“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.”

― Jane Goodall

Some Current Actions to Jump On

Join the Making Waves Artist Collaborative for the 5th Annual Vigil for Great Salt Lake! 

Opening day: Welcome the Legislature day, Tuesday, January 20th at 8 am:
Meet near the steps at the Capitol building for the first day of the 2026 legislature. Look for people with flowing blue waves and banners. Joan will be there.

Celebrate the Species with us every Friday at 5 pm from January 23rd to March 6th:
Look for the flock of giant pelicans. We will dance, sing, and fly our way around the Capitol building to demonstrate our love for Great Salt Lake. Kids especially enjoy this event.

Walk the Waves with us every Monday at 8 am from January 26th to March 2nd:
Local poets will share their work before we walk slowly and reverently around the Capitol building to grieve and bear witness to what is happening. Joan will also be there every Monday.

A few reminders:

  • Dress warmly; wear gloves and a winter hat.

  • Try to carpool or take public transportation if possible.

  • Invite your friends and family to come with you.

  • Share the vigil on your socials to spread the word. You can copy and paste this webpage.

  • Our route is ADA accessible. 

  • We can't wait for you to meet the new baby bison, kestrel, and coyote puppets!

Sign the Community Letter to the Salt Lake City Council  

The Salt Lake City Planning Commission recently heard concerns about upzoning 80 acres of playa wetlands in the Northpoint community. Community members, wetlands biologists, environmental health and conservation advocates spoke about the previous commitment to protect this area, its biological importance, and the pollution from additional industrial development. 

The SLC Planning Commission then voted *unanimously* to recommend that this property NOT be upzoned by the Salt Lake City Council. Here’s a recent news story.

Now the next stop for this issue is a hearing at the Salt Lake City Council. It’s not clear when this will happen, but between now and then, we need to let our Council Members know we would like them to vote “NO” on the upzone.

Signatures are still being collected on a community letter to the SLC Council.

Write the Salt Lake City Council a personal letter. Here’s information to help you do that.

Become Part of a Great Salt Lake Interfaith Action Team 

  • Water Conservation Team:  Provide technical information for implementing a water conservation project, such as how to replace grass with waterwise vegetation and install drip irrigation.  And what costs can be expected, and how to obtain financial assistance? This team would also potentially compile lists of contractors and provide landscaping examples (or direct people to where these already exist).  This could be one team, or separate ones for home and places of worship. This is a new initiative, so we can use help fleshing it out.

  • Political Action Team.  Provide links to Grow the Flow and/or other organizations, train on how to letter-write to political leaders, and provide information about opportunities for lobbying during the legislative session.

  • Fill out this Form to Join one of these teams:  https://tinyurl.com/JoinGSLIATeam. You don’t have to be an expert—just have an interest in making a difference and willing to learn.

Why the lake matters

Our Great Salt Lake delivers significant value to Utah and beyond as the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere and a vital terminal lake ecosystem.

Economic Contributions to Utah

  • Contributes about $1.9 billion annually in economic output and supports over 7,700 direct jobs.

  • Mineral extraction (magnesium, salt, potash, and lithium) produces millions of tons yearly from evaporation ponds.

  • Brine shrimp cyst harvesting supplies 40-45% of the world's aquaculture feed for fish and shrimp farming.

  • Lake-effect snow adds 5-10% to Utah's snowpack, extending ski seasons and boosting winter tourism.

  • Recreation and tourism (boating, birdwatching, Antelope Island State Park) drive visitor spending.

Ecological and Wildlife Benefits

  • Serves as a critical migratory stopover for 10-12 million birds each year from over 300 species along the Pacific Flyway.

  • Brine shrimp and flies provide essential food for birds like Wilson's phalaropes, American avocets, black-necked stilts, and eared grebes, fueling long-distance migrations.

  • Supports diverse habitats, wetlands, and resident wildlife, including bison herds on Antelope Island.

Spiritual, Aesthetic, and Recreational Values

  • Spiritual: Holds deep significance for Indigenous peoples (Shoshone, Goshute, Ute, Paiute), who view it as sacred—known as Pia-pa ("big water") or similar names—with ancestral ties, burial sites, creation stories, and ongoing cultural reverence for its waters, land, and resources as kin. For others, it is a place of beauty, abundant life, and mystery that connects them to a creator and/or to the many diverse lives they share the planet with.

  • Aesthetic: Offers surreal, otherworldly beauty with turquoise waters, vast white salt flats, stunning sunsets in red/orange/lavender hues, floating horizons on overcast days, and dramatic contrasts of islands, microbialites, and open skies that inspire awe and photography.

  • Recreational: Provides diverse activities like floating/swimming (buoyancy from high salinity), sailing/boating/kayaking at marinas, hiking/biking trails (e.g., Buffalo Point for panoramic views), wildlife viewing (bison, birds), camping, birdwatching, and stargazing—accessible year-round at places like Antelope Island and Great Salt Lake State Parks.

