Great Salt Lake and the Politics of Patience

Published May 20, 2025 at 1:09 PM MDT

Youth act dead during the Great Salt Lake "die-in" demonstration hosted by the Utah Youth Environmental Solutions, Sept. 3, 2022

A recent article co-published by The New York Times and The Salt Lake Tribune raises the question of whether or not, as Great Salt Lake continues to dry up, the political will to save the lake is likewise evaporating. If so, what can be done to reinvigorate it?

As one advocate for Great Salt Lake told us, the fate of the lake determines the fate of northern Utah and whether or not this place remains livable. So, the stakes, according to some, are high. Lawmakers say they’ve put in place meaningful measures to help the lake, and, at least for now, they’re taking a wait and see approach. It’s that approach that has angered and frustrated scientists and activists who argue that the time for action is now.

GUESTS —

Bonnie Baxter | Professor of Biology at Westminster College and Director of the Great Salt Lake Institute.

Ben Abbott | Assistant professor of ecosystem ecology at Brigham Young University.

Brian Steed | Great Salt Lake Commissioner and Executive Director, Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water & Air at Utah State University.

Airdate: Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Thurs. May 24, 2025 at 11 a.m.