Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University

More research photos incoming! These pictures were all taken at the Causeway Breach, where the south and north arm of the lake freely flow.
The first photo is of brine fly pupae on our brine fly research equipment.
The second is of Roark Looney, one of our research assistants, collecting brine fly pupae samples.
The third photo is a picture of our brine fly sampling equipment, called a medusa, at work.

Have you heard the exciting news? Great Salt Lake was recently designated as an IUGS Geological Heritage Site! This means that the International Union of Geological Sciences recognizes Great Salt Lake as a site deserving of further appreciation, use as an educational resource, and most importantly, preservation.

Read more about GSL’s new designation here: https://iugs-geoheritage.org/geoheritage_sites/great-salt-lake/

As the Great Salt Lake shrinks, it’s not just the wildlife that’s at risk—our health is too. A drying lakebed could unleash toxic dust storms, worsening Utah’s air quality and increasing respiratory issues for all of us.

Don’t forget to join us at the 2024 People’s Great Salt Lake Summit on September 7th to take a stand for our health and our environment. Together, we can push for the urgent actions needed to protect both.

📅 Date: September 7, 2024
⏰ Time: 10 AM - 2 PM
📍 Location: Miller Campus, Sandy, UT

Let’s fight for clean air, healthy communities, and a thriving Great Salt Lake. Your voice matters—let’s make it heard!

If you haven’t already, RSVP here: https://www.greatsaltlakesummit.org

Good news for GSL!

Our very own Dr. Bonnie Baxter and Georgie Corkery were recently filmed at Antelope Island for a documentary called Lake Effect: The Slow Death of Great Salt Lake. The documentary is being produced by Cloudy Ridge Productions, owned by Larry Ruiz, a non-profit filmmaker from Colorado.

Keep an eye out for Lake Effect, and in the meantime, check out an excerpt from Cloudy Ridge Productions about the documentary:

“Lake Effect: The Slow Death of Great Salt Lake is an ambitious short film targeted for regional film festivals, museums, and educational institutions. The film and its follow-up short YouTube style vignettes will take a close and critical look at over population and climatic changes using Great Salt Lake near Salt Lake City in Utah as a case study.
The film will use interviews by some of the foremost scholars in the world studying climate change and world-wide over population and will provide an unprecedented opportunity to engage and enlighten all generations with a hopeful eye towards the future.
Based on studies by some of the foremost scholars in the world studying climate change and world-wide over population, the film provides an unprecedented opportunity to engage and enlighten all generations with a hopeful eye towards the future.”

We are so excited to be a sponsor of the 2024 People’s Great Salt Lake Summit, a critical gathering focused on taking meaningful and actionable steps to protect and restore Great Salt Lake. Your presence and support at this summit will be instrumental in our collective efforts to address the environmental challenges facing our community.

The summit will be held on September 7 from 10 AM–2 PM at the Conference Center at Miller Campus (9750 S 300 W, Sandy, UT 84070). Lunch will be provided!

We will be bringing together passionate advocates, inspiring speakers, and YOU to plan the next steps in saving this vital ecosystem. Together, we can inspire change and work towards a healthier, more sustainable future for Great Salt Lake and our community! We hope to see you there!

Find more info and RSVP here: https://www.greatsaltlakesummit.org

Meet Georgie Corkery, our new Great Salt Lake Institute Coordinator! Georgie is an ecologist who is passionate about social and ecological justice, and trained in community education and outreach. Welcome Georgie, we are so excited to have you on our team here at GSLI!

We at Great Salt Lake Institute are headed to the ICSLR’24 conference in November —maybe you should join us!

The submission deadlines have been extended to August 31 for oral presentations and September 30 for poster presentations, so there is still time to submit your research! The conference will also include panel discussions, networking opportunities, plenary sessions, as well as awards for best oral and poster presentations and an open photo competition!

ICSLR’24 will be held in Antalya, Turkiye from November 4-8, 2024. We will see you there!

Register and submit your abstract here: https://meetinghand.com/e/international-salt-lake-research-conference/ -2673

Great Salt Lake is brat 💚

Dr. Bonnie Baxter, the director here at Great Salt Lake Institute, will be this year’s keynote speaker at Utah Day of the Girl on October 4 at the Little America Hotel! Dr. Baxter will be honored as the STEM Girl Champion, and will share her experiences and insights during her keynote.

Utah Day of the Girl is a celebratory breakfast where business and community leaders come together to celebrate the accomplishments of Girl Scouts and women statewide. Join us in celebrating Dr. Baxter and the accomplishments of Utah’s women!

Find more details here: https://www.gsutah.org/en/news/bonnie-baxter-keynote-stem-girl-champion-udotg.html

Two of our wonderful researchers, Mattigan Wheelwright and Belen Busquets, recently presented at Westminster University’s McNair Symposium. They both did an incredible job presenting! They were also joined at the symposium by David Parrott, Assistant Director here at Great Salt Lake Institute. Congratulations Mattigan and Belen!

A few of our awesome researchers recently collected water samples to test DNA at the Breach! Look closely and you can see the blue green south arm and the pink north arm (though pictures never do the colors justice) and a stream of red-orange brine shrimp flowing into the north arm.

