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Utah Watershed Council to continue hybrid Great Salt Lake advisory model, defers creating separate watershed council
Summary
After extended discussion about overlapping roles, the Utah Watershed Council voted by voice to defer forming a separate Great Salt Lake Watershed Council and continue a hybrid model in which the existing Great Salt Lake Advisory Council hosts liaisons from constituent watershed councils for at least one year.
Chair Scott Axman opened the meeting in Kanab and the council heard a detailed presentation from Tim, chair of the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council, on the council’s role and recent changes to its membership.
Tim described the advisory council’s statutory duties and funding for research from brine‑shrimp royalties, then outlined a practical hybrid approach: the advisory council has invited liaisons from the Bear River, Weber, Jordan, Utah Lake and West Desert watershed councils to participate as non‑voting liaisons to avoid duplicative meetings and conflicting mandates. "Failure is not an option," Tim said when asked about the risks of a declining lake, urging combined conservation and inflow strategies.
Members discussed tradeoffs between creating a newly certified Great Salt Lake Watershed Council and retaining the existing advisory structure with added liaisons. Supporters said the hybrid approach preserves institutional memory and avoids contentious fights over membership and voting; others said statutory clarification could be appropriate later. Tim said the hybrid has added nine liaisons and "has been working pretty well" at recent meetings.
The council then considered a motion to defer organizing a separate Great Salt Lake Watershed Council and continue the hybrid advisory/liaison approach for roughly a year to evaluate whether the arrangement meets stakeholders’ needs. The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote; the chair recorded the motion as adopted. The council directed its legislative subcommittee to track potential statutory changes and return recommendations if consolidation or membership changes are warranted.
Next steps: the advisory council and the state watershed council will continue liaison participation, monitor outcomes over the coming year, and report back to the statewide council and legislative subcommittee if changes are needed.
Quote: "I would rather have a bigger tent than try to shrink it," Tim said of county participation and representation on the advisory council, a point that guided the decision to defer immediate statutory action.
The meeting then moved on to legislative and administrative business.
