:51] that. we just don't see it. Um so we
[1:04:54] could refine that. Um nonfunctional
[1:04:56] turf, there's a lot of things going on
[1:04:58] with non um nonfunctional turf. One of
[1:05:00] the interesting ideas would be to
[1:05:02] quantify do case studies about the water
[1:05:04] use associated with the public
[1:05:06] institutions. And I'm thinking
[1:05:08] particularly the universities in the
[1:05:09] state of Utah. I think it'd be very
[1:05:11] interesting to do some baseline
[1:05:12] estimates about how much how much water
[1:05:15] they're using on turf outside on their
[1:05:17] landscapes outside. Um, and then maybe
[1:05:20] in the spirit of friendly competition,
[1:05:22] let's see who can save the most water
[1:05:24] because I can tell you right now all
[1:05:25] those universities are using copious
[1:05:27] amounts of water on their landscapes
[1:05:30] despite all the the work that they've
[1:05:32] done. You just got to go to any one of
[1:05:34] them any day of the week and you'll see
[1:05:36] exactly what I mean. Um, so uh also just
[1:05:40] understanding kind of where we're at
[1:05:42] there when it comes, you know, there's
[1:05:43] just some general stuff in that in that
[1:05:45] um space. I I think public education and
[1:05:48] outreach is a key bit of that. And
[1:05:49] there's a couple of things that you hear
[1:05:51] all the time. People will say um my me
[1:05:54] overwatering my lawn is recharging the
[1:05:56] aquafer is sort of a common thing, but
[1:05:58] we we we have anecdotally information on
[1:06:00] that. We don't have a good study to so
[1:06:02] show that really in most cases that is
[1:06:04] certainly not the case. Um the other one
[1:06:06] is everybody says it helps with urban
[1:06:08] heat island effect and just having a
[1:06:10] study that shows that trees are more
[1:06:12] efficient that there's much better ways
[1:06:14] to get that cooling. Um so we could
[1:06:16] really uh answer some important
[1:06:18] questions for the public in that space.
[1:06:20] Um [clears throat]
[1:06:22] c uh polling about lake and and the way
[1:06:24] people feel about the lake of course is
[1:06:25] important for advocacy. Uh awards
[1:06:28] recognizing water conservation and we
[1:06:30] could we could do that. Uh just to sort
[1:06:32] of recognize businesses that are doing a
[1:06:34] lot or individuals that are doing a lot
[1:06:36] or water conservation districts or
[1:06:38] whatever you name it. There is a lot of
[1:06:39] interest I will say about other players
[1:06:41] that are talking about this kind of
[1:06:43] thing. Um, one is a uh an M a study that
[1:06:47] shows how M&I water savings can actually
[1:06:50] get to the lakes. Have somebody analyze
[1:06:52] that because it's a really tricky one.
[1:06:55] Outside of the project that Marcel was
[1:06:56] talking about, it's been very difficult
[1:06:58] to connect individual water conservation
[1:07:00] in the M&I space with measured water to
[1:07:02] the lake. Can we skin that cat? Are
[1:07:05] there ways we can do that more
[1:07:06] effectively? That would be a pretty high
[1:07:08] value um study or report or analysis
[1:07:10] that could be done. And lastly, we just
[1:07:12] saw a bunch of lake stories um told uh
[1:07:15] and and there's an opportunity to maybe
[1:07:17] do that again. One thing we didn't get
[1:07:19] to was um you know, specific businesses
[1:07:22] that have done some innovative things.
[1:07:24] We could do individuals about flip your
[1:07:26] strip like how do you go about flipping
[1:07:28] your strip or if I want to be more water
[1:07:30] conservation in my yard, how do I go
[1:07:32] about doing it? Um, and also I think the
[1:07:34] state engineers office is interested in
[1:07:36] telling a story about um how water is
[1:07:39] physically measured as it moves um
[1:07:42] because that's so poorly understood and
[1:07:43] people say you can't document it. Well,
[1:07:45] actually we can and could we tell that
[1:07:47] story or partner with waterways? So
[1:07:49] there's potential to partner with some
[1:07:50] other people to advance that. So that's
[1:07:52] a lot of ideas. Those are ideas that
[1:07:54] have come from the the group or been
[1:07:57] suggested. Um, but I want to open it up
[1:07:59] to discussion from uh folks around the
[1:08:02] table or online uh members of the
[1:08:04] committee, liaison, what are you most
[1:08:06] interested in uh potentially funding
[1:08:08] this next uh cycle, Joe?
[1:08:12] >> Yeah. um
[1:08:14] listening to uh Lily's uh presentation
[1:08:16] on the toolbox and dissemination of
[1:08:18] information to municipal municipalities
[1:08:21] um and then Warren's comment that um
[1:08:24] everyone knows there's a problem but
[1:08:25] there's we're not really getting the
[1:08:27] solutions out. I think the
[1:08:29] non-functional turf studies gives you
[1:08:31] know some valuable um material
[1:08:34] information to um municipalities um for
[1:08:37] consideration something they can do.
