2024 Issues Forum Videos

2024 Speakers' Presentations & Photos

Wednesday, May 8th

Broadening the Geographic Focus From the Lake to the Watershed of the Lake

8:00 – Welcome

8:10 – Keynote: The Great Salt Lake Strategic Plan and The Way Forward

Brian Steed, Great Salt Lake Commissioner

8:35 – Turning the Tide: Legislative Perspectives and Solutions to Navigating Water Policy. A Lakeside Chat with Speaker Mike Schultz and Rep. Casey Snider

9:00 – Great Salt Lake Strike Team Data Updates and Policy Summaries

Bill Anderegg, Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy, University of Utah

Beth Neilson, Utah Water Research Laboratory, Utah State University

9:30 – Planning for Preservation: The Salty Saga: Ensuring a resilient water supply for Great Salt Lake and all water uses, including people and the environment throughout the watershed

Laura Vernon, GSL Basin Planner, Division of Water Resources

Jake Serago, Water Resources Engineer, Division of Water Resources

10:00 – 10:30 Break/Posters

10:30 – The Bear River Commission

Jody Williams, Senior Counsel, Holland & Hart; Federal Commissioner and Chair of the Bear River Commission

10:55 – Water Distribution and Accountability

Teresa Wilhelmsen, State Engineer, Utah Division of Water Rights

11:20 – Utah Water Law: A 5-Year Look Back To Inform Future Action

Emily Lewis, ClydeSnow, Attorneys At Law

11:45 – A Case for Utah Agriculture & How the Agricultural Water Optimization Program is Helping

Hannah Freeze, Program Mgr. Agricultural Water Optimization Program, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food

12:10 – 1:10 Lunch/Posters

Go With the Flow

1:15 – Seasonal and Split Seasonal Leasing—What Does it Mean? How Does it Work? What Could it Yield?

Jim Bowcutt , Dir. Conservation Division, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food

1:40 – Role of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust in the Future of the Lake and its Wetlands

Marcelle Shoop, Executive Director, Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust

2:05 – Protect and Restore: GSLWET Wetland Funding

Adam Wickline, Senior Project Manager, Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust

2:30 – Investigating Groundwater Inflows to Great Salt Lake

Hugh Hurlow, Groundwater and Wetlands Program, Utah Geological Survey - facilitator

Sam Carter, MS in Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah

Eben Adomako-Mensah, MS in Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah

3:15 – 3:45 Break

3:45 – Effluent Odyssey: Navigating Wastewater Reuse in the GSL Basin

Blake Bingham, Deputy State Engineer, Utah Division of Water Rights

4:10 – Wastewater Reuse in the Great Salt Lake Basin (When is Recycling Not Necessarily Good?)

Leland Myers, Wasatch Front Water Quality Council

4:35 – Reuse and the Role of the Division of Water Quality

John Mackey, Director, Division of Water Quality

5:00 – A Comprehensive Look at Cloud Seeding in Utah

Jonathan Jennings, Meteorologist, Utah Division of Water Resources

5:25 – Adjourn

Thursday, May 9th

The Great Salt Lake Ecosystem: To Preserve and Protect in Perpetuity

8:00 – Welcome

8:10 – Keynote: A Great Salt Lake Conservation Story: Capturing Opportunities from Unexpected Consequences: An Historical Perspective

Don Paul, Wildlife Biologist

8:35 – Protection Successes and Challenges at Mono Lake

Geoff McQuilkin, Mono Lake Committee

9:00 – Lessons from the Salton Sea

Michael Cohen, Pacific Institute

9:25 – Values in the Brine: Utahns’ Attitudes and Values on Great Salt Lake

Anna McEntire, Janice Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air, Utah State University

10:00 – 10:30 Break/Posters

Ecological Values and Viability

10:30 – Modeling Great Salt Lake Nitrogen Cycling

Gary Belovsky, University of Notre Dame

10:55 – Great Salt Lake Artemia: A Crucial Live Food for Farm-raised Shrimp and Fish Worldwide as well as an Exemplary Model of Sustainable Production

Patrick Sorgeloos, Ghent University

11:20 – The Importance of Sustainable Harvest Management and Salinity Management of Great Salt Lake: An Industry Perspective 

Thomas Bosteels, Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative, Inc.

