When the life of someone you love is at stake, you stay with them.

Great Salt Lake's life, not separate from our own, is in jeopardy. Her fate, not separate from our own, could be determined during the upcoming session of the Utah State legislature. As writers, we feel called to be with Great Salt Lake for the duration of the session. Poetry, above all else, is a call to pay attention.

Depleted by diversions for development and years-long droughts, the water level of Great Salt Lake is at a historic low.

For thousands of years the inland sea that is our capitol city’s namesake has been the massive heart of a hemispherically essential ecosystem, home to billions of brine shrimp and an irreplaceable refuge for millions of migratory birds every year. Over consumption of water has led to the fact that Great Salt Lake’s generous presence is careening toward extinction.

As the shoreline recedes, microbialites, “living rocks” which constitute the very platform of all life in the region are being desiccated at an astounding rate. From many places on the receding shoreline, you can look out over massive bone yards of our recently vibrant saline reefs. Their collapse puts every creature in the food chain at risk.

Nearly two centuries of pollutants sent downstream from cities and industry have settled under the shallow body of salt water in the terminal lakebed. Scientists are now warning us that without intervention the exposed shoreline is on track to become one of the largest dust emission sources on the continent, laden with arsenic, mercury, and other toxic contaminants.

We must take action now to save and restore our Great Salt Lake.

At this critical moment, we implore our representatives and fellow citizens to be responsible stewards in showing up for Great Salt Lake and the Great Basin bioregion. Vigil keepers will be in residence winter camping on Antelope Island from January 17th - March 5th, lead by Nan Seymour, local poet and founder of River Writing. They will be joined by scientist-in-residence, Jaimi Butler of Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster from January 29th - February 6th.

Vigil keepers are inviting anyone who cares about Great Salt Lake to contribute details to irreplaceable: a collective praise poem in the making.

Destined to become 1700+ lines long to reflect the minimum size (in square miles) that would constitute a robustly healthy lake, irreplaceable is a call for restoration. The poem will be read in community on Antelope Island February 19th and excerpts will be published in the Summer of 2022 by Toad Hall Editions.

Great Salt Lake’s future is up to us, we hope you will join us in this work in any way you can. Here’s how:


• Flood the legislature with love for the lake. Support the vigil by having us send a handwritten postcard on your behalf to Utah lawmakers and reach out to your representatives directly to let them know why Great Salt Lake matters to you.

  
  
• Contribute lines to irreplaceable. Have a memory of being at Great Salt Lake? A specific detail, something and/or someone you would miss? Write your thoughts in the comments just below the poem. We look forward to reading your submission!

• Help us fully fund the vigil by donating directly to GSL Institute at Westminster College. When you donate, select “In Honor of” from the drop down Donor Display menu and write in “the lake vigil”. Thank you for you support!


• Participate in the vigil by joining us in person at Antelope Island State Park for one of our writing workshops, a silent sunset, and a community reading of irreplaceable on Feb. 19th, or from anywhere in the world for an online writing workshop on January 29th. Scroll down for details on each event!


• Spend some time with Great Salt Lake this season! Bring a friend. Walk the shoreline. Watch the sunset in awe. Get to know some of our bird neighbors who depend on this ecosystem for their life-sustaining migrations.


• Learn about the science and the stakes: The State And Fate Of The Great Salt Lake Part I - Radiowest, The State And Fate Of The Great Salt Lake Part II - Radiowest, The Great Salt Lake is disappearing. If we don’t fix it, we’ll pay the cost with our health and economy, Robert Gehrke says - SLTrib, Great Salt Lake is shrinking fast. Scientists demand action before it becomes a toxic dustbin - CNN.

• Connect with local organizations committed to Great Salt Lake’s bright future. We especially appreciate the work of Save Our Great Salt Lake (sign their petition!), Friends of Great Salt Lake, and Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster.

• Help us get the word out! Ask your friends, co-workers, neighbors, and loved ones if they know about the peril that Great Salt Lake is in. Share resources and invite them to get involved.

Great Salt Lake Vigil Calendar

MON 1/17 First day of vigil.

Writers begin residency on Antelope Island, staying with Great Salt Lake for the duration of the 2022 Session of the Utah State Legislature.


SAT 1/22 River Writing on Antelope Island with Nan Seymour & Amy May. 12-2pm @ Antelope Island State Park Visitor's Center.

No writing experience necessary! For anyone who cares about Great Salt Lake and would like some encouragement to find and foster their voice. You don’t have to identify as a writer, just as someone willing to bear witness to the lake in her time of peril. Together we’ll add some details to the collective praise poem: irreplaceable. $40 per person, sliding scale available. Limited to 8 participants. Covid vaccinations and masks required. Sign up here.

SAT 1/22 Silent Sunset 5pm @ Ladyfinger Point.

All are welcome to join us in watching the sun set over the lake together in silence.

SAT 1/29 Writing in Praise of the Irreplaceable with Nan Seymour & Amy May. 12-2pm MST on zoom.

For anyone in love the world who would like some encouragement to find and foster their voice. Together we’ll add some details to the collective praise poem: irreplaceable. $40 per person, sliding scale available. Limited to 8 participants. Sign up here.

SAT 2/5 Silent Sunset 5pm @ Ladyfinger Point.

All are welcome to join us in watching the sun set over the lake together in silence.

SAT 2/12 River Writing on Antelope Island with Nan Seymour & Amy May. 3-5pm @ Antelope Island State Park Visitor's Center.

No writing experience necessary! For anyone who cares about Great Salt Lake and would like some encouragement to find and foster their voice. You don’t have to identify as a writer, just as someone willing to bear witness to the lake in her time of peril. Together we’ll add some details to the collective praise poem: irreplaceable. $40 per person, sliding scale available. Limited to 8 participants. Covid vaccinations and masks required. Sign up here.

SAT 2/12 Silent Sunset 5pm @ Ladyfinger Point.

All are welcome to join us in watching the sunset over the lake together in silence.

SAT 2/19 Community Reading of irreplaceable: a 1700+ line praise poem for Great Salt Lake.

3-5pm outside the Antelope Island visitor center. This reading is free and everyone is welcome!

SAT 2/19 Silent Sunset 5pm @ Ladyfinger Point.

All are welcome to join us in watching the sun set over the lake together in silence.

SAT 2/26 Silent Sunset 5pm @ Ladyfinger Point.

All are welcome to join us in watching the sun set over the lake together in silence.

FRI 3/4 Final Silent Sunset of Vigil 5pm @ Ladyfinger Point.

All are welcome to join us in watching the sunset over the lake together in silence.

SAT 3/5 Final day of vigil and conclusion of 2022 Utah State legislative session.

Special thanks to Utah Humanities for providing support for the vigil and workshops. Utah Humanities improves communities through active engagement in the humanities.