[1:08:39] >> Yeah, thanks Joe. Um, other comments,
[1:08:42] Brad, go ahead.
[1:08:43] >> Uh, yeah, I just want to echo what Joe
[1:08:44] said. I think that, you know, that would
[1:08:46] be very important. I know where I live,
[1:08:48] there are people that have converted
[1:08:50] over and have done things and, you know,
[1:08:51] without any sort of study, but then
[1:08:53] there are people who are like, "Hey, I
[1:08:54] want the greenest lawn in there." I on
[1:08:58] suggestion by my landlord, I actually
[1:09:00] turned on my sprinkler water yesterday
[1:09:02] for the first time, ran the sprinkler
[1:09:04] for four minutes, and then no heads were
[1:09:06] broken and I was done. And people walk
[1:09:08] by and say, "Wow, you don't water, do
[1:09:10] you?" And I'm like, there's no water. I
[1:09:12] mean, it's grass. It grows back. But I
[1:09:14] think having those studies um and
[1:09:16] getting into the community or awards for
[1:09:18] people that like, hey, you do this like
[1:09:21] my landlord doesn't know it yet, but but
[1:09:23] Bermuda grass is going in the backyard.
[1:09:25] And so, um, you know, Darren Hess has
[1:09:28] put me in contact with those people. So,
[1:09:30] I I just the education. Sorry.
[1:09:33] >> Yeah. Thanks, Brad. I appreciate it.
[1:09:35] Other comments from
[1:09:37] members of the council, leaison members
[1:09:40] Leland, go ahead.
[1:09:42] >> I I second turf studies.
[1:09:45] >> Okay, it sounds like there's a getting
[1:09:47] some consensus there, Heidi.
[1:09:50] >> I think added to that is uh the other
[1:09:52] studies um optimizing phase 2 the egg
[1:09:55] optimization. I think that's very
[1:09:58] important to follow up on that making
[1:10:00] those connections and kind of paired
[1:10:02] with that the refinement on the egg land
[1:10:04] conservation estimates um what are those
[1:10:06] losses and uh and then the M&I uh I
[1:10:11] think is really valuable studying how
[1:10:14] that water savings gets to the lake a
[1:10:16] case study on that
[1:10:18] >> okay thank you um other comments from
[1:10:21] anybody around the table anybody on
[1:10:25] line. Uh, let me throw it open to the
[1:10:28] public for a minute. Is there anybody
[1:10:29] that has a comment either online or here
[1:10:31] in the audience that just wants to weigh
[1:10:33] in or opine? We welcome your feedback
[1:10:36] and you can actually give it to us later
[1:10:38] as well. Lynn,
[1:10:42] >> it's costly to create videos, but maybe
[1:10:44] in the interest of again public outreach
[1:10:46] at city council meetings, there's time
[1:10:49] for a five minute video rather than
[1:10:52] having people come in. you know, it
[1:10:54] might be more um receptive to the agenda
[1:10:57] of those busy bodies
[1:11:00] >> have some sort of opportunity to learn
[1:11:03] from a video
[1:11:04] >> and Lynn comment from Lynn. I'll just so
[1:11:06] that people online can hear it, but it
[1:11:08] was just seeing the value in really
[1:11:10] short form videos that are highly
[1:11:12] impactful that could be used in in
[1:11:14] various public forum to really advocate
[1:11:16] for the lake. Um, any other comments?
[1:11:21] Okay, I heard a bing. So that's Warren.
[1:11:25] >> Yes, thank you, Jim. [clears throat]
[1:11:27] Just building on what Lynn said,
[1:11:29] I I think it would be valuable to have
[1:11:31] those five minute videos on on a number
[1:11:33] of topics to help set people's
[1:11:35] expectations and understand that um
[1:11:39] one of the messages that needs to be
[1:11:42] brought forward is that these things
[1:11:43] don't happen overnight.
[1:11:45] There's we're dealing with a natural
[1:11:47] system that works on its own time and
[1:11:49] human interaction with that is it's
[1:11:51] taking some time to put these things
[1:11:53] together. But emphasize that we are
[1:11:56] making progress. But it's not like
[1:11:58] turning on a it's not like turning on a
[1:12:00] light with a light switch. You uh
[1:12:04] figure out what to do, how to do it,
[1:12:06] implement it, wait to see if it works,
[1:12:09] and then evaluate and go from there.
[1:12:11] It's I think that process would be
[1:12:13] something would be helpful to
[1:12:16] um educate people on. Thank you.