11:45-12:00 – 2024 Doyle W. Stephens Scholarship Award Presentation

12:00-1:00 – Lunch/Posters

1:05 – A Very Salty Journey

Ben Stireman, Deputy Director, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands

Christine Rumsey, U.S. Geological Survey, Utah Water Science Center

1:45 – On the Fly: The Unsung Insects Feeding Great Salt Lake Birds

Bonnie Baxter, Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster University - facilitator

David  B. Herbst, Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory, Mammoth, CA

Carly Biedul, Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster University

Heidi Hoven, Gillmor Sanctuary, National Audubon Society

Amanda Barth, Rare Insect Conservation Coordinator, Utah State University                   

2:45 – Developing a New Topographic Baseline for Great Salt Lake: Newly Assimilated Topobathymetric Dataset Incorporates New and Old Data to Calculate Elevation-Area-Volume Relationships

Casey Root, U.S. Geological Survey, Utah Water Science Center

3:10 – Establishing a Dust Forum for Great Salt Lake

Tim Davis, Deputy Great Salt Lake Commissioner

3:15 –The Dust Never Seems to Settle for Long These Days: What We Talk About When We Talk About Dust: Shared Goals, Lessons Learned, and Opportunities for Future Work

Molly Blakowski, U.S. Geological Survey, Utah Water Science Center – facilitator

Kevin Perry, Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Utah

Sara Grineski, Professor of Sociology, University of Utah

Phill Kiddoo, Great Basin AQ +Pollution Control District             

Dr. Ray Ward, Family Physician, Utah House of Representative, District 19

4:20 – A Climatology of Dust Events Impacting Snow Melt at the Atwater Study Plot in Alta, UT

Nancy Sohlberg, 2023 Doyle W. Stephens Scholarship Recipient, University of Utah

4:45 – GSL Business Council: Engaging the Business Voice                                                                                                                        

Tim Hawkes, Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative, Inc.

        Dave Fields, President and CEO, Snowbird Resort

        Josh Brown, Senior Director of Governmental Affairs, Utah Manufacturers Association

5:30 – 7:00 Poster Session Reception (Douglas Ballroom)

Friday, May 10th

Hemispherically Important for Millions of Migratory Birds

8:00 – Welcome

8:10 – Keynote: Great Salt Comprehensive Management Plan Update—Looking Forward

Jaime Barnes, Director, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands

8:35 – Flyway-scale Partnerships to Count Shorebirds at Great Salt Lake and Beyond

Janice Gardner, Sageland Collaborative

Max Malmquist, National Audubon Society

9:00 – Managing an International Resource Through Local Actions

Daniel Smith, Ducks Unlimited

9:25 – Current Situation of the Wilson’s Phalarope: A Review at the Hemispheric Level

Marcela Castellino, Laguna Mar Chiquita, Argentina

9:50 – Abundance, Distribution, and Migration Patterns of NA Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis)

Dr. Sean Boyd, Science & Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Pacific Wildlife Research Center

10:15 – Bioenergetics of Waterbirds on Great Salt Lake Marshes

Lauren Head, PhD Ecology, Utah State University

10:40 – Ecosystem Effects of Waterbird Predation on Keystone Chironomid Larvae in Highly Productive Wetlands of Great Salt Lake

David Richards, OreoHelix

11:10 – The Latest Nutrient Budget and Ecological Implications for Farmington Bay

Theron Miller, Wasatch Front Water Quality Council

11:35 – Climate Extremes in Consecutive Years Impacted the Number and Fate of Duck Nests on Great Salt Lake Marshes

Michael Conover, Wildlife Ecology, Utah State University

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch/Posters

1:05 – Assessing the Effects of Invasive Species Mitigation on Utah’s Wetland Microbial Systems

Madison Brown, 2023 Doyle W. Stephens Scholarship Recipient, Brigham Young University

1:30 – Strategic Management, Innovative Research, and Strong Collaborations Drive the Success of Phragmites Control and Wetland Restoration in a New Water Reality

Keith Hambrecht, Invasive Species Coordinator, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands

Karin Kettenring, Department of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University

