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Show Some GSL impacts have a positive affect on lake resources, such as the creation of state and federal wildlife management areas and duck club habitat enhancements. These alterations enhance habitat resources and provide forage and cover for wildlife. Others may cause degradation over time. Ecosystem threats include population growth, water and air pollution, commercial and industrial development such as diking and mineral extraction pond conversion. The sovereign land multiple- use and sustainable yield management framework requires that lake managers consider these and other impacts to lake resources. Resource planners and managers consider impacts in lease permits, management activities and in protecting resource sustainability. Better monitoring and research adds to the information base and helps managers make good management decisions. Cumulative impacts are often difficult to identify but will play an increasingly important role in lake management. As the knowledge base increases through monitoring and research, the consequences and mitigation measures to avoid cumulative impacts on lake resources will be better understood. Great Salt Lake Impacts - Examples Some areas of the lake are more susceptible to impacts due to their shallowness and proximity to large population centers. Farmington and Bear River Bays have very limited data to investigate the implications of possible or future impacts to these areas. Shallow water and wetland areas of the lake, especially on the north end and east side of the lake, are different both ecologically and in regard to the multitude of threats to these areas. These ecosystems are interfaces or buffers between the main body of the lake and surface and ground water inflows. ( SRC, 1999c) Environmental conditions adjust to changes in water depth, salinity, volume and chemistry of inflows. Natural and human- induced changes in water levels and salinity have major impacts on the spatial and temporal distribution of the shallow lake and lake margin ecosystems. Variability is essential to GSL ecosystems function and productivity. Ecosystem changes are likely the result of changes in individual species biology ( Foote, 1992 and Engelhardt, unpub.). Often, ecosystem changes are more or less predictable depending upon available species- specific information. Some species- specific information exists ( Kadlec and Wentz, 1994, Foote, 1991 and Kantrud et al., 1989). Species tolerance to changing conditions within GSL ecosystems should be better understood. ( SRC, 1999c) Lake hydrodynamics have been impacted. Water does not circulate freely throughout the system due to dikes or causeways resulting in several sub- ecosystems with different hydrologic and water chemistry characteristics. This limits the variability of lake levels, salinity and water circulation. Farmington and Bear River Bays' salinity conditions have 106 |
