Shorelands Preserve and Climate Change.
As part of our photographic work Utah's Lakes and Reservoirs, I decided to document The Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve, because from the observation tower you can see much of the 4,400 acres of wetlands along the eastern side of the lake, in addition, it is very accessible and expresses differently part of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.
If you visit this place, do it with repellent in hand, there you will find the visitor center that is an outdoor pavilion, the observation tower is 30 feet high and a mile long boarded trail circuit through a habitat for bird watching. It features educative signs along the maritime trail that offer lessons about the wildlife of the Great Salt Lake, habitats, and the need for its protection.
My first visit was on a winter morning, January 31, 2022, for which I did a small informative search, about the place. I was thinking to capture representative images of snow over the water, of the Great Salt Lake and wetland expanses, from the pavilion or tower of shorelands Preserve; but it was not. However, we managed to capture the Wasatch Mountain range a bit of snow.
The preserve on January 2022.
I thought that the snowstorms of this winter had been very scarce and without a doubt, that was the reason. In addition, the problems that global warming is causing to the planet in general, where water supplies are disappearing around the world, making our life on the planet more complex every day.
At the end of the first month of spring, on April 19, 2022, visit the Shorelands Preserve pavilions for the second time and the landscape changed a bit. In the distance you could visualize small portions of water with some birds. The ecosystem improved, but not consistently despite the characteristic rains of the season.
The preserve on April 2022.
The Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve, was built approximately 20 years ago, and belongs to The Nature Conservancy. The purpose is to conserve and secure the area for the restoration of wetlands and wildlife. Currently this reserve is used as a platform for community education and outreach programs for TNC's work. Along the trail you can see signs with information about the ecosystem. In addition, each year it is visited by 4th grade students, as part of a hands-on learning experience program. Admission is completely free.
The most important thing to note is that even with all the efforts that non-profit organizations promote, if global inhabitants do not recognize climate change as a problem, and if we do not support the programs that organizations like TNC disseminate, our beautiful landscapes, flora and fauna will disappear.
So, what would happen if we ignored or went unnoticed the problem of global warming? As TNC puts it, "super-storms, droughts and heat waves will become more frequent and more extreme, which will cause major health crises and diseases. Agricultural production would plummet, likely leading to food shortages and global famine. Water supplies would disappear around the world, making some regions almost uninhabitable."
In conclusion, I recommend you make a visit to the reserve and share the experience. With those first two steps we are already contributing to the arduous task of global warming, because every grain on this issue counts. Shorelands Preserve is located at 1002 S 3200 W, Layton, UT 84041, the trail is family friendly and wheelchair accessible, pets are not allowed, and please do not forget your repellent boat.
Ana Sosa
References:
https://www.mitigationcommission.gov/wetlands/wetlands_layton.html