The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. Ten million birds use Great Salt Lake annually, many of whom migrate thousands of miles. The Great Salt Lake has been designated a Globally Important Bird Area and is included in the Western Shorebird Reserve Network. The lake provides a habitat for millions of native birds, shorebirds, and waterfowl, including the largest staging population of Wilson’s phalarope in the world. This important area is not limited to the Lake itself, but also to the surrounding wetlands. The fresh- and salt-water wetlands along the eastern and northern edges of the Great Salt Lake provide critical habitat for millions of migratory shorebirds and waterfowl.
The pesticides being sprayed over the Northwest quadrant are not just poisonous to insects. They are toxic to bees, birds, wildlife and humans as well. The sprayed neurotoxins will blow in the wind and kill the bees who are responsible for pollinating our food. They will increase sickness and death among wildlife, they will affect the bodies and minds of growing children.
The pollutants intentionally sprayed in our state will eventually settle to the ground causing toxic run-off and will enter the groundwater system.
Increased application of chemicals to control for mosquitos and other noxious biting insects is bad for the entire web of life. This will result in a reduction of the mosquito population which birds rely on as an important food source for the other insects that birds eat. The chemicals used also kill off non-target species, especially other invertebrates, that are also important food sources for foraging birds. These insects and invertebrates are elemental in maintaining a healthy wetland food web. In this time of climate change and mass extinction, we don’t dare spray neurotoxins into our air.
Tena Rohr, Salt Lake City