Impacts On and Around the Lake

1:55 – The Importance of GSL Shoreline Protection in Water and Land Use Planning

Dan Adams, Langdon Group - facilitator

Søren Simonsen, Jordan River Commission

Nick Norris, Salt Lake City Planning Division

Jack Ray, Utah Waterfowl Association

Dina Blaes, Salt Lake County Regional Planning

Joanna Endter-Wada, Dept. of Environment & Society, Utah State University

2:55 – Utah Inland Port Authority: Balancing Environmental and Economic Stewardships

Ben Hart, Executive Director, Utah Inland Port Authority

3:20 – Proposed Industrial Development: Impacts to Great Salt Lake Wetlands

Deeda Seed, Center for Biological Diversity

3:45 – The Future of GSL Mineral Extraction

Tim Hawkes, GSL Brine Shrimp Cooperative – facilitator

Ben Stireman, Deputy Director, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands

John Mackey, Director, Utah Division of Water Quality

Mark Reynolds, US Magnesium

Raef Sully, CEO, Lilac Solutions

4:45 – Preserving and Sustaining GSL: Top 10 Reasons Utah Can Do It

Candice Hasenyager, Director, Utah Division of Water Resources

6:30 – 9:30 pm Reception & Banquet at the Alta Club

2024 Friend of the Lake Award – Don Leonard

2022 Issues Forum Videos

2022 Speakers' Presentations

Wednesday, May 18th

Great Salt Lake Salinity—Understanding Change, Planning for the Future

8:00 ­– Welcome

8:10 – Keynote: Why is Salinity Important to Great Salt Lake’s Ecosystem?; Dr. Gary Belovsky, University of Notre Dame

8:50 –The Great Salt Lake Salinity Advisory Committee; Jamie Barnes, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands

9:15 – Introduction to the Discussion; Jeff DenBleyker, Jacobs Engineering

9:30 – Seasonal and Long-term Salinity Variations at Great Salt Lake, Utah; Ryan Rowland, U.S. Geological Survey

10:00 – Break/Posters

10:20 – Salinity Exports for Great Salt Lake; Joe Havasi, Compass Minerals International 

10:45 – Recent and Seasonal Evolution of Great Salt Lake’s North Arm Brine and Salt Crust; Dr. Elliot Jagniecki, Utah Geological Survey

11:05 – A Consistent Great Salt Lake Monitoring Protocol; Andrew Rupke, Utah Geological Survey

11:30 – The Effects of Salinity on Plankton and Benthic Communities in the Different Bays of Great Salt Lake; Dr. Wayne Wurtsbaugh, Utah State University

12:00 – Lunch/Posters

Why Does It Matter?

1:05 – A Salinity Matrix to Assist Lake Management and Support the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem; Dr. Bonnie Baxter, Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster College

1:30 – Salt Load Transfer and Changing Salinities Across the New Causeway Breach in Great Salt Lake: 2016-2021; Phil Brown, Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative, Inc.

1:55 – Modeling the Salinity Driven Flow Through the New Union Pacific Bridge, Great Salt Lake; Dr. Som Dutta, Utah State University

2:20 – Modeling of Great Salt Lake’s Salt Balance; Dr. Leila Ahmadi, Utah Division of Water Resources

2:45 – Recommendations from the Salinity Advisory Committee; Jeff DenBleyker, Jacobs Engineering

3:00 – Break/Posters

3:20 – Panel Discussion:

• Dr. Bonnie Baxter, Great Salt Lake Institute, Westminster College
• Thomas Bosteels, Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative, Inc.
• John Luft, Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
• Joe Havasi, Compass Minerals International 

4:20 – A Path Forward; Laura Vernon, Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands

4:45 – Discussion

5:00 – Adjourn

Thursday, May 19th

Here & Now­—A Declining Lake

8:00 – Welcome

8:10 – Keynote: Let’s Get to It: Working Together to Enhance and Preserve Great Salt Lake; Nathan Bracken, SMITH HARTVIGSEN, PLLC; Brad Wilson, Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives

8:50 – A Foundation, a Framework and a Road Map for Continuing Efforts to Preserve and Protect Great Salt Lake; Don Leonard, Great Salt Lake Advisory Council

9:15 – Deep Uncertainty: The Pot We are All Stewing In; Candice Hasenyager, Utah Division of Water Resources

9:40 – The GSL Elevation Matrix Redux; Laura Vernon, Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands

10:05 – Break/Posters

Overcoming Obstacles

10:30 – Right to Optimized Water? Legal Questions to Begin a Discussion on a Right to Use Optimized Water; Emily Lewis, Clyde Snow, Attorneys at Law

