Earlier this fall, a group of leaders, government agencies, and conservation groups convened to announce a new initiative geared to save one of the most legendary—and embattled—waterfowling destinations in North America: The Great Salt Lake.
According to a September 24 press release from the office of Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox, the Great Salt Lake 2034 Charter is “a landmark pledge to restore and protect the lake for generations to come.” In particular, the charter sets the year 2034 as a goal for reaching healthy lake levels. It’s the same year that Utah is hosting the Winter Olympics.
While the Great Salt Lake and its surrounding marshes remain a duck hunting mecca, with 12 million migratory birds using it each year according to the Utah DNR, it has seriously struggled in recent years. In part due to prolonged drought, the lake dropped to a record-low level in 2022, threatening the brine flies and shrimp that the ecosystem depends on. In 2023 and 2024, the lake bounced back thanks to wet winters, but as of July 2025, the lake was again reaching a perilously low level.
The Great Salt Lake 2034 seeks to reverse this trend and includes significant investments to do so. A business coalition led by Josh Romney committed $100 million to deliver water and improve habitat for the lake, while Ducks Unlimited pledged another $100 million for conservation and restoration efforts.
“Ducks Unlimited is honored to join the State of Utah and our many partners in signing the Great Salt Lake Charter,” said Jeff McCreary, DU’s director of operations for the Western region. “This charter reflects a simple but powerful truth: we are all in this together.”
The charter builds on other recent efforts to save the lake. For instance, Ducks Unlimited recently worked on a $5 million contract to update infrastructure on the Lower Bear River, the Great Salt Lake’s most important tributary. Additionally, the Feds have allocated more than $50 million in grants for restoration projects.
Still, refilling the lake is not an easy task. A recent report showed that the lake likely needs somewhere between 700,000 to 1.3 million additional acre-feet allocated to it annually to reach a minimum healthy level—the ultimate goal of the 2034 charter. The future existence of the Great Salt Lake’s epic open-water teal hunting—and other opportunities in the area—depends on this becoming a reality.
“Across the world, saline lakes are in decline,” said Gov. Cox. “Utah will be the exception. This will be one of the greatest environmental success stories of our time, and we are going to write it together. The Great Salt Lake is our lake, our heritage, and our responsibility.”