Speaker: Chris Lant

Chris Lant is a member of CVUU and is Head of the Environment and Society Department at Utah State University

The Reform of Prior Appropriation and the Fate of Great Salt Lake by Dr Chris Lant

Join us Sunday for a talk by Dr. Chris Lant about the reform of prior appropriation and the fate of the Great Salt Lake. The decades-long drying of Great Salt Lake has severe ecological implications that threaten the environmental quality of life for Utah’s growing Wasatch Front communities and beyond. This is due to a structural imbalance between water supply and demand. The Utah legislature has initiated significant reforms to the prior appropriation doctrine governing water rights. These reforms change how the doctrine’s foundational principles of “first in time, first in right; beneficial use; and use it or lose it” govern water use. It remains uncertain whether this intense effort … Continue reading The Reform of Prior Appropriation and the Fate of Great Salt Lake by Dr Chris Lant