Great Salt Lake

OGDEN — A consortium of environmental groups and Great Salt Lake Minerals have reached an agreement to monitor discharges of salt water from GSLM into Great Salt Lake.

FARMINGTON — The 14th annual Davis County Great Salt Lake Bird Festival begins this morning with a number of bird-watching field trips.

The five-day festival runs through Monday, with activities, vendors and exhibits scheduled from noon to 7 p.m. Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, at the Davis County Legacy Events Center, 151 S. 1100 West, Farmington.

MAGNA — Under a cloudless sky, Rescue 1 ambled from the Great Salt Lake Marina and roared toward Eardley Spit, a narrow speck of barren land jutting out from Stansbury Island.

The smooth blueish-green water slapped against the aluminum hull of the 35-foot rescue boat as Dave Shearer, the marina’s harbor master, opened the throttle, pushing the craft to 45 mph.

During the 15-minute journey to the spit, Shearer stared straight ahead as a cool breeze whistled through the open windows of the boat’s cabin.

SALT LAKE CITY — The public comment period for the Draft Final Great Salt Lake Comprehensive Management Plan and Draft Final Mineral Leasing Plan has been extended until May 31.

The plan, being prepared by the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, will govern how Utah manages Great Salt Lake for the foreseeable future.

Comments may be submitted by filling out a comment form on the FFSL website (www.gslplanning.utah.gov) or writing: SWCA Project Manager Laura Vernon, 257 E. 200 South, Suite 200, Salt Lake City, UT 84111 or at lvernon@swca.com.

HOOPER -- Sandhill cranes are in Northern Utah in good numbers right now, and opportunities to see and hear the giant birds abound -- but they won't be around too much longer.

OGDEN — Despite recent storms, the snowpack above the Wasatch Front is still well below average, meaning runoffs will also be low.

That does not mean there will be watering or irrigation restrictions this summer, however.

“We’ve talked a lot about it,” said Weber Basin Water Conservancy District Director Tage Flint. “It looks as if the runoff projections show we’re going to settle in about 70 percent of normal.”