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Great Salt Lake Institute
Our Mission
The mission of the Great Salt Lake Institute (GSLI) is to connect people to Great Salt Lake through research and education.
Our Story
The Great Salt Lake Institute was established in 2008 with support from Westminster University and an external grant, allowing the institute to hire a coordinator, involve student employees, and purchase equipment to reach out to the community in a real way. It began by running community field trips and developing high school and college curriculum on GSL. Shortly thereafter, the institute created a GSLI summer undergraduate research program.
Meet the Team
Great Salt Lake Institute
Bonnie Baxter, Ph.D
Professor
Georgie Corkery
Coordinator II
David Parrott, Ph.D
Associate Professor
Resources
Great Salt Lake
As one of the extreme ecosystems of the world, where life is test to its limits, Great Salt Lake provides new territory for exploration and stewardship.
Spiral Jetty
Great Salt Lake Institute is committed to protect and value the Spiral Jetty as a unique, world-renowned artwork, and as a place where we can conduct valuable research on Great Salt Lake.
Teacher Resources
Great Salt Lake Institute supports field trips, teacher training, and curriculum development centered on Great Salt Lake.
Webinars
Publications
Director of Great Salt Lake Institute, Dr. Bonnie Baxter, and Jaimi Butler edited
and published Great Salt Lake Biology. This book includes many Westminster faculty and students as authors. This is the
first book ever centered on Great Salt Lake biology. Authors explore the lake from
the microbial diversity to the invertebrates and the birds who eat them. Unusual perspectives
are included, including the impact of tar seeps on the lake biology and why Great
Salt Lake may help us search for life on Mars. The role of human perceptions and our
effect on the biology of the lake is also considered.
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Director of Great Salt Lake Institute, Dr. Bonnie Baxter, and former coordinator,
Jaimi Butler, published the children’s book The Great Great Salt Lake Monster Mystery, which follows children as they look for the fabled Great Salt Lake Monster while discovering
brine shrimp, birds, salt, and much more.
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Dr. Bonnie Baxter published The Great Salt Lake Food Chains: Fragility and Resiliency, which explains the trophic structure of Great Salt Lake food chains and resulting
impacts from recent years of a shrinking lake and corresponding increases in salinity.
Moving from the foundational organisms to brine shrimp, flies, and ten million birds
reliant on the lake, the book illuminates how salinity and desiccation can affect
each level of a complex ecosystem.