Thursday, June 20, 2024, 1-2pm ET
Virtual
The Great Salt Lake plunged to a historic low in 2022 due to water diversions, drought and a changing climate. The impacts will be significant to the vast majority of Utah’s population around the lake with toxic dust storms, reduced snowpack and harms to public health, wildlife and the economy. What will it take to reverse the lake’s declines within ten years? Join us for an illuminating panel discussion with experts of different perspectives on these vital, multi-layered issues.
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Ben Winslow is FOX 13’s reporter on Utah’s Capitol Hill covering a wide variety of topics including government, Great Salt Lake, vice and polygamy. He has been covering news in Utah for more than 20 years now, working in radio, newspaper, television and digital news.
Winslow has received numerous honors for his reporting, including a national Edward R. Murrow award; the Religion Newswriters Association Local TV News Report of the Year; and accolades from the Society of Professional Journalists. Readers of Salt Lake City Weekly and Q Salt Lake have named him their “Best TV news reporter” for many years now.
Panelists
Bonnie K. Baxter, Ph.D. is a Professor of Biology and Director of Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University, which focuses on collaborative research and community connections. Dr. Baxter’s research focuses on the lake’s extreme microbiology, especially the foundation of the ecosystem-the algae and cyanobacteria that feed the brine shrimp and flies. She has published dozens of scientific articles on the lake’s extreme biology, the first academic book on the biology of Great Salt Lake, and the first children’s book about this lake. Dedicated to public speaking, Dr. Baxter has become a “spokescientist,” explaining the water crisis at the lake to government representatives, the media, and the community.
Brad Parry serves as the Vice Chairman for the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and is employed by the Tribe as the Natural Resources Officer, where he is the Program Manager for the Wuda Ogwa Restoration Project. Brad grew up in Syracuse, Utah, near the Great Salt Lake. Prior to working for the NWBSN full time, Brad worked for the United States Department of Interior – Reclamation from April 2003 to November 2019. Most of his time was spent as the Program Coordinator for the water quality improvement program, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program, for eleven years (2008-2019). Mr. Parry received a Bachelor of Science in Speech Communication, from the University of Utah (UofU), in 2005. Brad likes to golf, fish, listen to music, and spend time with his nieces and nephews.
Brian Steed is the executive director of Utah State University’s Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air and the Inaugural Great Salt Lake Commissioner appointed by Governor Spencer J. Cox. Brian began his position at USU in July 2022, with a goal of connecting USU researchers and programs with government and public partners to address concerns on natural resource issues. As GSL Commissioner, Brian serves the governor and state of Utah in conjunction with his position at the institute.
Ben Abbott, associate professor of ecosystem ecology at Brigham Young University and director of Grow the Flow.
2024 public lecture series