10:55 – Measuring Consumed Water for Enhanced Water Optimization; Matt Yost, Utah State University

11:20 – Water Distribution Today: Distribution on the Provo River with the Provo River Commissioner as a Demonstration of How Water Distribution Works in a Complicated Hydrologic System; Scott Bergendorf, Provo River Commissioner

11:45-12:15 – 2022 Doyle W. Stephens Scholarship Award Presentation

12:15 -1:30 – Lunch/Posters

Learning From Others—Regional Challenges

1:30 – Imperiled Saline Lakes of the Western Great Basin; Geoff McQuilkin, Mono Lake Committee; Phill Kiddoo, Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District

2:20 – Progress at the Salton Sea?; Michael Cohen, Pacific Institute

3:00 – Break/Posters

Tools in the Watershed

3:25 – Conservation for Great Salt Lake—New Legal and Policy Tools; Tim Hawkes and Joel Ferry, Utah House of Representatives 

4:15 – Keeping Water in the Lake: An Innovative Approach to Meet Discharge Limits; Jeff DenBleyker, Jacobs Engineering

4:40 – Mapping Groundwater Levels and Estimating Groundwater Salinity Contributions to the Great Salt Lake, Utah; Paul Inkenbrandt, Utah Geological Survey

5:05 – A Water Resource Study of the Whole Great Salt Lake Basin; Jake M. Serago, Utah Division of Water Resources

5:30 – 7:00 – Poster Session and Reception (Douglas Ballroom)

Friday, May 20th

Water On the Ground

8:00 – Welcome

8:10 – Panel Discussion: The Power of Partnerships: Collaborative Solutions for Enhancing Water Flows for Great Salt Lake

• Marcelle Shoop, National Audubon Society
• Ted Ballinger, Rio Tinto, Kennecott Utah Copper
• Rachel Musil, Central Utah Water Conservancy District
• Eric Anderson, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

8:50 – Watershed Stewardship—Our Communities’ Opportunity to Protect Great Salt Lake; Laura Briefer, Salt Lake City Department Public Utilities

9:15 – Demonstration of the Great Salt Lake Hydro Mapper: A Public Tool for Visualizing Lake Level Information; Ryan Rowland and Christine Rumsey, US Geological Survey

9:40 – Keeping It In the Lake: Compass Minerals’ Conservation Water Right; Joe Havasi, Compass Minerals

10:05 – Break/Posters

10:30 – Water Quality Standards to Keep the Lake Great; Jake Vander Laan, Utah Division of Water Quality

10:55 – When in Drought: Improving Snowmelt Water Supply Predictions in a Changing Climate in Great Salt Lake Water Supplying Catchment; Meg Wolf, 2021 Doyle W. Stephens Scholarship recipient

11:20 – Perchlorate-Reducing Microbes in the Desert of Great Salt Lake Are the Key to Rearing Plants on Mars (Prerecorded presentation); Colin Robinson, 2021 Doyle W. Stephens Scholarship recipient

11:50 – Lunch/Posters

Hemispheric Connectivity & Habitat Protection

1:05 – Keynote: A Drop Here, A Drop There: Sharing Lessons Throughout the Hemisphere; Marcela Castellino and Rob Clay, Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN)

1:45 – Managed Shorebird Habitat in the Face of Climate Change; Heidi Hoven, Gillmor Sanctuary, National Audubon Society

2:10 – An Oasis in the Desert: The Delicate Relationship Between Waterfowl and Great Salt Lake; Blair Stringham, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

2:35 – A Wetland Needs Water; Jeff McCreary, Ducks Unlimited

3:00 – Willard Spur WMA—A Local Treasure; Ashley Kijowski, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

3:25 – Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Jordan River Parkway and Jordan River Watershed; Søren Simonsen, Jordan River Watershed Commission

3:50 – The Many-Angled Approach to Great Salt Lake Wetlands Research; Diane Menuz, Utah Geological Survey

4:15 – Closing Remarks

6:00 - 9:30pm – Reception & Banquet at the Alta Club:

• 2020 Friend of the Lake Award presented to Neka Roundy
• 2022 Friend of the Lake Award presented to Rep. Tim Hawkes
• Reflections by Professor Bob Adler, University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law
• Laketime Achievement Award presented to Professor Bob Adler

2018 Issues Forum Videos

Wednesday, May 9th Schedule

Understanding Great Salt Lake’s Salinity

Why Do We Care? What Are We Doing?

