Why Trump wants to spend $1 billion on Great Salt Lake - BERITAJA

Bison locomotion connected the barren reservoir furniture of the Great Salt Lake connected April 08, 2026 adjacent Syracuse, Utah. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America

At its peak, Great Salt Lake, located correct extracurricular the state's superior of Salt Lake City, was bigger than the authorities of Delaware, covering about 2,300 quadrate miles, pinch a thriving ecosystem and the main logic Utah claimed to person "the top snowfall connected Earth." Now, owed to a terrible h2o shortage caused by excessive h2o depletion and lackluster winters, the reservoir is simply a protector of what it erstwhile was.

It's been branded Utah's "environmental atomic bomb" and it has the attraction of the president of the United States.

"Very important to prevention The Great Salt Lake successful Utah. This is an Environmental hazard that must beryllium worked on, IMMEDIATELY — It is of tremendous liking to me," Trump wrote connected Feb. 21 connected Truth Social.

He ended the station pinch a twist connected his trademark slogan, "MAKE 'THE LAKE' GREAT AGAIN!"

But a man from New York City didn't conveniently stumble upon a big, dying, salty reservoir located successful the arid upland west. The rumor landed successful beforehand of Trump because personification successful his soul circle gave him a nudge, which led to a gathering and the chance to do thing nary state has ever accomplished – the successful restoration of a terminal saline lake.

The endurance of the reservoir – the largest of its benignant successful the Western Hemisphere – has been a privilege for Utah leaders complete the past respective years. But they knew it couldn't conquer the colossal task connected its own. That's why Utah, a authorities that prides itself connected sovereignty and small-government, is seeking national thief to revive a landmark that is culturally, environmentally and economically captious to the region.

"If we are capable to propulsion disconnected this saline reservoir rescue, it will genuinely beryllium a world first," said Ben Abbott, an ecology professor astatine Brigham Young University.

A dormant carp lies connected the banks of the Great Salt Lake connected April 08, 2026 adjacent Syracuse, Utah. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America

The meeting

Utah's Republican Gov. Spencer Cox walked into the White House connected a Monday successful precocious February pinch a transportation to the president: subordinate Utah successful the conflict to prevention Great Salt Lake.

The time earlier Cox hopped connected a level to Washington D.C. for the National Governors Association convention and White House dinner, he received a telephone call, said Joel Ferry, executive head of the Utah section of nationalist resources.

"He sewage a telephone from the White House saying, 'Hey, President Trump would for illustration to meet pinch you and a fewer different governors. Bring a mates of your apical issues you guys could discuss,'" said Ferry. Ferry wasn't astatine the gathering but arsenic 1 of Cox's closest advisors connected the lake, he helped the politician hole the transportation to the president.

It was a monumental infinitesimal for the authorities of Utah. Cox brought the problem of Great Salt Lake to the president's doorstep.

What was erstwhile h2o lies much than a 1000 quadrate miles of exposed lakebed. The parched playa is filled pinch dense metals and toxins, specified arsenic arsenic, that airs superior respiratory wellness risks to about 2.5 cardinal people. The toxic particulate floats to neighboring states, specified arsenic Wyoming and Idaho during beardown upwind events. It's a superior root of fertilizer utilized to turn character nuts. Critical minerals, specified arsenic lithium and magnesium are mined from the lake.

Its salty waters besides clasp up to 50% of the world's brine shrimp supply, which is the superior macromolecule root for the farmed food and shrimp consumed astatine restaurants and location eating tables globally. Millions of migratory birds salary a sojourn to Great Salt Lake each twelvemonth and it supports an full ecosystem that has been connected the precipice of illness for years because it fails to support capable h2o levels.

The lake's superior h2o root comes from Utah's snowpack. During bad snowfall years – and 2026 was Utah's worst snowfall connected grounds – the reservoir suffers more. Water from the 3 main tributaries that provender into Great Salt Lake is often diverted for different purposes earlier it ever makes its measurement to the lake.

"For the past 2 years now, we've been moving connected a national ask," said Abbott. The BYU professor studies saline lakes and is besides the head of Grow the Flow, an defense statement centered about h2o conservation and shepherding h2o to Great Salt Lake.

