
"The Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape: How It Will Open Doors for Great Salt Lake" by Marisa Weinberg, FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake Newsletter, Winter 2025 - https://www.fogsl.org/newsroom/newsletters
The Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape, or “GSLSL,” is another acronym to add to the growing Great Salt Lake vernacular. The GSLSL represents a novel convergence of conservation, working lands, and national defense interests. Centered around resilience, the unique framework of the GSLSL unifies military operations with the protection of critical landscapes. The GSLSL is more than just a designation—it is an opportunity to align natural resource conservation efforts to protect our environment, benefitting our military installations, communities, and the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.
Defining the Sentinel Landscape Concept
The concept of a Sentinel Landscape may be unfamiliar, but it carries profound implications. “Sentinel” directly translates to a watchful guardian, often associated with military readiness and vigilance. Aptly, the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership program was born in 2013 with a mission to do just that—watch over and protect military installations while simultaneously advancing environmental conservation, climate change resilience, and the health of working lands. The backbone of the partnership is comprised of the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of the Interior (DoI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Together, these federal agencies work to ensure that landscapes supporting military operations remain viable for defense, environmental health, and sustainability.
The goal of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is to enhance the resilience of military installations by preserving the natural environments that surround them. This includes everything from wildlife habitat and water quality to agriculture and recreation space. The unique nature of the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership lies in its holistic approach, balancing military readiness with the long-term health of the ecosystems on which these installations rely. With open land for new military operations increasingly scarce, the preservation and enhancement of existing installations become a critical priority.
The GSLSL’s Unique Role in Protecting the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem
Joining seventeen other Sentinel Landscapes across the nation, the GSLSL was designated in 2024 and spans over 2.7 million acres in Northern Utah. The GSLSL boundary includes four military installations (Hill Air Force Base, Camp Williams, Tooele Army Depot, and the Air Force Little Mountain Test Facility) that, with their surrounding lands, form the core of designation. The most ecologically significant feature of the GSLSL is the South Arm of Great Salt Lake. Great Salt Lake existing within a Sentinel Landscape boundary adds a novel and powerful tool to Great Salt Lake’s growing conservation toolbox.
The inclusion of Great Salt Lake in the Sentinel Landscape is significant for its longevity, but why? Under the designation, the vitality of the Lake is recognized as imperative to the resilience of the four military installations listed above. The GSLSL brings heightened attention to decreasing water levels in Great Salt Lake, recognizing the Lake’s role not only in supporting the local ecosystem, but also in ensuring the resilience of its surrounding military installations.
By including Great Salt Lake in the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership, the U.S. government underscores the importance of the Lake’s vitality for military readiness. This recognition opens the door to increased funding and support for conservation initiatives aimed at preserving and restoring the Lake’s health. Funding could be directed towards projects that enhance water management, protect critical wildlife habitat, and reduce dust pollution. Such efforts are important not only for the health of Great Salt Lake but also for the continued viability of the surrounding landscapes, which play a role in supporting military operations and readiness.
Opportunities for GSLSL Partners
The GSLSL designation offers numerous opportunities to enhance the intersection of military readiness and Great Salt Lake conservation. By aligning the priorities of installations with those of lake-facing stakeholders, the GSLSL provides a platform for collaboration and creative problem-solving to water challenges in the Great Salt Lake Basin. Often, military bases are seen as isolated entities, but the GSLSL highlights how these installations rely on the health of Great Salt Lake and are importantly integrated. Through this partnership, the military will play an active role in preserving natural resources that are essential not only for national defense but also for the longevity of Great Salt Lake.
The Future of the GSLSL and Great Salt Lake
As the GSLSL continues to evolve, its potential to protect and enhance the Great Salt Lake ecosystem grows. The Sentinel Landscape Partnership’s unique intersection of national defense, conservation, and community interests presents a promising model to bolster resilience work in the region. With continued investment in the health of the Great Salt Lake and its surrounding environments, the GSLSL can serve as a blueprint for future collaborations that balance military readiness with the preservation of natural resources. In conclusion, the GSLSL designation is a critical step in protecting Great Salt Lake and its surrounding ecosystem. By aligning military interests with conservation efforts, the GSLSL helps ensure that the Lake and its critical resources remain resilient in the face of climate change, urban development, and environmental degradation. Through continued collaboration between military, government, and community stakeholders, the GSLSL offers a pathway to a more sustainable and secure future for our state, country, and hemisphere.
By Marisa Weinberg, GSLSL Program Manager/Coordinator, UDVMA