[1:12:19] >> Thanks, Warren. It's one of the reasons
[1:12:20] I've always been reluctant to just show
[1:12:22] an empty lake because you move heaven
[1:12:24] and earth and guess what it still looks
[1:12:25] like? An empty lake. Um but yeah, so it
[1:12:28] requires patience. It took us a long
[1:12:29] time to get here, a long time to get
[1:12:31] out. I like the idea of um something
[1:12:32] around the idea of what I do matters,
[1:12:34] right? Really bringing home to people
[1:12:36] that their individual actions do make a
[1:12:38] difference and here's how and here's
[1:12:39] why. Okay. Any final comments? We're a
[1:12:42] little behind on the agenda, but I want to make sure people have an
[1:12:45] opportunity to be heard. Um, what we
[1:12:48] will probably do is uh we usually have
[1:12:49] kind of an ad hoc committee that gets
[1:12:51] together and they'll make some
[1:12:53] recommendations potentially to bring
[1:12:54] back to this body how to actually start
[1:12:57] allocating that funding. Um, Angela
[1:12:59] already has some sense of how much this
[1:13:02] costs and how much this cost. So, we can
[1:13:04] start to flesh out a little bit of a
[1:13:05] proposal that we can put out to people
[1:13:07] and sort of say, does this look right?
[1:13:08] and maybe we'll hold a little bit back
[1:13:10] because we don't know what's going to
[1:13:11] happen. Um, you know, there might be
[1:13:13] some emerging things that we want to
[1:13:14] fund, but you know, maybe that maybe we we allocate the whole thing or we
[1:13:18] don't, but but you'll you'll get it to
[1:13:20] see it again before we uh take formal
[1:13:22] action on it. Okay.
[1:13:25] All right. Thanks. So the next item on
[1:13:26] our agenda is National Ottabbon Society
[1:13:29] back. Uh
[1:13:31] Marcel, I don't know if Emily is
[1:13:34] somebody anyone else going to join you
[1:13:36] um to talk about Great Salt Lake bird
[1:13:38] and habitat assessment.
[1:13:40] >> Thanks. Uh yes, I'm wearing my National
[1:13:43] Ottabon hat right now. Um really
[1:13:46] appreciate this opportunity to present a
[1:13:48] project that Ottabon is really excited
[1:13:50] about, the Great Salt Lake Birds and
[1:13:51] Habitat Assessment. Um, and in some
[1:13:54] ways, um, I think it will just confirm
[1:13:56] what many of you already know, how
[1:13:59] important some of these habitats are to
[1:14:01] millions and m of migratory bird
[1:14:03] species, particularly water birds. And
[1:14:06] so, um, scientists within n national
[1:14:10] science team and our sailing lakes
[1:14:11] ecologist, Emily Hamill, have done this
[1:14:14] assessment and she'll explain it to you.
[1:14:17] And I think maybe in the course of that
[1:14:19] you'll also see a connection with the
[1:14:21] presentation you just heard from Melissa
[1:14:22] Stamp and Eileen Lukans as well. So, uh,
[1:14:25] in the interest in time, I'm going to
[1:14:26] turn it over to Emily.
[1:14:28] >> Great. Thanks so much. Um,
[1:14:31] so, hi everyone. My name is Emily
[1:14:34] Hamill. I am the ecologist with um,
[1:14:36] Ottabon Saline Lakes Program and I'll be
[1:14:38] providing um, an overview of Aottabon's
[1:14:41] birds and habitat assessment um, which
[1:14:43] is our program's latest science project.
[1:14:46] So if you could move to the next slide,
[1:14:47] please. So the Great Salt Lake birds and
[1:14:50] habitat assessment is the result of
[1:14:52] about 18 months of work developed by
[1:14:54] Audabon's team of scientists with input
[1:14:57] from habitat and water experts. And
[1:15:00] there were three goals um of this work.
[1:15:02] The first was to develop a spatial
[1:15:05] habitat assessment model for a set of
[1:15:08] aven indicator species that integrates
[1:15:11] multiple seasons and life history stages
[1:15:13] into a unified conservation framework
[1:15:16] that identifies um priority conservation
[1:15:18] areas for birds. The second was to model
[1:15:22] um potential hydraologic contributions
[1:15:24] to Great Salt Lake from um upstream
[1:15:27] wetlands and flood irrigated
[1:15:28] agricultural lands to identify um
[1:15:31] opportunities for enhancing water
[1:15:33] delivery to the lake and its wetlands.
[1:15:35] Um and the third was to provide spatial
[1:15:38] data that can inform um open space
[1:15:40] preservation and land use planning,
[1:15:43] restoration prioritization, water
[1:15:44] transactions and policy decisions.
[1:15:47] All right. Um so to achieve these
[1:15:50] objectives um Ottabon scientists
[1:15:52] conducted two analyses. Um the first is
[1:15:54] a wetland bird habitat prioritization
[1:15:57] model that identifies locations in the
[1:15:59] watershed with the highest suitability
[1:16:01] for indicator birds. Um and the second
[1:16:04] is a hydraologic priorities model which
[1:16:07] is a separate spatial analysis with the
[1:16:09] goal of understanding um potential flow
[1:16:12] pathways into Great Salt Lake. And
[1:16:14] together, these two models answer two
[1:16:16] different um but related questions,
[1:16:18] which is where is bird habitat most
[1:16:20] critical and where does water need to
[1:16:22] flow to sustain it.
