Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) announced on Wednesday that his administration secured $200 million in funding pledges to restore the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere. 

Cox unveiled the sweeping commitments as a part of a newly formed public-private partnership called the Great Salt Lake 2034 Charter. The coalition of legislative leaders, philanthropic partners, and business representatives is seeking to revitalize the watery bastion to its full glory ahead of the 2034 Winter Olympics hosted by Salt Lake City.

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“Across the world, saline lakes are in decline,” Cox said. “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.”

During a press conference at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center in Farmington Bay, Cox said a $100 million donation commitment to GSL 2034 had been made by Ducks Unlimited, the country’s leading wetlands and waterfowl conservation organization. Another $100 million has been brought to the table by Great Salt Lake Rising. That coalition is led by Josh Romney, a recognized business leader in the state and the son of former Utah senator Mitt Romney. 

Cox’s push with GSL 2034 comes as the lake sank to a record low in 2022. The governor’s goal is to get the lake to an elevation of 4,198 feet within the next decade. It’s a steep target, as the Great Salt Lake’s elevation has slipped below 4,192 feet, into what the state calls its “serious adverse effects” range, which could leave residents more vulnerable to dust storms while affecting brine shrimp viability, mineral production, and recreation.

The Utah State Legislature has attempted to resolve the issues by passing dozens of bills and spending more than $1 billion on water conservation measures statewide.

This week, Cox urged Utahns to sign onto the charter acknowledging the problems facing the lake and pledge to make personal changes to help fix them. He expressed confidence that the effort could become “one of the great environmental successes in the history of humankind.” 

“We will not let the Great Salt Lake fail,” the Utah governor said. “It’s part of the soul of Utah. It’s who we are. It’s what we’re known for across the world and across time.”

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Josh Romney, who spearheaded much of the latest effort generating momentum for GSL 2034, told FOX 13 News he believes it will take “a multi-billion dollar” effort to revitalize the lake. Romney’s meetings with local business leaders and the executive director of the advocacy group Grow the Flow, Ben Abbott, led to the creation of the new philanthropic coalition called Great Salt Lake Rising, which has pledged millions for Great Salt Lake conservation measures. 

“It’s going to take the state, the feds, the private community, philanthropic community, environmental community, everybody’s got to come together on this,” Romney said.