{"id":81979,"date":"2021-03-21T06:29:21","date_gmt":"2021-03-21T12:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=81979"},"modified":"2021-03-21T07:51:25","modified_gmt":"2021-03-21T13:51:25","slug":"utahs-drought-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/03\/21\/utahs-drought-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah’s Drought Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

I could grumble and complain about waking to find fresh snow outside this morning because it is the second day of spring. I won’t because we are in a drought<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"MarchMarch 21, 2021 Weather Map
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

We need the moisture here in northern Utah. Actually, we need it all over the western U.S. and any precipitation is welcomed.<\/p>\n

I am not going to complain about any water restrictions we might face this year because of the extreme drought we are in either.<\/p>\n

It rained off and on all day yesterday and we needed it too. This much needed moisture is a bit late though. I read on Facebook the other day that the water in the Great Salt Lake is two feet lower now than it was last year during this same time period. That isn’t good news.<\/p>\n

The snow pack up in the mountains is not at the level it should be at to fill our reservoirs when the snow melts this year. Each and every time I have gone up into the mountains this past winter I’ve been dismayed by how little snow there was on the ground compared to previous winters and by how shockingly low our reservoirs are. Here in the arid West many of us depend on the winter snow pack to provide our drinking water.<\/p>\n

Every snowflake and drop of rain is important in Utah and the western U.S. throughout the year. Our snow pack is the most important and critical source we have for our water needs.<\/p>\n

Why does a bird and nature photographer care about all of this? Because I am very much aware that every single living thing needs water and that everything is connected.<\/p>\n

As individuals we can do a lot to reduce our water consumption. That is a truth and a fact. It isn’t enough though.<\/p>\n

What we need now are state and federal leaders who believe that our climate is in crisis, who believe in the science that shows that it is, and who are willing to act on the best data we have available now.<\/p>\n

I don’t believe that Utah has a single<\/em> qualified leader at this point in time who can effectively do what needs to be done for this drought and our climate crisis.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I could grumble and complain about waking to find fresh snow outside this morning because it is the second day of spring. I won’t because we are in a drought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2152,26],"tags":[11207,4005,11206,4050,6354,165,3680,11208],"class_list":["post-81979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservation","category-utah","tag-extreme-drought","tag-great-salt-lake","tag-lake-levels","tag-snow","tag-snow-pack","tag-spring","tag-water-crisis","tag-water-restrictions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/March-21-2021-Weather.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-lkf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":77662,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/01\/12\/where-is-our-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":81979,"position":0},"title":"Where is Our Snow?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It is wintertime here in the Salt Lake Valley of northern Utah but given the lack of snow if it weren't for the cold temps you might not know that.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Snow covered mountains on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/antelope-island-snow-january-13-mia-mpcherson-4108.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/antelope-island-snow-january-13-mia-mpcherson-4108.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/antelope-island-snow-january-13-mia-mpcherson-4108.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/antelope-island-snow-january-13-mia-mpcherson-4108.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":90481,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/06\/16\/utah-is-hot-cooling-winter-wetland-views\/","url_meta":{"origin":81979,"position":1},"title":"Utah Is Hot – Cooling Winter Wetland Views","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Utah is hot. It is scorching. Our hottest temps are yet to come and there is no relief in sight for our drought.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Farmington Bay WMA wetlands in winter, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/farmington-bay-winter-snow-mia-mcpherson-9163.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/farmington-bay-winter-snow-mia-mcpherson-9163.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/farmington-bay-winter-snow-mia-mcpherson-9163.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/farmington-bay-winter-snow-mia-mcpherson-9163.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101531,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/12\/male-red-winged-blackbird-in-front-of-a-ranch-pond\/","url_meta":{"origin":81979,"position":2},"title":"Male Red-winged Blackbird In Front Of A Ranch Pond","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 12, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I photographed this male Red-winged Blackbird in front of a ranch pond two days ago when it felt like spring in northern Utah. This morning there is snow on the ground.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Red-winged Blackbird perched in front of a ranch pond, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/red-winged-blackbird-male-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-6472.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/red-winged-blackbird-male-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-6472.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/red-winged-blackbird-male-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-6472.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/salt-lake-county-december-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-0444.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/salt-lake-county-december-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-0444.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/salt-lake-county-december-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-0444.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/salt-lake-county-december-snow-storm-mia-mcpherson-0444.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22977,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/26\/the-great-salt-lake-is-drying-and-utahs-water-crisis\/","url_meta":{"origin":81979,"position":4},"title":"The Great Salt Lake is D(r)ying and Utah’s Water Crisis","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"One thing I know for certain is that we can't drink dust.","rel":"","context":"In "American White Pelicans"","block_context":{"text":"American White Pelicans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/pelicans\/white-pelicans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Salt Lake as seen from the Antelope Island Causeway on May 13, 2012","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/great-salt-lake-water-mia-mcpherson-2581.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/great-salt-lake-water-mia-mcpherson-2581.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/great-salt-lake-water-mia-mcpherson-2581.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/great-salt-lake-water-mia-mcpherson-2581.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":85917,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/04\/26\/defecating-red-tailed-hawk-for-a-crappy-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":81979,"position":5},"title":"Defecating Red-tailed Hawk For A Crappy Day","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It just seemed appropriate to share a defecating Red-tailed Hawk on day three of crappy weather here in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Defecating Red-tailed Hawk, Box Elder County, 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