A UTAH LAKE CONSERVATION COALITION INITIATIVE HOSTED BY CONSERVE UTAH VALLEY
Don’t Pave
Utah Lake
Utah Lake is the heart
of Utah Valley
Join the call for the repeal of the Utah Lake Amendments House Bill 272, passed in 2018, that opened the door to private development of the Lake bed.
SIGN THE PETITION
DONATIONS
Your contribution will fund conservation projects, research and public education. Donations are being collected by Conserve Utah Valley, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, on behalf of the Utah Lake Conservation Coalition.
HELPFUL LINKS
We’ve collected resources where you can find more information about the history of Utah Lake as well as the current issues facing Lake preservation:
- Utah Lake Symposium
- Seven Problems With the Utah Lake Islands Proposal
- HB 272 – The Utah Lake Amendments from the 2018 Legislative Session
Repeal HB272 or lose the Lake
Despite its environmental, cultural, and economic importance, our lake is in grave danger because of a law passed in 2018. The “Utah Lake Amendments” (H.B. 272) created a loophole that allowed the lakebed to be given to commercial developers. Right now, an LLC called “Lake Restoration Solutions” is preparing to build 20,000 acres of dredged islands and house up to 500,000 people on them. The state legislature gave this company a $10 million loan guarantee in 2021 to subsidize their fundraising and permitting efforts (coverage here).
State resources and taxpayer dollars should not be used to subsidize a real estate venture that claims to have billions lined up from foreign investors. H.B. 240 was passed in the 2022 legislative session which provides needed guardrails and requires more steps for transparency. Yet, working to repeal H.B. 272 in the future will restore Utah Lake’s constitutional protection, ensuring Utah Lake is held in “public trust” in perpetuity for all Utahns, present and future.
Many healthy restoration efforts have been taking place over the past decades and are bringing the lake back to a natural healthy state. Efforts like the Walkara Way project, removal of carp and phragmites, the Provo River Delta Restoration Project and the Hobble Creek Restoration Project are helping the lake heal.
We call on Utahns from all political backgrounds to stand together to oppose this waste of taxpayer dollars that threatens our valley. Repealing H.B. 272 in a future legislative session will ensure that Utah Lake is managed responsibly for the people of Utah.
8 Reasons to Sign the Petition
1.
Gifting 20,000 acres of lakebed to a private developer would be the biggest government giveaway in Utah history.
2.
Despite false claims by the developers, Utah Lake is on the road to recovery thanks to hundreds of science-based restoration projects undertaken over the past 30 years.
3.
The proposed project is 370-times larger than the largest freshwater dredging project ever completed and is almost certain to fail, leaving a huge environmental mess for Utah taxpayers to clean up.
4.
Utah Lake provides recreational opportunities, pollution removal, and increasing local precipitation, which contributes to our world-class skiing.
5.
Humans inhabiting islands in the lake would increase the levels of pollution that run into the lake.
6.
Thirty-five million migratory birds and ten million fish call Utah Lake home. Destroying this lake would disrupt wildlife throughout Utah and the western U.S.
7.
These islands would permanently deface our valley, destroying the view of the lake and compromising the natural hydrology and biology that make this lake so resilient.
8.
Dredging and building islands would alter the structure and chemistry of the lake, allowing increased light penetration which would actually increase algae growth.
More than 100 scientists and experts oppose the “Island Project”.
Their statement was presented to Utah State Officials in December.
Utah Lake Conservation Coalition
We Have the Power to Impact Our Future, and We’re Doing Something About It
A coalition of Utah conservation groups, led by Conserve Utah Valley, has joined forces stop the development of Utah Lake. You can take two important actions today to support the movement:
- Sign the petition
- Write your Utah State legislator
Happening Now
New Study on Utah Lake
One of the biggest misconceptions about Utah Lake is that it's getting worse. Check out this new study by BYU master's student Kaylee Tanner. Using NASA's Landsat data, she and her team reconstructed 40 years of algal activity on the lake. They found that blooms have...
Conserve Utah Valley is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to protecting and sustaining the treasured canyons, foothills, open spaces, and waters of Utah Valley.
Contact us: info@conserveutahvalley.org