LDS Church Donates $3 Million to Help Control Invasive Phragmites Threatening Great Salt Lake, Utah

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is joining efforts to combat an invasive plant that threatens the Great Salt Lake, the faith announced Thursday. The Utah-based church said it donated $3 million to support the state’s conservation efforts in controlling phragmites, a move that could save thousands of acre-feet of water for the Salt Lake Valley’s signature geographic feature.

Phragmites are invasive, grasslike plants that have taken over various wetlands across the United States. According to the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, the plants draw water that would otherwise flow to the shrinking lake, alter sediment transfer in surrounding areas and turn native wetland habitats into “homogenous, fire-prone lands.”

The church has increased its conservation work in recent years, urging members in Utah and elsewhere to be water conscious. In 2022, church leader Gérald Caussé, now an apostle, gave a General Conference address on the importance of earthly stewardship and conservation. Quoting that address, Caussé said, “As God’s children, we have received the charge to be stewards, caretakers and guardians of his divine creations.”

The church has also installed more than 3,100 smart irrigation controllers on properties it owns across the Intermountain West, including about 1,700 within the Great Salt Lake Basin.

In 2023, the church made a historic donation of more than 20,000 acre-feet of water shares to the Great Salt Lake. Since then, the faith has donated and leased nearly 30,000 acre-feet of water in total.

In a news release, the church said, “We recognize that there is no single solution to this situation and that an ultimate resolution will depend on increased precipitation.” It added that it was encouraged by efforts from government entities, community groups and concerned citizens working together to help preserve the lake, a vital natural resource.

Source: Read the original report