PRESS RELEASE: Preserving Farmland and Water to Help Protect Great Salt Lake
Many Partners Lead the Way to Save Land and Share Water with Great Salt Lake
Salt Lake City, Dec. 2, 2025—Organizations dedicated to conservation of land and water have come together with a farm in Huntsville, Utah, in a groundbreaking partnership to deliver water to the Great Salt Lake.
National Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy, as co-leaders of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust, Summit Land Conservancy, and the historic Huntsville Abbey Farm, have collaborated to lease approximately 635 acre-feet of water annually for Great Salt Lake, pending approval from resource managers.
“This type of partnership is one of those mutually beneficial ideas that just makes sense,” said Bill White, owner of the Huntsville Abbey Farm. “We’re not losing any farming or production. Instead, we’re utilizing the land more efficiently by switching our less productive fields to dry farming techniques which enables us to keep the land in production and send that saved water to help Great Salt Lake.”
The Huntsville Abbey Farm, a beloved landmark, was once home to the Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity, a Trappist Cistercian monastery established in 1947. For more than 70 years, monks not only ran the monastery but supported themselves by farming the land and keeping bees. White came into ownership after the monastery closed in 2017, and he continues to keep the farm in production today.
In 2022, Summit Land Conservancy, in partnership with Ogden Valley Land Trust, completed a permanent conservation easement on 1,050 acres of the Historic Monastery Farm, ensuring the farm will remain open for agricultural use.
“When Summit Land Conservancy saves farms and ranches across the Wasatch Back, we're saving the watershed for the Great Salt Lake," explains Cheryl Fox, Chief Executive Officer of Summit Land Conservancy. “Water is now available to return to the lake, rather than being diverted to a subdivision, thanks to our partners, including Bill White, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ogden Valley Land Trust, and many individual donors."
The Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust, along with its partners, the Utah Divisions of Forestry, Fire and State Lands and Wildlife Resources, has been securing new and existing water flows for Great Salt Lake over the past three years. The Trust’s involvement was the final piece in the puzzle to actualize this water transaction for the lake.
“This is an innovative project that preserves farmland and delivers water to benefit Great Salt Lake," said Marcelle Shoop, Executive Director of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust. “The foresight of Bill White and the Summit Land Conservancy, and their willingness to pilot new ideas in partnership with the Trust, and the Utah Divisions of Wildlife Resources and Forestry, Fire and State Lands, illustrates the importance of broad collaboration to meet the challenges facing the Lake and communities.”
That project also is made possible through partnership with the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, which administers water supplies throughout the Weber River watershed, including the Ogden River. Using the extensive monitoring and delivery infrastructure managed by the District, the water leased through this program will be tracked and measured as it reaches critical habitats within the Great Salt Lake boundary. Coordination with the District on projects like this ensures that water is delivered exactly where it is needed.
As Great Salt Lake dwindled to record lows in recent years, the agricultural community has faced mounting pressure on its water consumption and has been looked to as possible partners in addressing challenges to Great Salt Lake.
“Farmers care just as much about Great Salt Lake as anyone, and we’re doing our part to help keep water in the lake,” said White, who had the initial idea to dedicate his saved water to Great Salt Lake.
“Conservation easements like this might not work for every farm, but investing in solutions that keep farmers farming and also send water to the lake can inspire others across the agricultural sector to lean into creative partnerships and implement new ideas,” said Spencer Gibbons, Chief Executive Officer of the Utah Farm Bureau.
The change application for the water transaction is still pending and is anticipated to be approved in 2026.
"We are grateful to see continued progress as we work together to protect and preserve the lake," Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed said. "Every contribution, large or small, plays an important part in our ongoing efforts to support the lake."
Visuals for media use:
Interview (Caption: Bill White, Huntsville Abbey Farm Owner. Video:GSLWET/Audubon)
B-roll (Caption: Huntsvilley Abbey Farm. Video:Summit Land Conservancy)
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Media Contacts:
Shaela Adams, Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust
shaela.adams@audubon.org; 801-809-5805
Caitlin Willard, Summit Land Conservancy
caitlin@wesaveland.org; 435-649-9884
Photo: Shaela Adams/Audubon