The researchers in attendance were Lauren Rothman, Alivia Preston, Roark Looney, Hannah Meier, and Georgie Corkery.

Join us at on July 27 to see some 5-star spiders!

Join us from 10am-4pm at the Antelope Island Marina for spider-themed presentations, crafts, guided walks, community science, face-painting, food and more to learn about these fascinating residents of Antelope Island and Utah!

These fun activities and education resources from our fantastic community partners are sure to bust spider myths and help the whole family learn to appreciate spiders’ critical role in our ecosystems.

No registration required. Park entrance fees apply.

Follow for event details, opportunities to participate, and fun posts to get you excited for some eight-legged adventure!

A new study led by scientists at Utah State University shows that a shrinking Great Salt Lake may exacerbate drought conditions in Utah. The lake has an amplifying effect on storms, which contributes to heavier snow and higher rates of precipitation. If the lake dries too much, it can reduce precipitation, harming Utah’s ski industry and the drinking water supply, much of which comes from snowpack.

Read more about this new study and its implications for the Great Salt Lake and its surrounding communities here: https://www.fox13now.com/news/great-salt-lake-collaborative/lake-effect-drought-new-study-shows-a-shrinking-great-salt-lake-may-exacerbate-utahs-drought-conditions

Join us for ICSLR'24, the 15th International Conference on Salt Lake Research, in Antalya, Türkiye, November 4-8, 2024.
The 'One Roof and All Inclusive' approach fosters collaboration and intellectual exchange among salt lake researchers. Meet brilliant minds, hear from distinguished speakers, and contribute to pioneering research on salt lake ecosystems!
This is bound to be an incredible event that you won’t want to miss!

Find more info here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380790197_15th_International_Conference_on_Salt_Lake_Research

Get excited for this year's Antelope Island Spider Fest on July 27! If you're wondering what a "Spider Fest" entails, you've come to the right place! Activities include presentations, crafts, guided walks, community science, face painting, food, and more.

There are also opportunities to submit photos and poetry to participate in the Photo Contest and Spider Poetry reading! Photos must be submitted by July 22, and poems must be submitted by July 20.

The festival will take place from 10:00am–4:00pm with tours and activities throughout the day. See more details and how to submit photos and poems here: https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/antelope-island/2020-spider-festival-virtual-version/

Don’t miss Sailfest, happening this Saturday at the Great Salt Lake State Park! Come spend a fun day on the lake to celebrate Great Salt Lake and support groups working to get more water to the lake.

There will be a full day of activities, starting at 10am with registration and raffle tickets, followed by cardboard boat races, sailing regatta, dinner and awards ceremonies, a bonfire, and more!

Register here: https://growtheflowutah.org/gsl-sailfest/

After a five-year hiatus because of low lake level’s, the Great Salt Lake Yacht Club and Grow the Flow are hosting a community event called Sailfest on June 15th.

This free, day-long festival will include live music, booths, and a sailboat regatta to bring attention and resources to the race to restore Great Salt Lake.

This event is appropriate for all ages, and we hope you invite your friends, family, and frenemies!
When: June 15th, 2024, 10am-dusk (main activities from 12-4pm)
Where: The Marina at Great Salt Lake
What: A sailboat race and festival featuring free fun for all ages

Register and see a full schedule of activities here: https://growtheflowutah.org/gsl-sailfest/

Join Utah Humanities and Save Our Great Salt Lake for a panel discussion and project kickoff, discussing the confluence of changing watersheds and courageous imagination.

Thursday, May 30th at 6:30 pm.
Salt Lake City Public Library, Main Branch

Panelists include Forrest Cuch, Former Director of Indian Affairs for the State of Utah, author, educator, and member of the Ute Tribe; Bonnie Baxter, Director of the Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University; Olivia Juarez, Public Land Program Director with Green Latinos and Organizer & Podcast Host with Of Salt and Sand; and Thomas Bretz, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Utah Valley University and Environmental Ethics Fellow at the Center for the Study of Ethics. The panel will be moderated by Brooke Larsen, Virginia Spencer Davis Fellow at High Country News and creative producer with Of Salt and Sand.

Find details about the projects and a link to register for the event here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/this-watershed-moment-envisioning-place-based-futures-tickets-893811021827

More information about the guidelines for submission, the publication and how to submit your work coming soon!

Submissions will be open through September 22, 2024.

Longtime Great Salt Lake researcher Bonnie Baxter has had a front-row seat to the lake’s decline. Join us this Wednesday May 15 (Tomorrow at 12pm!) for a conversation with Bonnie and HCN editorial fellow Brooke Larsen about the emotional toll of studying an imperiled ecosystem and the current state of the Great Salt Lake after two wet winters.

