My 3-year-old granddaughter is a happy, rambunctious child. With wide-eyed wonder, she thrives on roaming through parks, jumping over streams and hugging the trees she passes. Though she loves to read, make art and help her mom cook, her favorite is to be outside. However, it is irresponsible to let her be outside every day because of Utah’s air quality. Although our air has generally improved over the years, that hard-fought progress is threatened by Utah’s strong push to subsidize polluting industrial development through the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA). The ports are putting economic prosperity over the preservation of people’s well-being, health and our $8.1 billion outdoor recreation industry. The dollar amount gained from development wanes in comparison to the health costs associated with increased asthma, emergency room visits and threats to older Utahns and pregnant women. We can all sympathize with the governor and legislators who have a difficult job of balancing the economy (one Utahns can be proud of), development and public safety, but one step they can take is to stop subsidizing industrial development next to the Great Salt Lake and to giving a green light to wetland destruction.

The Utah proposed and existing ports, subsidized with taxpayer money, will also destroy Great Salt Lake wetlands in and adjacent to the proposed developments. Wetlands are often called the kidneys of the earth. They filter water, remove harmful compounds and pull carbon dioxide from the air. They are a necessary part of healthy ecosystems across Utah. Studies document their strengths in reducing particulate matter pollution (PM2.5 and PM10), providing food and habitat for a multitude of species, and keeping our watersheds clean. Though wetlands cover only 1% of Utah’s land, they are a powerful force. Our Utah government has recognized this by establishing a fund of over $100,000 annually, according to Ducks Unlimited, to restore and mitigate wetlands. Even so, the UIPA is greenlighting their destruction at an alarming rate. For example, within the area the state defined as eligible for wetland protection grants, subsidized industrial development has been proposed or approved by UIPA with the potential to harm over 50,000 acres of wetlands. Projects have been approved in Box Elder County and Spanish Fork; Tooele and possibly Weber County are up next. In Weber County, an enormous industrial development project area, that could eventually encompass over 6,000 acres, has been proposed on the shore of Great Salt Lake, right between the Great Salt Lake and the Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area and the Harold Crane Waterfowl Management Area. The port authority boasts a mitigation plan; however, research shows that restoration efforts do not create wetlands that sequester carbon and provide for wildlife to the degree that preexisting, established wetlands do. Therefore, it is best to preserve the wetlands we have and ensure their protection. It is also less expensive than going into the tricky, expensive business of creating new ones. So on one hand, the Legislature is giving money to mitigate damage and create new wetlands while on the other, subsidizing much more extensive damage by greenlighting additional ports near or on wetlands.

The lake is still diminishing, and protecting its surrounding wetlands will help buffer its water levels to slow its decline. Utah representatives say they are committed to saving the lake. Saving the wetlands is an easy way to help. The lake’s decline and the ports affect all of us with increased air pollution, increased truck traffic, less snow, decreased recreation revenues and the loss of a large migratory stop off for many birds.

The good news is that many of these projects are still conceptual, including what is being discussed for Weber County. Even the ones that have been approved can be walked back. It is time to let our elected officials know that we don’t want industrial development that will harm human health and further diminish our quality of life. We definitely don’t want our taxes to subsidize it.

As a native of San Bernardino, California, where an inland port was built, I have seen firsthand the destruction done to a once beautiful valley much like ours here. I do not want to see Utah follow in California’s footsteps. But the proposed Weber County inland port development as well as other ports are in areas where they will damage the wetlands vital for the health of the Great Salt Lake. In fact, I’d say most Utahns have little to benefit from a broad expansion of these subsidized industrial developments. All the port projects will increase truck traffic (according to one study, vehicular traffic will increase by an estimated 50,000 per day for just one port), pollute the air, destroy vital wildlife habitat and offer low-paying jobs for workers who will have nowhere affordable to live. Please contact your state representatives, city council persons and county commissioners and urge them to stop inland port industrial development in Weber County (as well as others counties). Let’s ask the state to consider all long-term effects and minimize dirty development projects. At the very least, protect the wetlands.

We need our leaders to think beyond short-term investment opportunities and consider a holistic approach. An important part of keeping our state the iconic beauty it is means protecting our wetlands and rethinking the “warehouse” mentality. By developing wisely, we can ensure a safe and healthy state. Utah can transform into a place where our children can safely play outside and become vibrant, prosperous adults who remain here, rather than leave because air pollution is so bad and traffic so dangerous.

Patty Becnel is a retired teacher who has been active in environmental issues. She is passionate about saving the Great Salt Lake and surrounding wetlands.

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