Devin Curtis

English 2010

Professor Katy Wittingham

Narrative Profile Project

Since my chosen local issue is the Great Salt Lake

drying up , and because I love the Great Salt Lake, I am
going to do a research project on Jamie Barnes our
Forestry, Fire and State Lands Director.

Jamie Barnes serves as the Utah State Forester and

Director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State
Lands.

The Division administers numerous forestry programs, is responsible for wildfire

management on state and private lands, and oversees Utah’s state sovereign lands.
Prior to her appointment as State Forester and the division’s director in August 2021,
Jamie managed the division’s sovereign lands program.

Jamie has a diverse background working with state,

local, and federal government and a variety of
stakeholders to forge collaborative solutions to
policy challenges. She began her career in the legal
system, working in the private law sector. There,
she gained experience and knowledge in criminal
and civil law. She started with the Division in 2011
as a paralegal, focusing on complex legal issues.
Jamie holds a master’s of natural resource degree
from the University of Idaho with an undergraduate
degree in criminal justice from Weber State University.
The great Salt Lake is an invaluable source of wealth that the natural Utah outdoors has
to offer.

Economic Impact: The Great Salt Lake contributes $1.3 Billion dollars to Utah’s
Economy each year. It also provides over 7,700 jobs! It also supports the Ski Industry
which is worth over 20,000 jobs and another $1.2 Billion dollars! The Great Salt Lake is
also a bountiful source of natural fertilizers like sulfate potash. The Great Salt Lake also
provides roughly 14% of the world’s magnesium! The Great Salt LAke also provides
40% of the world's brine shrimp eggs which are critically important to aquaculture.

Environmental Impact: The Great Salt Lake Responsible for 5-10% of the snow that
falls south and east of the lake. Lake effect snow extends the ski season by 5 to 7
weeks. 90% of the dust comes from dry lake beds. Airborne mineral dust increases
hospital visits for respiratory diseases.

Ecological Impact: 10 Million Birds visit Great Salt Lake annually as an essential
stopover and breeding ground. Provides a critical link in the Pacific Flyway for over 330
species of birds. Supports 80% of Utah’s valuable wetlands.

General Impact and Info: The Great Salt Lake needs our help. It has always been
here, and with proper care, it always will be. But it’s never been under greater threat.
The Great Salt Lake has lost half its water due to our usage. Due to our heavy
consumption, the water level is down 11 feet. Lower water levels could cost our
economy up to $32 billion. We divert 871 billion gallons of water each year before it
enters the lake. Anticipated water demand could lower the lake another 10 feet.

It’s our turn to protect the lake. The benefits of the lake often go unnoticed. But if it were
gone, it’d be impossible to miss the consequences. It’s our turn to protect the lake. Work
with state and local government leaders to get water to the lake. Encourage new ideas
and policies that will help us with water conservation. Contact your legislators and share
your concerns. Ask for optimized water use. Reduce water use in your household.

My questions: Some of the questions I'm going to be asking for my research are as
follows:

What efforts are being done to help save the Great Salt Lake?

What can we do to help?

How did she get to the position she is in?

How does the Great Salt Lake drying up impact us?

Sources:

Utah.gov leadership page

Forestry, Fire and State Lands contact info

Nature Conservancy

Fact Sheet

Jamie's Twitter

Goals and choices review:

I think the most significant choice I made for the project was the decision to reach out to
my local state official whom I was writing about over email to ask them a few questions
personally. While I did not end up using everything from our interaction it was very
beneficial to my overall writing and focus of the paper. I thought that I would not be able
to contact them but by using the state resources website I was able to find some contact
information to help get started on my paper.

I made a decision to draw as many personal connections as I could for this writing so
that I would have some proper motivation. I thought about my personal experiences that
I could tie in to my writing. I also wanted to see my issue from another perspective
which is why I chose to reach out to the person I was writing about over email.

The information that I gathered and the writing I came up with were good but I think I
could have made some improvements if we had more communication about a rough
draft and a final draft. I kind of just submitted one draft and that was it. I think that if I
had more communication with classmates or my teacher I may have had a better grasp
of what my end project should look like.

Unfortunately for everyone Zoom chose to have problems which really threw a wrench
into all of our plans.