[1:16:25] So, I'll take a few minutes to outline
[1:16:27] each analysis. Um starting with our aven
[1:16:29] prioritization model.
[1:16:32] Um the aven analysis focused on the
[1:16:35] eastern Great Salt Lake Basin. We
[1:16:38] excluded um the wetted north arm of the
[1:16:40] lake body as well as subbasins west of
[1:16:43] the meander line. We recognize um that
[1:16:45] there's valuable water bird habitat
[1:16:47] within the west desert wershed but chose
[1:16:49] to exclude this region to produce
[1:16:51] results targeted to a more focused area
[1:16:53] which is highlighted um on the map in
[1:16:56] green. and indicator species were
[1:16:58] selected based on their um sensitivity
[1:17:01] to specific habitat conditions and their
[1:17:03] ability to represent larger guilds or
[1:17:05] species groups.
[1:17:08] Um the analyses were conducted for both
[1:17:12] present and mid-century time steps based
[1:17:14] on indicator species suitability and
[1:17:17] relative abundance. Um, so the features
[1:17:19] that were optimized are listed on the
[1:17:21] left side of each box and include
[1:17:24] climate models for breeding and
[1:17:26] non-breeding seasons as well as relative
[1:17:28] abundance models for migratory seasons.
[1:17:31] And the right side of each box indicates
[1:17:33] the landscape degradation attributes
[1:17:35] that the model aims to avoid. Um, so
[1:17:38] locations with the highest suitability
[1:17:40] for any species within each season are
[1:17:43] ranked high if degradation is low and
[1:17:45] locations with high levels of human
[1:17:47] modification in the present are ranked
[1:17:49] lower regardless of suitability. Um, but
[1:17:52] in the future model, suitability
[1:17:53] rankings are only lowered by imperous
[1:17:55] surfaces and urbanization to recognize
[1:17:58] the habitat potential of open and
[1:18:00] working lands. Next slide, please.
[1:18:03] Um so this slide shows the results of
[1:18:06] the habitat suitability ranking with
[1:18:07] present conditions um on the left and
[1:18:11] future 2050 conditions on the right with
[1:18:14] lighter colors and yellows indicating
[1:18:16] areas of the highest suitability for our
[1:18:18] indicator species. And you can see how
[1:18:20] um a changing climate and landscape
[1:18:23] shifts some of those areas over the 25-y
[1:18:25] year period.
[1:18:27] >> That looks very dire.
[1:18:30] It's the color scheme is a little
[1:18:32] aggressive. Um but you can see those
[1:18:34] light colors are um pretty pretty stable
[1:18:37] for the most part over that 25-y year
[1:18:39] period. Next slide, please. Um so we
[1:18:43] merged those habitat suitability
[1:18:45] rankings into this management
[1:18:46] classification framework and we limited
[1:18:49] the results to those within five
[1:18:50] kilometers of wetlands and synthesized
[1:18:52] the rankings into three categories. um
[1:18:55] ongoing priority areas in green which
[1:18:57] rank high in the present and high in the
[1:18:59] future. And these areas are stable or
[1:19:02] the stable core of um the conservation
[1:19:05] landscape and warrant protection,
[1:19:07] continued management and enhancement. Um
[1:19:09] opportunity areas in yellow which rank
[1:19:11] low in the present and high in the
[1:19:13] future. And these areas provide the most
[1:19:15] significant opportunities for
[1:19:17] enhancement as they're predicted um to
[1:19:21] maintain or gain climate suitability and
[1:19:23] monitor and monitor and adapt areas um
[1:19:26] which are in blue which rank high in the
[1:19:28] present but low in the future. And these
[1:19:30] areas are currently stable habitat for
[1:19:32] some species but projected climate
[1:19:34] conditions um may make habitat
[1:19:37] unsuitable. So u management strategies
[1:19:39] should focus on enhancing climate
[1:19:41] resilience in those areas. So the
[1:19:44] identification of these priority
[1:19:45] habitats is particularly valuable in
[1:19:48] guiding conservation investment in areas
[1:19:50] that will provide long-term value for
[1:19:52] water birds. Next slide, please. So we
[1:19:55] also ran the prioritization model for
[1:19:57] multiple habitat groupings of our
[1:19:59] indicator species. And by running
[1:20:01] multiple versions of the analysis, we
[1:20:02] ensure um that the distinct conservation
[1:20:06] needs of shallow, nearshore wetland,
[1:20:08] deep water wetland, and open water bird
[1:20:10] communities um are each captured
[1:20:13] precisely and that the results are
[1:20:14] applicable to management decisions most
[1:20:16] relevant to each habitat and species
[1:20:18] group. Next slide.
[1:20:21] Um now I will touch on the second half
[1:20:23] of the assessment which is the
[1:20:25] hydraologic inflows analysis.
