Opinion: The Bonneville Salt Flats deserve protection over profiteering

The vast expanse of the Bonneville Salt Flats, located in northwest Utah, captivate the imaginations of indigenous peoples, explorers, scientists and land speed racers, yet beneath the shimmering white sea of salt lies an unfolding environmental disaster. For decades, the Salt Flats have been shrinking. Scientific research has confirmed that the shift to a drier and more extreme climate is not the only culprit. In large part, the disaster at the end of the tunnel is largely a human-made problem — specifically, the intense pumping of water from underground aquifers. Potash mining is an industrial process that is sapping the very lifeblood of this unique ecosystem.
Potash mining, vital for fertilizer production, has been silently but steadily drying up the landscape, and there is significant evidence that these underground aquifers are being depleted at an alarming rate. Water that would normally keep the Salt Flats intact is brought to the surface and put in a canal to evaporate, and then the potash is collected. Once this process is done, a different pump from a freshwater aquifer is used to clean out the ponds and is then pumped directly to the Salt Flats. Both the freshwater and the saline water aquifers that are a vital part of the Utah ecosystem are being drained at an alarming rate. The result? The salt crust that made this landscape famous for racers and film is thinner than ever, and parts have already disappeared. This is an environmental crisis, but one that doesn’t stop at the Salt Flats — it extends to the larger Utah ecosystem.
The federal government has taken some steps to protect this landscape, but they are woefully insufficient. We have, as a nation, allowed our obsession with mining, industry and short-term profits to outweigh our responsibility to protect these lands and offer resiliency to future generations of Utahns. Worse yet is that Utah is pushing a campaign to have the land managed locally with the belief that they will be better stewards of the land, protecting the environment and its resources.
Our state politicians have consistently shown that they cannot be trusted to prioritize the environment and take short-term profits at the cost of health and environment. With lawsuits led by Attorney General Sean Reyes to try and block emission minimums set by the Environmental Protection Agency, we know our leaders are not prioritizing the environment and health of Utahns. Standing at our Capitol Building grants a fresh whiff of oil refineries and a view of the world’s largest open-pit mine eating away at the Oquirrh mountains. Next to this mine, we see a new hill, one made from the tailings right next to the Great Salt Lake.
We must wake up to the reality that our love affair with industry, mining and extraction is unsustainable. Our current path is saying that we are willing to sacrifice health, an entire culture of land speed enthusiasts and our very lifeblood — water — so that we can have an economic outcome that is often more beneficial to a few than to all. The future of the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake and the broader ecosystem of our state and nation depends on our ability to vote for leaders who will prioritize environmental protection for all over short term profits. We need policymakers who understand that a healthy ecosystem is essential for the long-term prosperity of our communities.
When we vote this year, we cannot allow lawmakers to give us misleading information that allows industry lobbyists and short-sighted politicians to decide the fate of our state’s resources and beauty. It is time to join science and the land speed racers to stand for the Bonneville Salt Flats. Register to vote, join environment-focused groups and only cast your ballot for leaders who will fight for sustainable policies, enforce environmental protections and ensure that future generations can enjoy the natural beauty and bounty that has defined our beautiful state for centuries.
Calvin Dittmore recently graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in environmental and sustainability studies. He resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.