A Message from Shirley Erickson Gorospe

I just wanted to let you know that we will be showing our documentary about the Great Salt Lake, Evaporating Shorelines, four times this month.

This is our last chance to save the Great Salt Lake.

I need help getting the word out. Please tell everyone you know about the work-in-progress screenings. Please post it on facebook and any online calendar of events that you know of. Please send a note to the newspapers, radio stations and let all your government officials know that they are invited. All of the dates, locations, images, and details for the press and your friends are listed at http://www.evaporatingshorelines.eventbrite.com/

Please RSVP and help us fill the seats. The tickets are free.

We have until April 26th to write our letters.

Sincerely,

Shirley Erickson Gorospe, Director
Evaporating Shorelines
Backlight Pictures, LLC
801-280-9084 phone

Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=144889168957232

Here is a synopsis of the documentary:

Great Salt Lake Minerals Corporation received a permit from the Utah Department of Natural Resources to expand their industrial operations. 91,000 acres of shorelines, wetlands, and water on the Great Salt Lake are in jeopardy.

Fifteen non-profit organizations have joined together to form Keep The Lake Great to protect these 91,000 acres. This coalition is appealing to the Army Corps of Engineers to stop this project. This documentary, Evaporating Shorelines, includes commentary from government officials, scientists, attorneys, and residents of Utah, about the value of the lake from the scientific viewpoint to the aesthetics of the lake to recreational usage. The film includes footage of the amazing birds, plants, and animals that are crucial to this ecosystem.

Please write your letters for public comment to these 4 people. This is your chance to change history. You letters don't have to be perfect. You can even just send a paragraph or a detailed text message, or in my case, 20 pages and an unfinished documentary.
                                                                                             
Here are some ideas of what you can write about in your letters. When you write a letter, please let them know why you value the Great Salt Lake and why you want to protect the wilderness areas of the Great Salt Lake from industrial development. Please tell them the greatest value of the Great Salt Lake is to have a pristine ecosystem. Let them know what the alternatives to industrial development are: wildlife, tourism, birdwatching, sunsets, views, vistas, boating, hunting, future generations of wildlife and people, public health, and reconnecting with the planet... Please let them know the impacts of mineral extraction and water leases on the Great Salt Lake. Let them know that you do not want any more dikes built in the Great Salt Lake. Let them know that dikes on the Great Salt Lake destroy wildlife habitat, divert water flow, permanently damage the muddy lake bed, create abnormal salinity levels, destroy the ebb and flow of the lake which gives the lake it's health...Let them know why you love the Great Salt Lake and ask a lot of questions like, What is an American White Pelican worth?...What is clean water worth?...What is clean air worth?...Ask for research on specific environmental impacts. Ask as many questions as you can think of in your letters.  The Great Salt Lake in its natural state is worth more than a pile of fertilizer or salt.

Jason Gipson
Reference: SPK-2007-00121
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Utah Regulatory Office
533 West 2600 South, Ste. 150
Bountiful, Utah 84010
(801) 295-8380 x 14
Email: jason.a.gipson@usace.army.mil
Deadline: approximately April 15, 2012.

The Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands and its planning consultant, SWCA Environmental Consultants, are committed to the concepts of open government and public engagement in the planning process for these public lands. We invite you to provide your thoughts regarding issues and ideas important to you in management of state lands at Great Salt Lake. Deadline: April 26, 2012.
Laura Burch Vernon, AICP
SWCA Environmental Consultants
257 East 200 South, Suite 200
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
lvernon@swca.com
http://www.ffsl.utah.gov/sovlands/greatsaltlake/2010Plan/publicinfo.php

Gov. Gary R. Herbert
Utah State Capitol Complex
350 North State Street, Suite 200
PO Box 142220
Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-2220
gherbert@utah.gov

Mike Styler, Executive Director
Utah Department of Natural Resources
1594 West North Temple, Suite 3710
PO Box 145610
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-5610
mikestyler@utah.gov