[1:20:28] Um so the hydraologic inflows analysis
[1:20:30] is um a geos geospatial analysis with
[1:20:33] the goal of understanding um potential
[1:20:35] flow pathways to great salt lake. We
[1:20:37] looked at potential return flows from
[1:20:40] both flood irrigated agricultural fields
[1:20:42] as well as wetlands within the study
[1:20:44] area which is highlighted in blue and um
[1:20:47] mirrors that of the Avenis.
[1:20:50] Agricultural and wetland data were um
[1:20:53] sourced from the Utah water related land
[1:20:56] use data set and the inter mountain west
[1:20:58] joint venture wetland footprint
[1:21:00] respectively.
[1:21:02] Um the hydraologic inflows analysis
[1:21:05] shows the spatial distribution of stream
[1:21:07] reaches with connected wetlands and
[1:21:09] flooded fields and quantifies the total
[1:21:11] acreage accessible to each reach. So
[1:21:14] ident to identify priority stream
[1:21:15] reaches, we intersected streams with
[1:21:17] wetlands and flooded fields and then
[1:21:19] summed the acreage of those parcels um
[1:21:21] for every associated and intersecting
[1:21:24] stream. And then from there we ran a
[1:21:26] downstream trace analysis to map the
[1:21:28] entire possible flow pathway from highly
[1:21:30] collected streams to Great Salt Lake. um
[1:21:33] the results of which are shown in the
[1:21:35] map on the right highlighting potential
[1:21:37] contributions from flood irrigated a in
[1:21:40] green wetlands in blue and a combination
[1:21:42] of the two um in purple. Next slide
[1:21:45] please. Um so when the com when the Aven
[1:21:48] prioritization and the hydraologic
[1:21:50] connectivity analyses are considered
[1:21:52] together, we get visual datadriven
[1:21:55] guidance um for the conservation of bird
[1:21:58] habitat on the landscape. For example,
[1:22:00] it can be used to identify key sites to
[1:22:02] strengthen management and the
[1:22:04] preservation of open space. Um to
[1:22:06] visualize barriers to hydraologic and
[1:22:08] ecologic connectivity to build upon our
[1:22:10] knowledge base when it comes to water
[1:22:12] conveyance and delivery to important
[1:22:14] sites. Um just to highlight a few of
[1:22:16] those of the potential conservation
[1:22:19] implications of this work. Next slide
[1:22:21] please. Um so this slide brings together
[1:22:23] the two models into that um single
[1:22:26] integrated view and the map here is an
[1:22:28] example of what is available in the
[1:22:30] ARGIS web tool that we built with these
[1:22:32] results which will allow users to both
[1:22:35] to explore both models meaning that
[1:22:37] you'll be able to see in one place which
[1:22:39] wetlands are the highest priority for
[1:22:41] birds and which upstream um sources and
[1:22:44] pathways might feed those habitats. Um
[1:22:46] the three insets we pulled highlight
[1:22:48] some of the specific examples of
[1:22:50] important areas in the watershed. The
[1:22:52] area um south of Cutler Dam and north of
[1:22:54] the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge,
[1:22:56] the eastern shore of the lake in the
[1:22:58] West Weber area and Farmington Bay all
[1:23:01] appear as a mixture of ongoing priority
[1:23:03] and opportunity areas, meaning that
[1:23:05] they're currently andor um will become
[1:23:09] important areas for water birds. um
[1:23:11] which it really communicates the
[1:23:12] importance of continued management of
[1:23:14] our wetland complexes and ensuring open
[1:23:16] lands um remain a priority. Next slide
[1:23:19] please. Um so there were a number of
[1:23:23] conclusions that we drew from this
[1:23:24] analysis but the key points here are
[1:23:26] simply three three things. Yeah. Um the
[1:23:31] first is that Great Salt Lake is a
[1:23:33] system divine by defined by an
[1:23:35] interconnected variety of habitats and
[1:23:37] the maintenance and preservation of that
[1:23:39] variety and connection um is important
[1:23:42] for sustaining the population of water
[1:23:44] birds that depend on it throughout their
[1:23:46] full annual cycle. Um the second is that
[1:23:49] open space and working lands really play
[1:23:51] a part in that system and variety and
[1:23:53] the their role should be considered um
[1:23:56] in conversations around aven habitat.
[1:23:58] Um, and then the third is that
[1:24:01] maintaining and improving hydraologic
[1:24:03] connectivity is an essential and central
[1:24:05] piece of bird conservation at Great Salt
[1:24:07] Lake. And also, this assessment is
[1:24:10] designed to be actionable, not just um
[1:24:13] another piece of analysis. And we
[1:24:16] recognize that there's room for this
[1:24:17] analysis to grow and be built upon as
[1:24:20] additional data and opportunities for
[1:24:22] partnership become available.
