Utah Legislature: The good, the bad and the ugly. The 2020 General Session of the Utah Legislature wrapped up on March 12 with 510 new bills passed into law. Here is a selection of bills and resolutions that affect environmental issues. (See more on Grace Olscamp’s column, “At the Capitol,” this issue.) GOOD HB40 Water […]
To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe—to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it–is a wonder beyond words. Gratitude for the gift of life is the primary wellspring of all religions, the hallmark of the mystic, the source of all […]
I think there’s a trap in loving that empty western possibility, especially when you don’t live in it all the time. That’s part of the deepening divide between urban and rural areas, and it’s tied to how water is used. By being there, you’re changing it, and by being removed from and romanticizing it, you’re […]
A community in the thrall of the attention economy feels like an industrial farm, where our jobs are to grow straight and tall, side by side, producing faithfully without ever touching. – Jenny Odell (How to Do Nothing) Proposed highway endangers desert tortoises Can a desert tortoise preserve still preserve habitat if it has […]
Dewatering GSL could cost billions Allowing the Great Salt Lake to dry up could not only suck billions of dollars out of Utah’s economy but actually reduce water supplies, according to a new report from the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council. Costs include impacts to mineral, brine shrimp and recreation industries as well as health […]
There are no sacred and unsacred places. There are only sacred and desecrated places. — Wendell Berry What if Great Salt Lake dries up? As Great Salt Lake levels fall, more than 750 square miles of dry lake bed have been exposed making Salt Lake City vulnerable to dust storms and air pollution contaminated by […]
Nature is essential for human existence and good quality of life. Most of nature’s contributions to people are not fully replaceable, and some are irreplaceable. – Global Assessment Report, 2019 Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Revised Bears Ears plan is dreadful The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released its final […]
BLM headquarters moving to Colorado? Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has requested over $20 million to relocate Bureau of Land Management (BLM) offices from Washington DC to Grand Junction, Colorado. BLM is a federal agency under the Department of the Interior that manages 245 million acres of public lands, mostly in Western states. The 22.9 million […]
One problem with tourism is that it begets more tourism. Overtourism is not just caused by irresponsible geotagging or people trying to recreate Instagram photos. It’s also caused by irresponsible tourism promotion. Researchers at Utah State University found that the “Mighty 5” tourism campaign launched by the Utah Office of Tourism in 2013 worked all […]
In April, the Bureau of Land Management allowed Garfield County to chip-seal 7.5 miles of a remote dirt road, reigniting a historic environmental controversy over who owns nearly 36,000 miles of dirt roads that cross federal public lands in Utah. At issue is the Burr Trail, a 66-mile-long dirt road that connects Boulder to Bullfrog […]
Burr trail controversy resurfaces In April, the Bureau of Land Management allowed Garfield County to chip-seal 7.5 miles of a remote dirt road, reigniting a historic environmental controversy over who owns nearly 36,000 miles of dirt roads that cross federal public lands in Utah. At issue is the Burr Trail, a 66-mile-long dirt road […]
A team of researchers has constructed a county-level map that relates traffic-related air pollution to cases of childhood asthma in the United States. In Utah, the Wasatch Front is an asthma hot spot. Reducing pollutant levels could reduce childhood asthma cases by up to 34%.
“Recreation Challenges on Public lands” was the theme of the 24th annual Wallace Stegner Center Symposium held in March. Outdoor recreation constitutes two percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and has become a primary use of public lands. However, increased visitation causes problems of overcrowding, user conflicts, soil erosion, water pollution and wildlife […]
Utah author Terry Tempest Williams has won the Los Angeles Times Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement by a writer whose work focuses on the American West. The initial award in 1980 went to none other than Wallace Stegner. Williams’ Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place (1991) has become a seminal work of […]
In April, Salt Lake County Parks & Recreation hosted a series of open houses re. development of a Jordan River Water Trail. The project would create new boat access points and make existing boat access points safer and more functional for paddlers. Send comments to watertrail@slco.org/ Jordan River Water Trail