Environmental stewardship isn't thing Trump campaigned connected truthful those lobbying for the reservoir knew they needed different measurement to entreaty to the president.

Since returning to office, Trump has stripped billions of dollars successful ambiance research, rolled backmost biology regulations connected emissions, incentivized companies to ditch renewable power projects and has canceled billions of dollars successful approved backing for cleanable power projects. He's called ambiance alteration a "hoax" and often touts the U.S. is flushed pinch lipid acknowledgment to the "drill babe drill" mindset.

Trump didn't induce Cox wrong his location connected his ain volition. One friend to the president sewage the shot rolling – Mark Burnett.

The erstwhile executive shaper of NBC's The Apprentice, the reality TV show starring Trump, is now typical envoy of the United Kingdom nether the Trump administration. And he is simply a Great Salt Lake fan. He is simply a Utah transplant, a committee personnel of Grow the Flow and progressive successful various different organizations focused connected redeeming Great Salt Lake.

"So Mark and others person been talking pinch the national authorities about the request for this coordination," Abbott said.

While Abbott tips his chapeau to Burnett for starting the conversation, Cox is the 1 who laid retired the specifics to Trump in-person about why he should put successful the lake.

Cox declined BERITAJA's question and reply petition but Ferry is 1 of the group who prepped the politician up of the meeting. Though, Ferry says Cox didn't request overmuch prepping. Great Salt Lake is an rumor Utah leaders person been moving to resuscitate for about a decade; Cox knew the talking points.

"It was really conscionable telling the story," Ferry said, "It's the largest reservoir westbound of the Mississippi. And it is successful decline. It is disappearing. It is thing that we can, if we put capable resources towards it and we do enough, we could alteration the trajectory."

From Ferry's perspective, the connection resonated pinch Trump. The meeting, Ferry said, was primitively scheduled for 15 minutes. It lasted an hr and half. Trump made a committedness successful that meeting, Ferry said, to make history.

Then, astatine the Feb. 21 White House meal pinch governors, Trump pointed astatine Cox and reiterated the committedness he made.

"We're going to prevention it. We're not going to fto that go. That is what I telephone an environment, a existent biology problem," Trump told the audience.

American Avocets locomotion on the banks of the Great Salt Lake connected April 08, 2026 adjacent Syracuse, Utah. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Trump effect

Since the first meeting, Trump has made 3 mentions of the reservoir connected societal media. The about caller one, posted connected March 10, declared he is the only 1 who could make it happen.

"I americium besides redeeming The Great Salt Lake, successful Utah, which, successful a short play of time, if thing is done, will person nary water. This is connected apical of everything other I americium doing. Only 'TRUMP' CAN DO IT!," he wrote.

To extremity the lake's diminution and statesman recovery, Abbott, the ecologist, said Great Salt Lake needs betwixt 500,000 to 800,000 acre feet of h2o each year. If the extremity is to return Great Salt Lake to what it erstwhile was, particularly earlier Utah welcomes the world backmost for the 2034 Winter Olympic Games, Abbott estimates about 1 cardinal acre feet of h2o annually must spell to the lake.

"It's an tremendous magnitude of water," Abbott said. "I don't cognize what governmental attack we need, isolated from that it's sewage to beryllium bold. It's sewage to beryllium adaptive. We've sewage to effort thing new. And we've sewage to disrupt the position quo."

It'll besides beryllium very expensive. So Utah leaders are capitalizing connected a Republican president successful the White House and a constrictive mostly successful Congress to hopefully get a immense fund petition crossed the decorativeness line. Cox told Utah reporters successful February that he asked for 1 cardinal dollars successful national costs to thief get h2o to the lake.

When Cox posed the figure, he said Trump "didn't flinch astatine all."

While Utah leaders person been strategizing really to get national backing for years, they were successful this clip about acknowledgment to imaginative lobbying. The president's 2027 fiscal fund – which seeks cuts successful galore areas specified arsenic wellness attraction and different biology priorities – includes the afloat $1 cardinal backing petition for Great Salt Lake.

Congress, of course, will person the last say.