Who Is Waterkeeper: Amy Wicks, Great Salt Lake Waterkeeper
By: Thomas Hynes
The Great Salt Lake in Utah is one of the most iconic waterways in the world. It is part of the largest remaining wetland ecosystem in the Western United States. The lake is a vital habitat for over 10-12 million migratory birds spanning 338 species that travel from every country in the Americas. It also provides lake effect snowstorms that produce significant drinking water for the area. It is even the namesake of the capital city.
However, the lake is in crisis. Climate change and decades of upstream diversions have drastically harmed the lake. In 2022, the lake reached a record low. In response, Utah Rivers Council, a local organization working on water conservation issues for over 30 years, decided more had to be done to protect the lake. So, in early 2025, they established the Great Salt Lake Waterkeeper and appointed Amy Wicks to the role.
“When we started figuring out what our goals were with the Great Salt Lake Waterkeeper, we recognized that although the Great Salt Lake is located in Utah, it is important to species around the Western Hemisphere,” says Amy. “And that was part of what was so compelling about being part of Waterkeeper Alliance is being able to connect and work with other water keepers around the world.”
Prior to her current role, Amy worked in child advocacy. Though, in many ways, protecting waterbodies and ecosystems is itself a form of advocating for children. She also served on the Ogden City Council for a dozen years, the first Native American to hold the position. Amy was raised in Utah, and some of her earliest childhood memories include fishing local streams with her father. 
“I grew up looking at the lake every day. I love the way the light reflects off it and storms roll off it. It is an otherworldly environment,” says Amy. “There is nothing quite like the Great Salt Lake.”
Unfortunately, the lake is shrinking, which presents a host of problems. There is the obvious existential concern that the lake may disappear altogether. In the meantime, a contracting lake concentrates – and intensifies – the lake’s salinity levels, making it an even saltier Great Salt Lake. This is bad news for brine shrimp and other organisms that live in the lake. In turn, this is bad news for the millions of birds that visit the lake every year to rest up and eat.
“Think of those 12 million birds that rely upon the great Salt Lake. You could imagine them as a family going on vacation somewhere. Only they show up to this place where they normally are able to sleep and eat, but now there’s nowhere to sleep, and also there’s no food there,” says Amy. “That’s what’s potentially happening to these birds. And with the decline of other saline lakes around the American West, the Great Salt Lake ecosystem becomes more and more important.”
Furthermore, when the lake contracts, it exposes previously submerged lake beds, which can create toxic dust storms that include nasty substances like arsenic and mercury. Suffice to say, this can dramatically decrease air quality for those living in the area. Put another way, it’s not just that a critical habitat is being lost. It’s also introducing a whole new airborne danger.
Another threat to the Great Salt Lake comes by way of a local state government that, at times, does not seem to fully grasp the problem. For starters, the legislature only meets for 45 days a year, with over 1,000 bills introduced each legislative session in recent years. This means advocates like Amy must scramble to read and digest every single bill in a truncated time period to ensure that bad actors aren’t introducing legislation that would harm the lake.
As Amy puts it, “Our house is on fire, but we’re not acting like it.”
Thankfully, public support is on her side. A recent survey of Utahns found that over 80% said they were concerned about the Great Salt Lake. Translating that worry into concrete legislative action will be an uphill battle, but Amy is not deterred.
In her role as Great Salt Lake Waterkeeper, Amy has given out rain barrels and encouraged residents to use less water. She has also helped launch more comprehensive solutions, such as the 4,200 Project, which gets its name from the lake’s recently low levels of 4,192 feet above sea level. Maintaining the lake at 4,200 above sea level would help restore the vital wetland while also sustaining over $1 billion in economic activity. The initiative also includes a dozen tangible solutions that people can undertake to help protect the lake.
The effects of an improved Great Salt Lake will reverberate far beyond Amy’s jurisdiction. To underscore this point, several fellow Waterkeepers from Latin America joined Amy for the launch event of Great Salt Lake Waterkeeper. Protecting the lake won’t just be good for Utah, it will be good for the whole world.