[1:24:25] Um so we just released the assessment
[1:24:27] early last week um in the form of a
[1:24:30] technical white paper, a summary report
[1:24:32] and an interactive web tool that I
[1:24:34] mentioned. Um we'll be making the web
[1:24:36] tool available to partners and um the
[1:24:38] reports are live and accessible on the
[1:24:40] Ottabon website. So I just want to close
[1:24:43] out the presentation by saying that this
[1:24:45] you know is a shared framework. Its
[1:24:46] value grows with use, with feedback,
[1:24:49] with partnership. Um the QR code on the
[1:24:51] screen will take you to Ottabbon's
[1:24:53] landing page where you'll be able to
[1:24:54] access the summary report and the full
[1:24:56] length white paper. Um if you have
[1:24:58] questions about this work or if you're
[1:25:00] interested in access accessing the web
[1:25:02] tool, um you can reach out to our
[1:25:04] program's email or myself which is on
[1:25:05] the screen there or you can connect with
[1:25:07] the Ottabon folks that are in the room
[1:25:08] with you today. Um I know it's been a
[1:25:11] super informationheavy um meeting today.
[1:25:14] So, thank you so much um for your time
[1:25:16] and attention. And if there's time for
[1:25:18] questions, I'm happy to take them, but
[1:25:19] if not, you can uh reach out as well.
[1:25:23] >> Okay. Thanks so much uh Emily. Maybe
[1:25:25] time for just maybe one or two very
[1:25:27] brief questions or if there are any, but
[1:25:30] we appreciate all the work that's
[1:25:32] clearly gone into the assessment.
[1:25:38] » Awesome. Okay, thanks so much for that.
[1:25:40] I also got to give a shout out to
[1:25:41] Aottabon. I always have unbelievably
[1:25:43] beautiful photographs. So well done
[1:25:47] there. Beautiful. Okay. Any others?
[1:25:50] Couple questions, comments. All right.
[1:25:52] Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
[1:26:00] So the next item on the agenda, this is
[1:26:02] going to sound really loaded and it's
[1:26:03] not going to lead anywhere. Um is a
[1:26:05] draft letter from Great Salt Lake
[1:26:07] Advisory Council on the data center
[1:26:09] process. So, [laughter]
[1:26:11] um, this this committee voted last time
[1:26:15] to kind of to to establish a working
[1:26:17] group to start thinking through,
[1:26:21] um, maybe some potential the the Great
[1:26:23] Salt Lake Advisory Council has a statuto
[1:26:26] obligation to advise the governor, um,
[1:26:29] state agencies, and the commissioner on
[1:26:31] issues affecting the Great Salt Lake.
[1:26:34] And to be clear, it's not it's not in
[1:26:36] the really the mandate or mission of of
[1:26:39] Great Salt Lake to be out there sort of
[1:26:41] saying, you know, we oppose a given
[1:26:42] project. Um, but it is uh our purview to
[1:26:46] talk about things affecting the lake.
[1:26:47] And so the discussion has been around
[1:26:49] well are there some process lessons that
[1:26:52] we can learn from the the debate that's
[1:26:54] been over the straightest data data
[1:26:56] center that can inform you know how do
[1:26:58] we make sure that the lake gets taken
[1:27:00] into consideration as important
[1:27:02] decisions are made that affect that
[1:27:04] affect or may affect the lake in its
[1:27:06] future and our collective future. And
[1:27:08] so, um, to that end, I mean, we I think
[1:27:11] we were hopeful to have a draft to look
[1:27:13] at today, but we just don't have a
[1:27:15] draft. And a lot of that's on me. Just
[1:27:17] haven't had a draft to look at. So,
[1:27:19] we're going to continue that. Hopefully
[1:27:20] have a draft that we can circulate
[1:27:22] fairly soon. Again, it's going to be
[1:27:23] processoriented, not positional. Um, and really about how can we make sure
[1:27:28] that the important resource values
[1:27:30] around the lake are taken into
[1:27:32] consideration um as decisions are being
[1:27:35] made. So, any questions or comments on
[1:27:37] that? I know that's high level and it's
[1:27:39] non-s substantive, but that's
[1:27:40] directionally that's where we're headed.
[1:27:43] Okay.
[1:27:45] All right. Seeing none, it is our
[1:27:49] tradition to uh open it up for public
[1:27:52] comment. Um it's usually briefly, but we
[1:27:55] just give people a chance if they
[1:27:57] something pressing on their mind or
[1:27:58] there's an event coming up or what did I
[1:28:00] miss, Angela?
[1:28:00] >> I think we've got um Aspen Aspen Lake
[1:28:04] Commissioners.
[1:28:04] >> Aspen. Aspen joined us. Um, so I'm gonna
[1:28:07] let's do public comment and then we'll
[1:28:08] go to Aspen now that I know that Aspen's
[1:28:10] here. Um, but let's open it briefly for
[1:28:12] public comment and then we're going to
[1:28:13] have an update from the commissioner's
[1:28:15] office from Aspen Johnston. So, um, I
[1:28:18] will open it for public comment. Uh,
[1:28:20] either online or in person. Anybody has
[1:28:22] anything burning to say, Ryan Shrimp
[1:28:25] testimonials? Anything? Okay. All right.
