This Beautiful Utah Location Almost Became A National Park

Utah is a place of stellar beauty and captivating landscapes but that isn’t enough to make all the beautiful areas national parks.  

A list from the National Parks Guide on Instagram revealed a place that’s well-known in Utah that was considered to be chosen as a national park at one time. However, it didn’t make the list and is now just a unique place in the beehive state.  

That place is The Great Salt Lake.  

Last spoken of in 2023 for national park status, The Great Salt Lake is a state treasure for many different reasons. The Utah Division of Water Resources said that the lake is the “largest saline body of water in the Western Hemisphere” and a place of ecological diversity that supports local fauna and plants.  

It also provides thousands of jobs and brings in about $1.9 billion to the state each year, the UDWR said.  

So, The Great Salt Lake is protected, however not as a national park but under a public trust doctrine, KUTV said. There were students from Utah in Spring of 2023 who wanted to push for national park status to help preserve and protect the lake, but some lawmakers felt it wasn’t necessary.  

The Great Salt Lake has been receding for many years now and has drawn the concern of Utahns and environmentalists alike.  

One of the main reasons the lake has seen a decline is due to the ongoing drought in the beehive state. This impact is being continually studied, and solutions are always being thought of.  

So, would making The Great Salt Lake a national park make a difference? Who knows but it is a place that Utahns and tourists value despite its non-national park status.