Editorial, August 28, 2008 Our view A plan for the lake Some secrets are well kept. Like, for example, the Great Salt Lake. We'd wager most Utahns think of the lake that is, if they think about it at all as nothing more than the giant body of water to the west that is unsuitable for fishing and that, from time to time, stinks. True enough, there's no sport fishing to be found in the brine. And the shoreline, given the right circumstances, can definitely reek. But the Great Salt Lake is so much more. For those of us in on the secret, the lake is a wonderland. The lake itself and the wetlands and waterways around its edges are home to a phenomenal abundance of birds and other wildlife. It produces a mind-bending amount of chemicals, fertilizers and brine shrimp every year. Antelope Island, which sits several miles west of the lake's east shoreline in Davis County, is a popular but still-not-overrun state park loaded with bison, coyotes, mule deer, prong-horn antelope, bobcats, badgers, etc. In other words, people who assume it's just a "dead lake" couldn't be more wrong. We're happy to report, then, that Gov. Jon Huntsman has turned his gaze toward the Great Salt Lake, and hopes to make sure we aren't taking it for granted and that we're managing this amazing resource in a way that will, according to his Web site, "get away from piecemeal management and create an integrated long-term vision for this tremendous asset." To accomplish this, the governor has created the 12-member Great Salt Lake Advisory Council. Its job is to perform a "comprehensive evaluation of the entire Great Salt Lake, specifically looking at the long term viability of the Lake and its entire ecosystem." Members of the council include lots of people who live and/or make their livings in the Top of Utah, including Rep. Ben Ferry, R-Corinne, Kaysville Mayor Neka Roundy, Great Salt Lake Minerals' Site Manager Corey Milne and Layton's Wild Bird Center owner Bill Fenimore. The group has until the end of the year to complete its work. This will be no small task. The competing interests on the lake have existed and sometimes conflicted since settlers colonized the Salt Lake Valley in the middle of the 19th century. The goal of a unified vision is lofty, but it's also achievable, given a spirit of cooperation. The governor's proactive approach to re-evaluating management of the lake and its environs is welcome. It's a tre-mendous resource that we should not allow to be harmed via ignorance, neglect and regulatory competition. 68 Agenda 2008 Environment