Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be the Utah GOP’s keynote speaker
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be the keynote speaker at the 2023 GOP Organizing Convention at Utah Valley University on April 22.
Gov. DeSantis is known for his self-proclaimed “anti-woke” views, including about LGBTQ rights and critical race theory, and is rumored to be seeking the Republican presidential nomination for the 2024 election.
It is currently unknown what DeSantis will speak about at the event. The Utah GOP said the event will also involve leadership elections and general party business.
Utah's snowy winter breaks records
Utah is breaking records with the snowiest winter in 40 years. By Sunday, the snow-water equivalent, or the depth of the water from melted snowfall in the mountains, had reached 26.5 inches, surpassing the previous record of 26 inches set in 1983.
The high snowfall is helping ski resorts break records, too. Five ski resorts broke their snowfall records in the last week. Solitude Mountain Resort has extended their season all the way to May 21, making this their longest season ever at 185 days.
The snowpack could still get deeper; the median peak is on April 3.
This snowy winter is especially important for Utah, which is in a prolonged drought and gets 95% of its water from melted snowpack. Great Salt Lake, which has been shrinking at a startling rate, managed to rise about two feet since December, though it’s still six feet below the median for late March.
Utah’s state budget funds wildlife crossing infrastructure
$20 million of Utah’s state budget is going towards constructing wildlife crossing infrastructure. The appropriation, originally introduced by Rep. Doug Owens (D, Salt Lake), will go towards making structures like over and underpasses to allow wildlife to cross roads without encountering traffic.
Nearly 5,000 deer and 1,000 elk are killed in vehicle collisions in Utah each year. A 2019 study estimates that wildlife-vehicle accidents like these cost Utah taxpayers nearly $138 million in human injuries and death as well as damage to vehicles.
This appropriation follows $1 million of seed funding in fiscal year 2022. Utah will also likely get grants from the federal Department of Transportation to match some of the $20 million.
The Pew Charitable Trust praised the appropriation as well as the bipartisan support of the budget.
“Each dollar spent on mitigating wildlife-vehicle collisions will return dividends in savings for taxpayers by reducing crashes and both human and animal injuries and deaths, and reconnecting fractured habitat,” said Nic Callero, an officer with Pew’s U.S. public lands and rivers conservation project. “Wildlife crossings are a proven technology that save lives and money.”
