SALT LAKE CITY (May 10, 2023) – Gov. Spencer Cox has issued an executive order requiring water conservation at state facilities with the goal of increasing Utah’s drought resiliency.
SALT LAKE CITY (May 3, 2023) – Record snowpack across the state has increased the potential for groundwater flooding, landslides and debris flows in some areas. Many areas statewide have already experienced flooding and landslides. These hazards will increase as temperatures warm up.
West Jordan, UT (May 1, 2023) – Utah residents can now receive up to $3 per square foot when they replace their grass with water-efficient landscaping. The state of Utah is rolling out the nation’s first statewide landscape incentive program Monday, May 1, at 9:30 a.m. at the Conservation Garden Park, 8275 S. 1300 West, West Jordan.
SALT LAKE CITY (April 18, 2023) – Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox has declared a state of emergency due to flooding and the resulting avalanches, landslides, rockslides, mudslides, and other dangerous conditions the state is experiencing.
UPDATE: Governor Cox declares a state of emergency
If you see flooding in your area, do not call 911 (unless it’s a life-threatening situation). Please find the appropriate non-emergency contact in your area to report it more effectively.
SALT LAKE CITY (April 14, 2023) — Record snowpack across the state has increased the potential for flooding, landslides and debris flows in some areas. Snowpack peaked at 30 inches of snow water equivalent this year versus 12 inches last year (15.8 inches is the statewide average peak). Runoff has begun. A gradual warmup and cooler nighttime temperatures are best for optimal runoff and also flood management.
SALT LAKE CITY (March 15, 2023) — To benefit the Great Salt Lake, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has agreed to donate over 5,700 water shares in the North Point Consolidated Irrigation Company to the state of Utah. The donation, believed to be the largest ever permanent donation to benefit the Great Salt Lake, ensures water will continue to flow to the lake and preserve critical shoreline and wetland habitat in Farmington Bay.
SALT LAKE CITY (Feb. 7, 2023) – Declining water levels of Great Salt Lake threaten economic activity, local public health, and ecosystems. In response to this emergent statewide challenge, Utah’s research universities formed the Great Salt Lake Strike Team, a collaboration of experts in public policy, hydrology, water management, climatology, and dust. Today they released a Great Salt Lake Policy Assessment that affirms the situation is urgent, but also identifies a variety of policy levers that can return the lake to healthy levels.
SALT LAKE CITY (Feb. 3, 2023) – Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has issued Executive Order 2023-02 directing the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands to raise the Great Salt Lake causeway berm.
“The Great Salt Lake is crucial to our environment, ecology and economy, and we must do everything we can to protect it,” said Gov. Cox. “We’ve been blessed with significant snowpack so far this winter, and this executive order will allow the state to move quickly to increase the lake level in the South Arm by capturing spring runoff. We don’t want to miss this opportunity to safeguard the lake.”
SALT LAKE CITY (Jan. 13, 2023) – A new Great Salt Lake website is now live! The site centralizes the organizations, tools and work that contribute to the lake’s management. The Department of Natural Resources teamed up with the Department of Environmental Quality to create the site. Check it out and see everything from real-time streamflow data and current projects to ways you can get involved and much more. The lake is critical to the environment, ecology and economy, not just in Utah but also the western U.S. We are working together to preserve and protect it. Current water levels have risen about 1 foot in the last couple of months from the record low in early November.
SALT LAKE CITY (Dec. 12, 2022) – Utah Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Joel Ferry has named Jason Curry as the new director for the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation (DOR), effective Dec. 10. Curry comes from the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands where he has been serving as the deputy director.
Roger Lewis became the Finance Director for DNR in April of 2017. His primary responsibilities include managing DNR’s finances and coordinating budgeting and accounting activities with DNR’s seven divisions. Lewis also oversees the internal audit function of the department.
Tyler Thompson has worked for DNR since 1997 starting his career as a seasonal employee collecting vegetation trend data for DNR’s Division of Wildlife Resources Range trend program. Since this time, Tyler has worked as a research biologist in the development of new grass and forb seed releases and as one of the first restoration biologists hired to implement projects in southern Utah funded through Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative (UWRI). For the last decade, Tyler has been a part of WRI’s statewide administration staff. In that position, Tyler helped find matching funding for WRI projects and administered the incoming and outgoing funding contracts to help get project dollars on the ground each year. In January of 2017, Tyler was selected as DNR’s watershed program director. Tyler coordinates and manages WRI through five regional teams that submit and review over 150 restoration projects each year. WRI completes nearly 100,000 acres of restoration work each year in Utah.
Todd Royce currently serves as the DNR law enforcement director and joined the department in 2018. Royce works closely with DNR division leadership and section chiefs to oversee the public safety efforts of DNR law enforcement, including wildlife conservation officers and state park rangers.