Conservationists urge Utah County leaders to oppose massive "Utah Lake Islands" proposal, cite ecological and fiscal risks

Conserv Utah Valley and Brigham Young University researcher Ben Abbott urged Utah County commissioners on Wednesday to oppose a proposed large-scale real-estate project on Utah Lake, saying the plan would alter the lake’s ecology and may expose taxpayers to financial risk.

"About to unfold on the lake is a mistake we think of just huge proportions," Craig Christiansen, executive director of Conserv Utah Valley, told the commission as he asked county leaders for "leadership in helping to prevent that from happening." Christiansen said his group is supporting amendments to House Bill 272 to tighten the process that could allow transfers of lakebed for development.

Ben Abbott, professor of aquatic ecology at Brigham Young University, gave a historical and scientific overview of Utah Lake and warned that the proposed plan by a private firm would "privatize the lake bed and cover up about a fifth of the lake in private islands." Abbott described the lake as a "keystone ecosystem," saying roughly "35,000,000 birds move through the Utah Lake system" and "10,000,000 fish live inside the Utah Lake ecosystem," and recounted decades of restoration work including the June Sucker Recovery Program.

Abbott outlined several specific concerns about the private proposal and the legal pathway he said made it possible. He said the 2018 amendment tied to HB 272 created "an alternative pathway" that allows a legislative management committee to authorize the Division identified as FFSL to dispose of state land in and around Utah Lake in exchange for comprehensive restoration — a change Abbott said did not require that restoration be completed before a transfer.

From an environmental standpoint, Abbott warned the plan could deepen parts of the lake, creating hypoxic "dead zones," reduce the lake's natural evaporation that contributes to local precipitation, and alter the shallow‑lake dynamics that have helped limit fish kills during algal blooms. He also called attention to what he said were questionable financing claims: "They claim to have 6,500,000,000.0 in private investments," Abbott said, adding that the company publicly raised about $200,000 via SEC filings and that he understood the state had provided a $10,000,000 loan guarantee in 2021.

Abbott and Christiansen also said the company submitted a pre‑proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency seeking $893,000,000 in federal loans but was not invited to submit a full proposal. "If you build it first and it doesn't work, that's a problem that all of us pick up the problems for a long time," an unidentified commissioner said during questions, urging caution and transparency.

Commissioners asked whether the presenters would meet with the project's proponents for a public or initial private discussion. Abbott said Conserv Utah Valley and allied scientists had invited the proponents and would welcome a public panel that "could bring a lot of clarity to what's going on." Christiansen and Abbott pointed to a Utah Lake Summit hosted by Representative Kevin Stratton at Utah Valley University where the legislative changes and scientific issues will be discussed.

The presenters called for decisions to be grounded in peer‑reviewed science and long‑term study. Abbott recommended following the state‑funded Utah Lake water‑quality study and the recommendations of national and international experts engaged in that work. He emphasized that restoration gains are real — citing increased habitat, reduced algal‑bloom intensity in much of the lake, and the 2021 downlisting of the June sucker — but argued that the private plan's scale and method conflict with established ecosystem restoration principles.

No formal county action was taken at the meeting on the project. Commissioners indicated support for greater transparency and said they would consider hosting a forum or initial talks between proponents and opponents. The meeting adjourned shortly after the presentation.