(1/26/99)

The return of winter snow is a joy to some. But it worries biologists who say a wetter-than-normal winter could worsen an ecological crisis at the Great Salt Lake.

Millions of dollars, and the health of millions of birds are potentially at stake. Environment Specialist John Hollenhorst reports.

When the snow started flying, biologist Paul Birdsey with the State Division of Wildlife Resources started worrying. "I thought, well, we're in for it again this year," he says.

He worries about the Great Salt Lake not being salty enough. You may think that's one issue you could safely ignore. But Birdsey believes people should sit up and take notice.

He thinks spring runoff from one wet winter could push the ecosystem over the edge. With unknown consequences. "I don't know what to expect. Nobody does. But we might be in trouble this year."

The trouble started in 1959 when a railroad causeway cut the lake in two. The North Arm of the lake is now a Dead Sea, three times saltier than the South Arm, where all the rivers come in.

As the South Arm gets fresher, it's causing big trouble for a tiny unloveable creature called the Brine Shrimp. A few years ago, shrimping was a hundred-million-dollar a year business. Now it's shrinking fast.

Equally unloveable brine flies also may be declining.

Flies and shrimp are key ingredients in a complex foodchain that supports millions of migrating birds.

Would the birds be in trouble if they can't stop at the lake to fatten up? "We don't really know because we just haven't had the experience where they haven't been able to do it," Birdsey says. But still, he's worried about it.

The state is holding a series of public meetings on a new management plan which includes dredging culverts and improving waterflow under the railroad. "It's enough to give us the immediate relief. There needs to be a long-term fix."