The Once and Future Lake

For thousands of years, Great Salt Lake has played a surprisingly central role in the lives of humans and animals throughout the American West and across entire continents. The Once and Future Lake brings together nature writers, scientists, and storytellers to reveal the hidden beauty of this complex ecosystem and to proclaim a future where Great Salt Lake will once again thrive—as long as we act before it’s too late.

“A politically conscious collection making a difference in the open space of democracy.“
Terry Tempest Williams, New York Times bestselling author of The Hour of Land and Refuge

Most people only know Utah’s Great Salt Lake from the window of a plane . . . if they know it at all.

Great Salt Lake is one of the largest saltwater lakes on the planet, providing refuge for more than 330 species of birds on their travels across North and South America. By its very existence, the lake keeps vast swathes of the western United States habitable by keeping naturally occurring arsenic, toxic dust, and other health hazards trapped safely in the earth. Once a wellness hotspot for early twentieth century travelers, the lake’s present-day economic impact—through skiing, tourism, and industry—is in the billions. And, as humans continue to divert its waters for farming and mine its marshlands for industry, Great Salt Lake could vanish entirely in the next five years.

In The Once and Future Lake, Terry Tempest Williams is joined by renowned scientists, nature writers, poets, and advocates to guide readers through the grandeur, complexity, fragility, and resilience of Great Salt Lake.

As we come to understand and embrace just how intertwined the lake’s fate is with our own, saving Great Salt Lake can no longer be a problem for next year, for the next legislative session, or for the next generation. Restoring and rewilding Great Salt Lake is possible, practical, ambitious, and essential. We each have a role to play, and—as this anthology so clearly shows—it’s time to get to work.

Author Biography

Michael McLane (editor) is the author of multiple chapbooks, poems, and essays with publications in journals and anthologies in four different countries. He serves as a poetry editor for Dark Mountain and review editor for Sugar House Review. McLane is from Salt Lake City, Utah, and lives in New Zealand.