Drought threatens Antelope Island’s herds as Great Salt Lake shrinks to record low
The Great Salt Lake marina, which bustles with sailboats in high-water years, lies mostly dormant in this undated 2021 photo as a crane lifts out a sailboat. U.S. Geological Survey data showed the lake was at a historic low of 4,191.3 feet above sea level on Tuesday, July 27, 2021.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources released 25 bighorn sheep Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, on Antelope Island. The sheep were transported from Montana to establish a new herd on the Island after a 2018 respiratory virus wiped out the preexisting herd of about 150 sheep.
In this undated photo, U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic technician Travis Gibson confirms Great Salt Lake water levels at the SaltAir gauge. Geological Survey data showed the lake was at a historic low of 4,191.3 feet above sea level on Tuesday, July 27, 2021.
ANTELOPE ISLAND — Wildlife biologists plan to fly in water for the fledgling herd of transplanted bighorn sheep on drought-stricken Antelope Island, just as the surrounding Great Salt Lake has shrunk to a record low.
“One of our critical springs has dried up,” Steve Bates, a Utah State Parks division biologist, said Monday. “Our streams and springs are tapering off, and those are a good water source for the sheep to drink from.”
The drought is affecting other herds as well, Bates said, the island’s bison and pronghorn antelope, hampering their drinking water and forage.
Trouble on the island has been somewhat overshadowed by the stark news that the saltwater Great Salt Lake has reached a historic low. State and federal officials announced Saturday the average daily water level at the SaltAir gauge had dipped below the previous low mark recorded in 1963. The level has been tracked since the pioneer era in 1847.
According to U.S. Geological Survey data Tuesday, the lake was at 4,191.3 feet above sea level, and state officials said it may drop another foot over the next few months.
Receptacles called guzzlers already are in place for the sheep, designed to collect snow and rain for the animals, but Utah’s deep drought this year has changed that calculation.
“In the next couple of weeks, we are going to fly water in to fill them up and make sure the sheep population has adequate resources,” Bates said.
Wildlife personnel released 25 sheep on the island in January 2020, the animals culled from a Montana herd. A respiratory virus wiped out the previous herd of about 150 in 2018.
Bates said the new herd now numbers about 30, and filling the guzzlers is precautionary. The depleted freshwater springs — the island has an estimated 40 — will recharge in better weather. “If we get a good winter again, we will be alright,” he said.
The island’s bison herd of about 700 “looks just fine” so far this summer, Bates said, but they’ve moved down to areas close to the shores, where more vegetation has stayed green.
“There’s actually some pretty good viewing in those areas,” he said, referring to the tourist attraction offered by the bison.
Park visitation remains strong this year, despite the drought and this summer’s record-high temperatures, said Devan Chavez, parks division spokesperson. During 2020 and the pandemic, Utahns flocked to state and national parks. State data shows 94,400 visitors were counted at Antelope Island in July 2020, compared to 52,400 a year earlier.
Each October, the bison herd is rounded up and the park sells off about 200 head to keep the herd’s size manageable. Bates said they’ll probably sell more than usual, 250 or so, this year due to the drought.
The antelope herd, the island’s namesake, is not faring as well. “We’re holding at about 200 head, but the drought is impacting their production this year,” Bates said. “We’re not seeing much fawn survival.”
Utah’s population growth has contributed to the historic lower lake level, which in turn affects Antelope Island’s environment. Upstream water use in the Bear and Jordan rivers and other drainages depletes some of what used to reach the lake.
But despite the seemingly inexorable trend, the state still spends about $10,000 annually for basic maintenance of three giant pumps built on the west side of the lake in the late 1980s, said Kim Wells, Utah Division of Water Resources spokesperson.
The state hastily built the $60 million pumps as the Great Salt Lake reached record highs, damaging great swaths of land around the shores. The pumps were used for only a short time until the lake began receding, and they’ve been in mothballs since.
Wells noted the 1980s crisis was only 20 years after the lake’s previous record low. “So we just don’t know” if perhaps they will be needed again one day.
On Antelope Island, concerns are more immediate for the resident herds and the larger lake environment. “We just need more water released down the Jordan River” and other lake tributaries, Bates said.