We explore a cautionary tale about our beloved Great Salt Lake with insights from a researcher at Utah State University who visited Lake Aculeo in Chile. Historically, both lakes provided huge ecological and societal values. But in 2018, Lake Aculeo entirely disappeared due to drought and increasing human uses of water – and Utah may not be far behind. But there is hope, as scientists, conservationists and policymakers are working to maintain the Great Salt Lake as we know it.
Will Munger is an anthropology, environmental studies and community organizing. Will is in a PhD program at Utah State University, and he's doing research in climate adaptation science.