Greg Carling News Today

Ute Storytelling Camp. Cloee Hackford of the Ute Indian Tribe Education Department. Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke on why he believes Utah’s congressmen think your vote is meaningless. And Save Parley's on the latest twist in Parley's C...

Opponents worry about impacts as Utah continues to become a dustier place.

Owens Lake in California, once the nations largest source of dust pollution, has nine monitoring stations to determine the extent of the problem and help answer questions on what more needs to be done.

Owens Lake, which dried up in California, is surrounded by monitors that measure PM10 pollution, but in Utah there has not been much regulatory focus on examining dust levels whipped up from the exposed lakebed of the Great Salt Lake.

What will happen if the Great Salt Lake dries up? All that would be left is arsenic-laden dust linked to cancer, ruined industries, and dire environmental impacts.

Advocates, researchers and others have watched with dread over the last two decades as the Great Salt Lake has steadily dwindled to a trickle of its former self.

Utah Lake is the largest freshwater body in the state, and it’s well known for supporting a variety of recreation activities and wildlife. But the lake is also well known for some less appealing things: harmful algal blooms, invasive species and contaminated sediments. How did these environmental issues come about in the first place? What does a healthy Utah Lake look like, and what is needed to return the lake to a healthy state?

Utah Lake has been at the center of controversy because of a project planning to dredge and build islands on the lake. Supporters say it’s restoration, critics say it’s harmful development.