Utah has partnered with a group with right-wing ties to save the Great Salt Lake.
, or PERC, is a Montana-based, nonprofit think tank that names itself “the national leader in market solutions for conservation.” The group is aThe partnership aims to facilitate voluntary water leasing — the state would pay farmers, irrigation companies and water districts in the Great Salt Lake Basin for their water — to prop up the dying lake.
to measure “state park visits per acre,” a measure PERC and the Sutherland Institute used to examine the impact of transferring federal lands to states on recreational activities like hiking, mountain biking and off-roading. When The Tribune asked the Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner about the report, a spokesperson wrote in an email that “PERC’s information will just be one data point out of many that we will be using to make decisions for the lake.”
To get back to a healthy level — with intact islands, thriving ecosystems and covered lakebeds — the Great Salt Lake’s elevation should reach between 4,198 and 4,205 feet above sea level, according to the Utah Department of Natural Resources. Davis said that the state’s first contact with PERC was through Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed, who had previously worked with the group.
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