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Editor’s note: This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s new Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust is now getting to work, releasing up to $10 million in grant funds for projects that will “protect or restore wetlands and habitats” of the troubled lake.
The trust, which was officially established in January after the Utah Legislature set aside $40 million to create it last year, began accepting applications on Wednesday. It’s seeking to find and fund restoration ideas or concepts that will benefit the lake’s hydrology.
“This is a big step forward in advancing the goals of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust,” said Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands deputy director Ben Stireman in a statement Thursday. “We are thrilled to see this funding become available for the preservation and protection of wetlands, which play a critical role in lake and ecosystem health.”
State and local agencies, tribal governments, nongovernment organizations, private landowners/entities and higher education institutions are all considered eligible to submit proposals, according to the trust’s website. It adds that projects can have multiple partners, though only one entity can be considered a lead applicant.
Organizations can submit more than one project for consideration; however, there’s no guarantee that a project will be fully or partially funded because of the $10 million cap, officials add.
All projects must be within the surrounding Great Salt Lake ecosystem, which includes areas within 7 miles of the Great Salt Lake’s meander line. Projects outside of the 7-mile line can still be eligible if the applicant can demonstrate that the project either protects or restores “the hydrological and ecological function” of wetlands that flow into the lake.
“Wetlands associated with (the) Great Salt Lake are essential to the lake’s health and play an important role in connecting water flows and habitats that benefit the hydrology of the lake and the well-being of our communities as we look to the future,” said Marcelle Shoop, executive director of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust.
Interested organizations have until the end of Sept. 15 to apply. There may be additional grants in the future if the funding is there, officials wrote.
The grant’s launch comes as the Great Salt Lake continues its summer slide after it gained about 5½ feet between its all-time record low in November and mid-June. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Great Salt Lake State Park marina location notes that the lake’s levels are now at 4193.4 feet elevation, down about 0.7 feet from that mid-June peak.
It’s expected to continue to drop in elevation until this fall before it rises again during the next winter and spring.
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