Gov. Spencer Cox claims that the proposed inland port in Weber County situated on Great Salt Lake shorelands will be “the most environmentally friendly inland port anywhere in the country.” (The Salt Lake Tribune, Aug. 18).
Utah Inland Port Authority Executive Director Ben Hart justifies the development, touted by Weber County Commission Chair Gage Froerer as the initial 900 acres of a larger 6,000-acre industrial development extending north from the Ogden Bay wetland complex, as providing jobs for future Utahns. (fox13now.com Aug. 17). These statements are ignorant and arrogant. Ignorant, because any conversion of Great Salt Lake shorelands to development by definition is not “environmentally friendly.” Arrogant, because the possibility of future jobs seeks to justify the certainty of current harm.
Considered in isolation, Great Salt Lake is not a diverse ecosystem. Microbialites, brine shrimp and brine flies comprise the life that call the GSL home. These hardy residents, however, are essential to migratory birds traveling annually between breeding grounds in the arctic and winter homes in Central and South America.
If humans attempted this journey by foot, it would take months; by car, weeks; by airplane, at least 10 hours. During such a journey, humans would require food or fuel for themselves or their means of transportation and an opportunity for rest. GSL provides those opportunities for migratory birds. The body of the lake is not the only important part of the ecosystem on which migratory birds and other wildlife depend. Shorelands bordering GSL provide nesting habitat, additional food sources, and protected shelter. Buildings, roads, lights, noise, and hardscape of development offer none of these amenities for birds and other wildlife.
Hart acknowledges that UIPA and developers seek to develop GSL shorelands because “no one is ever going to want, no one is ever going to need {them].” Thus, these lands are undeveloped and less expensive than land in areas that have been developed.
Hart’s assessment and the lower dollar value assigned to GSL shorelands by developers explicitly ignore the value these lands provide to nonhuman users of the lands. I encourage Gov. Cox, Hart, UIPA, Weber County Commissioners, and all other governmental authorities with jurisdiction over land development to act with humility by recognizing that humans are not the only living beings who depend on GSL and its shorelands. If we fail to protect GSL and its shorelands from human development, both current and future Utahns will suffer the consequences.
Dave Deisley, Salt Lake City
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