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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's drought situation greatly improved this winter largely because of a record-breaking snowpack collected in the state's mountains; however, Hilary Arens is among those who are quick to say that one incredible season isn't a climate solution.
"While we did have a record year and the (Great Salt Lake) is filling, slowly, ... one year of snow is an impact of weather and not changing climate," said Arens, director of sustainability and water resources at Snowbird Resort, speaking at an Outdoor Retailer panel on climate issues Wednesday morning.
Climate change continues to be an issue that weighs heavy on the minds' of those in the outdoors industry and many communities, whether that's smaller snowpacks, lower reservoir levels or a host of other things. But finding solutions to the issue has been contentious and political for decades, all while researchers pinpoint the growing concerns with the amount of carbon emissions sent into the atmosphere.
It's why Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said she believes it's going to take collaboration from everyone to find a solution to the problem.
"We need to depoliticize that as much as possible to be able to be productive," she said during the event.
The mayor acknowledges getting there is tricky, though. For instance, she continues to refer to Salt Lake City as a "blue dot" in a red state, meaning that Democrats and Republicans may not see eye-to-eye on the issue or solutions to the issue.
At the same time, some of those who are passionate about the issue have broken off from the discussion. While it wasn't specifically mentioned during the panel discussion, several major outdoor brands like Patagonia, REI and the North Face are still boycotting Outdoor Retailer over Utah's efforts to combat changes to a pair of national monuments in southern Utah.
"We need to stay at the table and not get mad and walk away," Mendenhall added. "I learned the ropes, early on with air quality work, that building a relationship, believing that there is truly more that you agree on than you disagree upon and wanting to know and care about an individual as a human being is a really good beginning to then talking about harder issues, where there may be conflict."
Climate is becoming a little less of a divisive political issue than in the past, partly because of the conversations held in Utah.
Utah Rep. John Curtis founded the Conservative Climate Caucus in 2021, a coalition composed of dozens of U.S. Republican lawmakers who seek to find and fund "cheaper, reliable and cleaner energy" through innovative technologies that help reduce emissions. The group held its second annual summit last week, where it outlined a more conservative approach to climate change.
"I think this is very fundamentally important for conservatives to be able to articulate that we care deeply about this earth, we care deeply about leaving it better than we found it," he said at the summit. "What's been missing in the past is we've been very good at telling everybody what we don't like, and we've not been so good at telling people what we would like to do."
Looking at business innovation
There's still a discord on several climate topics, including how to reduce carbon emissions. One thing that the caucus and Mendenhall seem to agree on is that they believe business innovation can serve as a major player in addressing climate change.
To that end, the mayor pointed to the hundreds of businesses set up inside the Salt Palace as part of the solution, arguing that start-ups are able to come up with new innovations that change product norms. Many new Outdoor Retailer brands tout having more climate-positive manufacturing practices or that their product harnesses alternate energy sources.
I learned the ropes early on with air quality work that building a relationship, believing that there is truly more that you agree on than you disagree upon and wanting to know and care about an individual as a human being is a really good beginning to then talking about harder issues, where there may be conflict.
–Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall
"These small, newer companies with new ideas, new technologies are going to impact the way that the big companies — that should be here right now — do business," Mendenhall said. "They're challenging that system and it's good. It's good for the ecosystem and it's good for this economy."
It's not just new start-ups either. Ski resorts, which normally compete against each other for visitors, are now finding ways to tackle the issue together, too. Phoebe Mills, the vice president of programming and camps for Woodward, explained that there are several resorts in a collaboration that regularly meets to share environmental initiatives and best environmental practices.
Other ways of tackling the issue
Of course, there are other ways to get involved without major changes. Wednesday's discussion happened a day after the Salt Lake Chamber and a pair of environmental groups launched their 14th annual Clear the Air Challenge, which asks Utahns to choose alternatives to driving alone in July as a way to reduce vehicle emissions. Vehicle emissions account for nearly half of the poor air quality along the Wasatch Front.
Wendy Fisher, executive director of Utah Open Lands, adds there are other ways to help beyond the basics most people have heard many times before. One of those is cleaning off clothing that may have picked up invasive species seeds, so certain plant species don't continue to grow in areas they don't belong.
"Invasive species are actually a contributor to wildfires, and they certainly out-compete some of our native vegetation — and we don't want to see that," she said.
This year's Outdoor Retailer Summer Market even ended with a cleanup project, where volunteers helped remove trash and invasive species from the Wheadon Farmland Preserve in Draper. The event also focused on the importance of restoring native plant species.
Fisher says that, yes, it does take time for these types of practices to make a difference. Yet she believes people can make a difference, especially as more people come together for a greater cause.
She references one particular Utah Open Lands project as an example of the time it takes for change to happen. The nonprofit began work to protect a native habitat for the declining bobolink songbird species near Kamas a little more than a decade ago despite seeing no signs of the bird. It wasn't until this spring that the group finally came across one.
"What we do does matter," she said. "We can course-correct."