Health Risks From the Lake’s Continuing Collapse

  • Respiratory Problems: Dust irritates lungs, worsening asthma, bronchitis, COPD, and causing coughing, wheezing, and reduced lung function. Fine particles (PM2.5) penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream.

  • Heart and Systemic Effects: Linked to inflammation, heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks, and higher risk of premature death.

  • Cancer and Chronic Risks: Elevated metals (e.g., arsenic) raise concerns for lung cancer and other long-term issues from repeated exposure.

  • Vulnerable Groups: Children (developing lungs, higher deposition), pregnant people, elderly, and those with preexisting conditions face greater harm. Some studies suggest disproportionate impacts on certain communities (e.g., Hispanic, lower-income).

We have a lot to lose, but there is hope! There is you. There is “us.”

Watch the 2025 Watershed Symposium presentations

If you missed any or all of the sessions at the Salt Lake County Watershed Symposium in November 2025, you can watch them here. This is some of the latest data and thinking about how to rescue Great Salt Lake.

Deepen Your Knowledge About Our Lake

Why you matter

Because if not you, who? Research has repeatedly shown that people of faith tend to act more often on behalf of causes they believe are important.

Religiosity is positively associated with volunteering and civic engagement. (Source)

Religious involvement often builds social networks that motivate action on important causes. (Source)

Here’s what you can do:

Write Your Legislators

The Governor and Legislative leadership recently committed to restoring GSL by 2034. Thank them for their GSL 2034 commitment. Ask them to double down by supporting sensible, non-partisan water policy and funding requests this session. To find your legislator, go to GrowTheFlowUtah.org/write-legislators

Host A GSLIA Information Table

Whenever possible, we provide a table at major events to answer questions about our lake, GSLIA’s mission to help save it, and encourage engagement in helping save our lake. We will help prepare you and can often pair you with someone who has experience hosting a table. Please contact us if you’d like to help!

Reduce Your Water Use

Outdoor water use for lawns and landscaping accounts for 60% of all residential water consumption, and 96% of water is depleted. By flipping your strip, upgrading to water-efficient landscaping, or installing smart meters, you can save money and water! Plus, there are many ways to reduce water in your home or at work. Learn what you can do as well as what rebates and subsidies are available at SlowTheFlow.org. Or watch this informative video from Madeline Sueltz with Jordan Valley Water Conservation Park.

Spread the Word

One of the easiest actions we all can take is bringing GSL to the communities we are a part of. In an era of political polarization, Our Great Salt Lake can bring together all kinds of Utahns. Have a conversation about the Lake rooted in values and faith with someone you disagree with. Ask five of your friends and family to join the cause. Gather some folks together to have a conversation about the Lake.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable engaging with folks or family who may not agree with you? Go to LivingRoomConversations.org for help. And here’s 12 tips to spark more meaningful, authentic conversations.

Educate the Members of Your Faith Community

Despite the media coverage and urgency, there are many people who don’t think about our Great Salt Lake. Or if they do, they only think of it as salty, shallow, smelly, and buggy. Share with them your love for the lake and why it matters to you and why it matters to them. Help them understand how the lake’s health affects their health, and especially more marginalized populations. Feel free to share this website with your faith leaders and friends!

Fast and Pray

Fasting is a common tradition in nearly every religious faith. It can help us focus on what matters most and turn our prayers into action. One way to approach it is to fast for two or more meals a month and donate the money you would have spent on food to an organization that is supporting the lake. Another idea is to fast by using less water each day, week, or month.

Donate to Help the Lake

These are just a few of the legit organizations that will put your money to good use in saving the lake:

Grow the Flow | GSL Watershed Enhancement Trust | Friends of Great Salt Lake

Give yourself or a Friend a GSL License plate

Proceeds help fund lake restoration. Order at dmv.utah.gov/plates/license-plates/gsl/

Attend Our Monthly GSLIA Committee Meetings

We meet on Zoom, conduct committee business, and often enjoy guest speakers. Some past speakers include Deeda Seed, Stop the Polluting Port Coalition; Jake Dreyfous and Ben Abbott, Grow the Flow; Zach Frankl and Amy Wick, Utah Rivers Council; Dr. Brian Moench, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment; Madeline Sueltz, Jordan Water District Conservation Gardens; David Wright, Landscape architect with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Sign up here to be notified of our meetings.

Participate in Upcoming Events

There’s always something happening that you can join in on. Grow the Flow keeps a running list of current events. Go here to see what is coming up.

Share Your Ideas With Us

There are so many ways we can make a difference that one person or group cannot think of them all. We’d love to hear yours so that we can share them. Talk to us!