The Great Basin

The Great Basin is a place of intense beauty. Vast, expansive spaces punctuated by linear, rocky mountain ranges. It is the land of basin and range where few people live, and the primary landowner is the federal government. Bombing ranges, bio-weaponry, nuclear test sites and the training base for the Enola Gay occupy large sections of the Great Basin. Mining operations – copper, potash, and salt – deplete the land of its resources. BLM, with a mission of land use rather than protection, has few regulations on use. The Great Salt Lake is facing the possibility of ecosystem collapse due to the Salt Lake City metropolitan areas over consumption of water and the resulting increase in salinization of the lake.