Join the stream here: https://streamyard.com/9rpyyf9atq

Big news for all of you podcast lovers! We are excited to share Stay Salty: Lakefacing Stories, a brand new podcast all about the impact of the shrinking Great Salt Lake. The podcast hosts, Olivia Juarez and Meisei Gonzalez, highlight overlooked stories from people connected to and impacted by the receding lake, exploring what it means to stay while facing an environmental and public health crisis.
Read more about Stay Salty and listen to episodes of the podcast here: https://www.lakefacing.org

Join us for a panel discussion this Thursday at 6:30pm surrounding the Projects Gallery exhibition Entropy, which explores the ecological changes the photographer, Diane Tuft, has witnessed in the Great Salt Lake. This event will also celebrate the launch of Tuft’s book Entropy, featuring images from the exhibition. Register here: https://utahmoca.org/event/diane-tuft-entropy-book-signing/

Panelists include: Dr. Bonnie Baxter, Microbiologist, Westminster University; Dr. Patrick Belmont, Hydrologist and geomorphologist, Utah State University; Nan Seymour, Poet;
Diane Tuft, Photographer

Moderated by: Jared Steffensen, Curator of Exhibitions, UMOCA

Even for trained scientists, the sight of the drying Great Salt Lake can be a shock. Areas of the lake that were once fully covered by water are now completely dry, save for a few occasional small pools. Read more about this otherworldly ecosystem in the article “What biologists see from the shores of the drying Great Salt Lake”, featuring Great Salt Lake Institute’s own Bonnie Baxter and Carly Biedul!

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/13/1244169234/scientists-worry-about-ecological-collapse-at-great-salt-lake

Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University elevating Great Salt Lake!

What biologists see from the shores of the drying Great Salt Lake Half of the Great Salt Lake in Utah has now dried up but scientists say there's still some time left to reverse its decline.

We all know that Great Salt Lake is home to a wide variety of species, but how does sustaining those species affect us, in our day-to-day lives? This beautiful article, “Saving a Sea Monkey Sanctuary” (featuring Great Salt Lake Institute’s own Dr. Bonnie Baxter!) sheds light on the impact of organisms from the lake across the world, and their implications for our future.

Read the full article here: https://hakaimagazine.com/features/saving-a-sea-monkey-sanctuary/

We love sharing our favorite critters with the community! Bringing GSL to elementary schools in Salt Lake and getting kids stoked on shrimp!

Join us on April 1st for a viewing of Whales of the High Desert, a documentary film sponsored by Congregation Kol Ami and the Great Salt Lake Interfaith Action Coalition. After the film, there will be a Q&A with the filmmakers, followed by a celebration to honor Great Salt Lake champions who worked so hard during this legislative session.

Whales of the High Desert explores the story of James Wickham, an Englishman who was reported to have brought whales to Great Salt Lake in the 1870s. Though his story was reported as ‘true’ in newspaper articles in 1888, the truth of this local Utah legend no longer matters as the debate around its veracity has uncovered a greater truth—the Great Salt Lake is dying—and if we want to keep legends alive, we have to keep the very real Lake alive that can support the legends.

The viewing will be held at Congregation Kol Ami, and doors will open at 6:30 PM! Seating is limited; RSVP here: https://www.conkolami.org/GSL

If you love the Great Salt Lake and music, this is the perfect event for you! This was water is a new musical work by Carey Campbell, WSU professor and Lindquist Creative Fellowship recipient. The piece is intended to bring awareness to the drying of the Great Salt Lake and inspire action to avert this ecological crisis. The instruments used in the piece are flute, clarinet, violin, and cello, which are all at times treated with electronic processing to de-familiarize their sounds. Expressively, there are moments of joy, serenity, confusion, sadness, and dismay. The work will leave the listener with an emotional connection to the looming threat facing the Great Salt Lake, augmenting scientific knowledge with passionate appeal.

The performance will take place April 5 at 7:30 in the Eccles Theater on the Weber State University campus. Admission is free, and all are welcome. Duration is approximately one hour.

The performers are: Carey Campbell, electronics; Susan Campbell, flute; Cindy Child, clarinet; Courtney Majors, violin; Daniel Pack, cello. Video is by Kellie Bornhoft.

For more information, please write to [email protected]!

Wake the Great Salt Lake Call for Artists is open NOW! Wake the Great Salt Lake is a temporary public art project that aims to educate and inspire local residents and visitors to understand and prevent the further decline of the Great Salt Lake. This Call for Artists will provide grant funds to 7-12 temporary public art projects between July 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025. This program is available to individual artists, creative residents, or organizations with a local impact in Salt Lake City!

The application closes on Thursday, April 18 at 11:00 AM.

Check out more about Wake the Great Salt Lake, as well as guidelines, eligibility, topics, and more here: https://saltlakearts.org/grants/wake-grants

Embark on a cinematic journey exploring Great Salt Lake, where indigenous voices, artistic expression, and mesmerizing dance converge to create Illusion of Abundance. This short film premiere by Brolly Arts serves as a catalyst to inspire action, urging viewers to engage with environmental stewardship and fostering a deeper connection with nature. Join us for an evening that aims to touch hearts and minds, celebrating the lake's beauty and promoting collective responsibility.


Please register for this free event here: https://tinyurl.com/Illusionofabundance

Illusion of Abundance Film Premiere Join Brolly Arts and Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University for a premiere of the short film with a dialogue to follow.