President Biden Signs Into Law Congressman Blake Moore’s Bill to Help Save the Great Salt Lake
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congressman Blake Moore’s Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden. Introduced with Congressman Jared Huffman (D-CA) and led by Senators Merkley (D-OR) and Romney (R-UT) in the Senate, this legislation will establish a scientific monitoring and assessment program to help save the Great Salt Lake and other saline lakes in the West.
“I am so proud of all the work that went into getting this critical bill signed into law by President Biden,” said Congressman Blake Moore. “Many thanks to the leaders and experts who helped put this together, including Senate sponsor Senator Romney, Governor Cox, Speaker Wilson, President Adams, State Representatives Joel Ferry and Tim Hawkes, and several others. Saving the Great Salt Lake and our neighboring saline lakes is one of my top priorities, and this bill will help us get there.”
The Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act will provide the U.S. Geological Survey—in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and tribal, state, academic, and nonprofit organizations—resources to conduct scientific monitoring and assessments to establish effective management and conservation efforts to preserve essential Saline Lake habitats within the Great Basin network.
The Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act builds on the important, broadly supported work being done in the Utah State Legislature to address this issue. In addition, this bill received support from Governor Cox and several organizations, including: the National Audubon Society, Compass Minerals, Trout Unlimited, Rio Tinto Kennecott, the Utah Waterfowl Association, the Utah Airboat Association, the Utah Wetlands Foundation, the Nature Conservancy in Utah, Friends of Great Salt Lake, the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, the Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative, the Utah Audubon Council, and the National Wildlife Federation. This bill supports the work authorized under the Concurrent Resolution to Address Declining Water Levels of the Great Salt Lake, which passed the Utah State Legislature unanimously in 2019.
This legislation is also cosponsored by Representatives Susie Lee (D-NV), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Burgess Owens (R-UT), John Curtis (R-UT), Chris Stewart (R-UT), and Mark Amodei (R-NV).
The bill text can be found here. The coalition support letter can be found here and Governor Cox’s support letter can be found here.
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