[1:28:28] Uh, seeing that, we'll go ahead and
[1:28:29] close the public comment. Um, but thanks
[1:28:31] for that opportunity and Aspen, thanks
[1:28:33] for being here. Uh, we know you're
[1:28:35] running from one thing to the next, but
[1:28:36] we appreciate you taking a few minutes
[1:28:38] to give us an update from the
[1:28:40] commissioner's office.
[1:28:43] Tell us how hot it's going to be this
[1:28:45] weekend.
[1:28:49] Thanks, Tim. Happy to be here. Uh, Aspen
[1:28:52] Johnston, strategic coordinator for the
[1:28:55] Office of Great Salt Lake Commissioner.
[1:28:56] I don't have any slides or anything. Uh,
[1:28:59] just a brief update for everybody today.
[1:29:02] Um,
[1:29:04] I'll start just by saying that I know
[1:29:06] everybody's kind of wondering who the
[1:29:08] new commissioner is going to be now that
[1:29:09] Brian has formally moved on. We don't
[1:29:12] have an update there. Uh, that that is a
[1:29:15] process of course that uh kind of needs
[1:29:18] to run its course. Uh, the new the new
[1:29:21] commissioner will be appointed by the
[1:29:23] governor and then uh there's a
[1:29:25] confirmation process needs to be
[1:29:27] confirmed by Senate President and uh
[1:29:30] speaker of the house. So that uh is
[1:29:34] still to be determined, but we hope to
[1:29:36] find out ourselves here in the near
[1:29:38] future and hopefully have a new
[1:29:41] wonderful person take that role and keep
[1:29:44] things moving for us.
[1:29:47] Um we recently participated, you know,
[1:29:51] co-hosted the Great Salt Lake Solutions
[1:29:53] Exchange that was on June 22nd. Uh that
[1:29:56] was a pretty productive event. lots of
[1:29:59] uh good collaborative discussion. Um
[1:30:04] and uh I think a lot of the sort of
[1:30:06] conclusions from that discussion, that
[1:30:09] event will be uh put together in a
[1:30:12] report. We're helping to prepare and
[1:30:13] we're looking forward to sh sharing that
[1:30:15] with everybody uh to maybe share some of
[1:30:19] the findings or conclusions from the uh
[1:30:23] focus groups that were assembled. I know
[1:30:25] that there were they were structured
[1:30:27] really well and I I think that there was
[1:30:29] a lot of um really interesting stuff to
[1:30:32] think about and and try to incorporate
[1:30:34] as we move forward to uh continue to
[1:30:38] work on great solic issues.
[1:30:40] Um I'll just mention that we are uh of
[1:30:45] course in the process of standing up our
[1:30:48] formal agricultural water leasing
[1:30:50] program. Uh that's moving forward really
[1:30:53] well. We don't really have an update on
[1:30:54] that. We did have some some sort of
[1:30:57] pilot scale leasing that happened
[1:30:59] earlier this year, but that wasn't uh
[1:31:02] necessarily done in the same vein as how
[1:31:05] it will be done uh you know according to
[1:31:09] the legislation passed this previous
[1:31:11] session. Uh so we're working to define
[1:31:16] what that process looks like and keep
[1:31:19] that ball rolling and continue to scale
[1:31:21] that up and uh hopefully see some really
[1:31:24] good returns on that uh that
[1:31:27] legislation.
[1:31:29] And then uh I'll just the last thing
[1:31:31] I'll mention is that uh we have been
[1:31:34] working on the Great Salt Lake water
[1:31:36] delivery program. That was the $50
[1:31:39] million grant uh that we the competitive
[1:31:42] grant opportunity that we provided in
[1:31:45] partnership with the uh Bureau of
[1:31:47] Reclamation. Uh the current status is
[1:31:50] that we've received all the
[1:31:52] applications. We have had our evaluation
[1:31:54] committee come together and rank the
[1:31:57] applications that we received and we got
[1:32:00] a ton of requests. I think the total ask
[1:32:03] was something like $173 million
[1:32:06] uh for the 50 million that we had
[1:32:08] available. So it was a really difficult
[1:32:11] uh task to determine which projects to
[1:32:14] fund and uh the I think the evaluation
[1:32:18] committee did a really great job of
[1:32:21] making the best possible use of those
[1:32:23] funds. uh that kind of amounted to
[1:32:26] looking like funding some of the
[1:32:28] applications that we received in part
[1:32:30] instead of in full. Um so we
[1:32:35] there's still a review process that
[1:32:37] needs to take place on behalf of the
[1:32:39] bureau before any awards can formally be
[1:32:41] announced. So, uh, the recommendations
[1:32:44] that were made by the evaluation
[1:32:46] committee are somewhat tentative on, uh,
[1:32:49] the bureau's acceptance of those
[1:32:51] recommendations and their review to make
[1:32:54] sure that it's in compliance with the
[1:32:56] inflation reduction act, which the funds
[1:32:58] came from, uh, as well as just make sure
