How the push to save a tiny bird could trigger a big rescue plan for Great Salt Lake

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The plight of a tiny migratory bird is shaping up to play a big role in future efforts to save the Great Salt Lake.

On Thursday at the Utah State Capitol, environmental groups, scientists and community members announced the filing of a petition to get Wilson’s phalarope listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

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According to petitioners, if the small migratory bird comes under federal protections, it would be the first listing under the Endangered Species Act that’s directly connected to the crisis unfolding at Great Salt Lake, which just two years ago was teetering on the edge of ecological collapse.

“We’re taking this really serious action to save the birds but also to save us,” said Deeda Seed, senior campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity, who was at the capitol news conference.

Were the bird to be listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it would put considerable limits on what Utah lawmakers and business interests could do regarding the lake, as its health is directly tied to the fate of Wilson’s phalarope.

Yet, petitioners say that getting the bird listed is not their main goal. Instead, they want to trigger a process that gets state, federal and private interests to join forces to mount a rescue plan for the lake.

“We are pioneering a new path here and it’s going to take help from all sides,” said Ben Abbott, a professor of ecology at Brigham Young University and a co-petitioner on the filing.

The filing of the petition for Wilson’s phalarope starts a series of reviews.

First, there’ll be a 90-day review over which federal officials will determine if the petition is legitimate. After that, there’ll be a much longer review to figure out if Wilson’s phalarope should be listed as threatened or just considered a so-called “candidate species.”

Brigham Daniels, the project director for the Great Salt Lake Project at the University of Utah Law School, said that if Utah lawmakers don’t want federal protections to strip away state autonomy, it’d be prudent for them to show they are willing partners in the effort to help the bird.

“The way to make their case strong is by putting their ducks in a row and sharpening the plan to save Great Salt Lake,” Daniels said.

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A working partnership between federal and state officials could keep Wilson’s phalarope off the Endangered Species List and instead let it remain a candidate species either for a short time or indefinitely.

Ryan Carle, science director at Oikonos and main author of the petition, said that Great Salt Lake is the most important site for Wilson’s phalarope in North America.

“If you look at the big picture, the bird is in trouble,” Carle said.

Wilson’s phalarope relies on saline lakes for food as it migrates from Argentina to the plains of the United States and Canada. Carle said the loss of saline lake habitat is resulting in the decline of the species.

For the petitioners, Wilson’s phalarope is the canary in the coalmine for the Great Salt Lake, an indicator of the health of the environment along the Wasatch Front, which more than 2.8 million people call home.

“This is an emergency situation, it’s really a critical time for all of us,” Seed said. “It’s very inspiring to experience all these people coming together … to fight for the health of this little bird and our health.”

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