Watching it brings tears to my eyes and these old eyes don’t mist up easily.
Eared Grebes on Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake is on life support. The end is likely near.
This is an older image of a scene I no longer see – hundreds of thousands of Eared Grebes packed tightly on the surface of Great Salt Lake for as far as the eye can see. I no longer see it, and others like it, primarily for two reasons:
- the lake has receded so far from the shore that I can access, the few birds that might be out there somewhere can rarely be seen.
- more importantly, so much of what’s left of the lake’s water has evaporated without being replaced, its salt content is now too high to support healthy populations of brine shrimp and brine flies which are the primary food sources for the millions of birds that used to visit the lake. If there’s no food, they don’t come and we’re almost to that point.
Yesterday the Salt Lake Tribune published their list of 24 candidates for Utahn of the Year for 2022. Among the list of politicians, sports figures, business leaders, religious leaders, mosquitos (yes, mosquitos) and others is Dr. Bonnie Baxter, Director of Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster College. Dr. Baxter has been studying the microbial communities and general ecology of Great Salt Lake for decades and Bonnie and my good friend “Badass” Jaimi Butler, who until recently was Coordinator for GSLI, are among the lake’s fiercest and most vocal defenders. If there’s a public discussion about the lake, you can almost count on Bonnie or Jaimi, or both, being in the mix.
Recently Bonnie and Jaimi wrote an obituary for Great Salt Lake and a video of Bonnie reading it on the shore of the lake uploaded to YouTube is getting a lot of attention. Which is part of the reason for her nomination, but only part. If you choose to watch it and you care about birds and the planet we call home, be prepared…
The Tribune urges readers to vote for their choice for the honor and anyone is eligible to vote, local or not. I voted yesterday.
If we lose the lake, as it looks like we’re going to, it would be an ecological and human disaster of epic proportions. So it seems to me that Bonnie’s immense contributions over many years in an effort to promote and save the lake deserve to be recognized. If you’re so inclined, please consider voting for your candidate of choice and I hope you’ll seriously consider Bonnie as a worthy contender.
Once again, here’s the link where you can vote if you choose to.
If Senator Mikey Lee or Representative Burgess Owens wins I might be tempted to drown myself in the last few gallons of Great Salt Lake as it dries up.
Ron
Note: If you’d like to know more about the implications of Great Salt Lake disappearing, here’s an excellent source.
I was there in the 80s during the flooding… so very, very sad to see this latest development.
(I voted for Bonnie… wishing it might have some effect.)
What an amazing eulogy. Both sad and uplifting. It’s been years since I was anywhere near GSL, so I have not seen first-hand what you and Bonnie have been documenting. I am really left speechless at this loss, and at the beauty of the eulogy – how can something so sad be so beautiful? I guess that is the genius of the presentation.
Im very late here but finally had a chance to read this post and watch that video — stunning! So very well written, read and descriptive (in words and images) of what it truly means to lose this natural wonder. Tragic. And Bonnie got my vote.
Ron thanks for sharing this. I voted for Bonnie. So very worried about our lake.
I know you are, Bobbi. For good reason.
Just cast my vote for Bonnie. I was appalled by some of the other “candidates” on the list.
I wonder if we can stuff the ballot boxes. 😉 Although, I’m not sure how much good it will do as evidenced by the GSL winning last year and being in even more dire straits now.
When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn?
“I was appalled by some of the other “candidates” on the list”
Marty, believe me, Utah has no shortage of potential candidates of the same dubious quality.
Earworms are earworms but at least I like the one in your last sentence.
Beautiful, yet SO SAD.
Thanks for sharing with us all.
You’re very welcome, Beatrice.
I voted for Bonnie.
Good to know, Karen.
Oh, my!! That video takes my breath away. I visited a few times in the 70’s and photographed birds, but haven’t been back since, except passing by on the freeway. I had no idea the deterioration had progressed to this point. That video was incredibly well presented with a creative viewpoint that should appeal even to the most hardened politician. I will vote, and I hope there will be enough clear-headed Utahn’s to step up and save this great geo-bio feature. Thank you so much for sharing this story and link.
Thanks, Quentin. If any of our politicians are clear-headed in regard to the lake, I’m afraid they’ve become so too late. I hope I’m wrong.
If only there were more like Bonnie and they had the power instead of politicians like Lee. Image what a better, saner and more healthy world we could live in. It’s unimaginable that we could be facing such a great loss. I fear similar losses will follow elsewhere as short-sighted people continue to be in charge. I would love to be proven wrong about that.
“If only there were more like Bonnie and they had the power instead of politicians”
If only!
Beautiful, heartbreaking video. Thank you for the links to the other stories, too. I voted.
I agree, Carolyn.
I voted. Through misty eyes.
Thanks, EC.
I am not sure I can vote in Utah, but if I could Bonnie would get my vote. It is just so sad to loose the Great Salt Lake.
You could vote in this case, Trudy. It’s only a newspaper poll.
I voted. Sad, so sad, to see what’s happening to the Lake and so many other bodies of water disappearing and rain forests disappearing. Thanks for everything you do Ron.
Much appreciated, Ellen.
That photo blows my mind Ron. I have seen Eared Grebes here on Watson and Goldwater Lakes and get really excited when they come, and I am talking about a max of maybe five or six at a time. I am stunned by this photo and can understand your tears if this is something you no longer see. Wonder where they go now? I will get back later and watch the video. Thanks for posting this.
Everett, it’s estimated that 5 million Eared Grebes used to visit the lake every year. Those in the photo are only a small fraction of the total.
It was a tough choice between Bonnie and Mikey. Not.
Thanks for lending your blog to this tragically important issue.
Mikey. Now there’s a piece of work.
Ron, I’ve followed your blog silently for years. It’s time to speak up: I voted for Bonnie!
Good to know you’re out there, Patricia.
Thank you for this relevant and moving post.
I voted for Bonnie.
Take Care,
Kaye
Thank you, Kaye.
Wonderful Eulogy, Ron. The “reap the whirlwind” comment is REALLY true for the area when the wind starts picking up the heavy metals and “distributing” them….. Voted. Hoping it’s not too late but not optimistic about that.
I’m not optimistic either, Judy. I hope I’m wrong.
A brilliant, powerful eulogy, Ron. Brought me to tears, and I voted. Thank you.
Thanks, Diane.
I voted. What a creative & beautiful obituary she wrote and performed.
It is well written and well read, isn’t it Laurie
A brilliant and tragic obituary written by Bonnie. She has my vote.
Thank you, Mark.
Just voted at the site you suggested. The West is suffering the results of simply looking away from doing the right thing in so many ways. And so now we reap the whirlwind of loss of habit for which we play a deadly game of survival for species of life that rely on a viable universe. 😱
“so now we reap the whirlwind”
Yup, and it didn’t have to be this way. Thanks, Mark.
Done. Thanks for the reminder!!!
Thanks, Sue. I’ve been sending you too many obituaries lately…
Thank you Ron for providing us with the link. I just voted for her also. What a well done video. How come people are so smart and so stupid?
Good question, Frances.
Though I am not a local, I voted, because this is more than just a local issue. If this vote can bring some focus on this then that will be a good thing.
Michael, you don’t have to be local to vote, in part for the reason you mention.
Bonnie may not win but as you implied, the more votes she gets the more focus that may be placed on saving the lake.
I voted for Bonnie. The video is a stunning and sober testament to the collective ignorance and neglect of political leaders.
Well said, Kenneth.