[1:33:00] that, uh, everything kind of passes the
[1:33:03] financial assessment. So
[1:33:06] um in order to be able to provide them
[1:33:09] with the material that they needed in
[1:33:11] order to conduct their review, we had to
[1:33:14] reach out to the applicants who whose
[1:33:17] projects were recommended for partial
[1:33:19] funding and say let's figure out how we
[1:33:23] can update your budget that you
[1:33:24] submitted uh so that it is equivalent to
[1:33:27] the funding that actually would be
[1:33:29] available for the project so that
[1:33:30] everything adds up. It's kind of just
[1:33:32] some administrative housekeeping. Uh,
[1:33:34] and that process is has moved along
[1:33:36] really well. We're uh just about ready
[1:33:39] to submit those materials to the bureau
[1:33:41] for their review, but uh it's more
[1:33:44] complicated for some applicants than it
[1:33:46] is for others to get those materials
[1:33:48] together. So, we're trying to keep on
[1:33:50] top of it and keep things moving. And uh
[1:33:53] my hope is that we'll be able to provide
[1:33:55] those materials sometime next week. um
[1:33:58] at which point the the bureau's review
[1:34:00] can begin in earnest and uh hopefully we
[1:34:04] can make some award announcements as
[1:34:07] soon as possible because I know it's
[1:34:10] there's a there's been a lot of uh
[1:34:12] delays in the process already with the
[1:34:14] federal government shutdown late last
[1:34:16] year and uh some other complications
[1:34:18] along the way. So trying to keep it
[1:34:20] moving as quickly as possible. If
[1:34:22] anybody has any questions about that,
[1:34:24] please feel free to reach out. But um
[1:34:26] yeah, things are moving along at a at a
[1:34:29] good clip and we're making good
[1:34:30] progress. So that's all I've got. Uh
[1:34:33] like I said, pretty brief update, but if
[1:34:35] anybody has any questions, I'd be happy
[1:34:36] to take them. Thanks.
[1:34:38] >> Thanks, Aspen. Probably time for one or
[1:34:41] two questions starting around the table.
[1:34:43] Anybody around the table? Um commission
[1:34:47] me council members or liaison?
[1:34:50] Seeing none, just broadly, anybody from
[1:34:52] public questions for commissioner's
[1:34:54] office.
[1:34:57] I think we're good. Thanks so much,
[1:34:58] Ascend.
[1:35:04] » Okay. Uh, any other items from council
[1:35:08] members or liaison? Trevor, we we
[1:35:11] announced your big move here at the
[1:35:14] beginning. Is that still
[1:35:16] you still on that glide path? Any last
[1:35:19] words?
[1:35:20] >> Yeah, I don't think I changed my mind.
[1:35:22] [laughter]
[1:35:23] I just wanted to thank the council. Um I
[1:35:26] remember coming to my first meeting um
[1:35:28] as a newly the new manager at Barber
[1:35:31] Canal Company and uh I came in the door
[1:35:35] and thought to myself, oh well, I'm I'm
[1:35:37] entering the den of the of the enemy.
[1:35:39] And it wasn't at all that way. I really
[1:35:42] appreciated the association here and all
[1:35:44] the things that I've learned. And um
[1:35:46] also our new assistant manager at Barber
[1:35:48] Canal Company's here with me today,
[1:35:49] Brandon Jorgensson over here on the
[1:35:52] left. If you guys want to introduce
[1:35:53] yourselves and uh
[1:35:56] um again, I just really appreciate the
[1:35:58] association and the mentorship that you
[1:36:00] guys around the table here have given
[1:36:01] me. And I really look forward to this
[1:36:03] next opportunity. So thank you.
[1:36:06] >> Thanks much, Trevor. We really
[1:36:07] appreciate your contributions in this
[1:36:09] environment and more broadly to the
[1:36:10] water community here in the state of
[1:36:12] Utah. you'll be missed but we wish you
[1:36:14] all the best.
[1:36:16] Uh any any other items from uh leaison
[1:36:20] or council members?
[1:36:22] >> Okay, seeing none, just a reminder our
[1:36:25] next scheduled meeting is September
[1:36:28] 9th.
[1:36:29] >> 9th. Yep.
[1:36:30] >> September 9th here. Same bat time, same
[1:36:34] bat channel. We hope to see you here. Uh
[1:36:36] very appreciative to all of you for your
[1:36:38] contributions. I I hope that these
[1:36:40] meetings give you a sense of just how
[1:36:42] much work is going on, how much it's grounded and rooted in partnerships
[1:36:47] uh and and and very appreciative for all
[1:36:49] that uh everybody is doing for your
[1:36:51] interest in the lake and for all that
[1:36:52] you're doing uh to help protect it. So,
[1:36:54] thank you very much. With that, uh I'll
[1:36:56] entertain a motion to adjourn. Ryan,
[1:37:00] >> Ryan's got that motion. Second from Joe.
[1:37:03] All in favor, please say I. I.
[1:37:06] will rule that we are adjourned.
[1:37:08] Thanks everybody. Stay cool out there.