8:00 – Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 – Welcome

9:10 – KEYNOTE: 

UPRR Causeway Decision and the Need for a GSL Salinity Advisory Committee

Laura Ault, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands, Sovereign Lands Program Manager

Great Salt Lake: Salinity, Beneficial Uses, and Water Quality Standards

Jake Vander Laan, Utah Division of Water Quality, GSL Coordinator 

9:50 – Salinity and Microbial Foundation of Great Salt Lake

Bonnie Baxter, Westminster College, Director GSL Institute

10:10 – Overview of Salinity Effects on Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp 

Thomas Bosteels, Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative, Inc.

10:30 – The Importance of Salinity to the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem

John Luft, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program, Program Manager

10:50 – Mineral Recovery in the North Arm: The Convergence of Place, Hydrology, Climate, and Salinity

Joe Havasi, Compass Minerals International, Director of Natural Resources

11:10 – How the Changing Great Salt Lake Salinity Affects Magnesium Production

Tom Tripp, US Magnesium, Director of Technical Services and Development

11:30 – 11:50 Discussion      

11:55 – 1:00 LUNCH

Working to Understand Great Salt Lake Salinity

1:05 – USGS Great Salt Lake Salinity Activities- Past, Present, Future                      

1:45 – Utah Geological Survey Great Salt Lake Monitoring—Salinity, Chemistry, Salt Crust

Andrew Rupke, Utah Geological Survey, Industrial Minerals Geologist

2:05 – Total Mercury and Methylmercury Response in Water and Sediment to De-Stratification and Re-Stratification of the Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Bill Johnson, University of Utah, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics 

2:25 – Current State of the Art in Modeling the Mineral Resources of Great Salt Lake and Future Improvements

Craig Miller, Utah Division of Water Resources, Hydrology and Computer Modeling

2:45 – Historic Low Stand of the Great Salt Lake, Utah: Mass Balance Models and Origin of the Deep Brine Layer

Paul Jewell, University of Utah, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics

3:05 – Partnering in the Salinity Process: Moving Forward With the GSL Salinity Advisory Committee

Erica Gaddis, Utah Division of Water Quality, Director

Laura Ault, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, Sovereign Lands Program Manager

3:45 – Discussion

4:30 – End of program

Thursday, May 10th Schedule

The Future is Now • Water and GSL Ecosystem Services • How Do We Reckon With This?

2016 Issues Forum Videos

Wednesday, May 11th Schedule

The Next Frontiers in Great Salt Lake Research

 Microbial Bioherms/Microbialites

Primordial oceans • Ecological keystones

8:00 – Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 – Welcome

             Opening Remarks - Robert Adler, Dean of the S.J Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah

9:15  –KEYNOTE: A Brief, 3.5 Billion-Year History of Microbialites

Stan Awramik, University of California, Santa Barbara

10:00 – Microbial Bioherms in Great Salt Lake, Utah

Robert L. Baskin, U.S. Geological Survey

10:25 – BREAK 

10:50 – The Other Great Salt Lake: the Value of Benthos

Gary Belovsky, University of Notre Dame

11:15- Molecular Characterization of Microbialites in Great Salt Lake, Utah

Melody Lindsay, Montana State University

11:40- Phalarope Reliance on Brine Flies and Concomitant Use of Bioherm Habitat        

Maureen Frank, Utah State University

12:05 – 1:15 - LUNCH

1:20 – Common Goldeneye, Bioherms, and Brine Fly Larvae During Winter on the Great Salt Lake                       

1:45- Exploring Utah’s Other Great Lake: What Great Salt Lake Can Tell Us About Ancient Lake Uinta

Michael D. Vanden Berg, Utah Geological Survey

2:10 – The Role of Groundwater in the Formation of Great Basin Microbialites and Tufa

Michael Rosen, U.S. Geological Survey, Nevada

2:35 – Ooid Formation in Great Salt Lake, UT

Olivia Piazza, PhD program in Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, LA.

3:00 –  Closing Remarks

Bonnie Baxter, GSL Institute/Westminster College

Thursday, May 12th Schedule

Friday, May 13th Schedule