City Watch

Spencer Cox declared July 2 Wildland Firefighter Day in an effort to recognize the work firefighters do to protect homes and forests in the state. “Our wildland firefighters are heroes. They face incredible risks to keep us safe and protect the places we love,” Cox said in a statement. “We owe them our gratitude, and that starts with doing our part. This summer, use fireworks wisely, follow local rules, and help prevent the next fire in Utah.

When are fireworks allowed in Utah? 

Pioneer Day is one of four holidays where setting off fireworks is allowed in Utah for a period of time. The other three are Independence Day, New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year’s Eve. 

Typically there’s a two-day buffer around the holiday itself. For instance, this month fireworks are permitted between July 2-5, and July 22-25, according to the State Fire Marshal. 

Where can you set off fireworks? 

Even with that window, fireworks are still prohibited in much of the state. Utah is currently under State 1 fire restrictions, which bans fireworks on all state and federally managed land, and all unincorporated land (land that is not within a city’s jurisdiction). 

That means no fireworks are allowed in state parks, national parks, Bureau of Land Management land, national forest or other public land. 

Most of the state’s main population centers also have some kind of restriction in place. But that doesn’t mean you can’t set off fireworks, and Utah code actually prevents cities from enacting a citywide ban of state-approved explosives in most cases. 

Instead, cites can only restrict fireworks “in certain areas with hazardous environmental conditions,” which includes mountainous areas covered in brush, forest or dry grass, areas near a river, ravine or wash, undeveloped wildland or agricultural land and more.  

That’s still a pretty broad definition, so most municipalities are able to ban fireworks in the majority of land within their borders. 

Salt Lake City, for instance, bans fireworks everywhere except for two stretches between Glendale Park and Interstate 80, and between 900 West and 900 East, south of South Temple.  

Draper bans fireworks everywhere except for a small section between State Street and 1300 East. And St. George bans fireworks in most of the city, except for the more densely populated neighborhoods away from open space and major roadways. 

State law requires municipalities make their firework restrictions easily accessible, and provide residents with an interactive map.

Curious where fireworks are permitted in your city? See the State Fire Marshal’s list of restrictions. 

For Salt Lake County-specific information, see Unified Fire Authority’s interactive map. 

Fire danger in Utah

This year’s holiday comes as most of the state is either in severe or moderate drought, which means fire danger is high. That’s the reasoning behind the fire restrictions, and officials from cities, counties and the state are urging Utahns to celebrate responsibly. 

Despite some recent monsoonal moisture giving relief to parts of the state, northern Utah is still abnormally dry. Plus, monsoons can sometimes bring dry lightning and high winds, a near-perfect storm for fire danger. 

Most fires this year — 336 of 448 — have been human caused, resulting in more than 1,000 acres burned.

This story was originally published by Utah News Dispatch. Read the full article here.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kyle Dunphey covers politics, public safety and the environment for Utah News Dispatch. He was named Best Newspaper Reporter by the Utah Society of Professional Journalists in 2023 for his work on crime and immigration at the Deseret News.

This month most counties in Utah will oversee primary elections for local offices ahead of the Nov. 4 general election. With a portion of a new election law now effective, clerks will have less time to receive mail-in ballots. But, those planning to vote in advance can still cast their votes in various methods.

Every county — except for Daggett, Grand, Morgan, Piute, Rich and Uintah — have at least one primary race for mayors offices and city councils happening on Aug. 12, according to the Utah Lt. Governor’s Office. Utah County residents are also electing candidates for school board.

“A lot of these people that we’re electing at the local level are making decisions on things like roads, parks, schools in some cases, and zoning, and permits, and libraries, and police and fire, and setting your tax rates and fees,” Cambria Cantrell, elections coordinator at the lieutenant governor’s office said. “So local elections matter as much as, if not, sometimes more than any other.”

The deadline to register to receive a by-mail ballot has passed. However, voters can still send in their ballots by mail. Unlike other elections, there isn’t a specific last day to postmark a ballot, but Cantrell warns, voters should send them in as soon as possible.

That’s because a phase of HB300, an election law the Utah Legislature passed this year, now requires clerks to receive any votes sent by mail by 8 p.m. on election night. 

“We are encouraging people, if they plan to mail their ballot, to do it early, just to allow plenty of time for it to get through the Postal Service system,” Cantrell said.

Dropboxes in every city across the state are also a good option to submit the ballots that may not make it on time in the mail. 

This is also the first election under HB69, a 2025 law banning clerks from accessing and disclosing voter records for personal purposes.

Utahns may also notice a change in their ballot envelope design. Utah County and other jurisdictions that hadn’t made the change yet implemented privacy tabs to cover personal information so that only elections officials are able to see it.

In another change, while it isn’t required yet, some counties started adding a spot where voters can provide the last four digits of their social security or driver’s license numbers for verification, a phase of HB300 that will officially become effective statewide in 2029.

Voters who are registered to vote but haven’t received their ballots in their mail have until Tuesday, Aug. 5, to request one, Cantrell said. The deadline for voters using the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act is Aug. 11. 

Same-day registration is also available for those voting in person. Voters may visit the state’s election website to read more about the candidates running for public office in their cities. Early voting times vary depending on the county. 

Municipal primaries like these are generally less popular among voters. Turnout in most counties is often in the 20% to 30% range, Cantrell said. That’s a little lower than turnout in primary elections for statewide offices, which last year was in the 46% to 47% range.

Because some races will be defined in primaries, state election officials encourage Utahns to participate.

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This article was originally published by Utah News Dispatch

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Alixel Cabrera covers the status of diverse Utah communities, growth, infrastructure and education for Utah News Dispatch.

As wildfires across the state intensify, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declared a 30-day state of emergency starting on Thursday. 

The order allows the government to use all available state resources “to protect lives, homes, livestock and drinking-water supplies threatened by this year’s severe fire season,” according to a news release. It also authorizes the deployment of the Utah National Guard if needed, and streamlines assistance for local governments.

In an executive order, the governor cited severe drought as one cause exacerbating wildfire hazards. As of Thursday, the National Weather Service had identified 22 red flag warning days in Utah, a caution used when extreme fire behavior is likely, including a combination of high winds, low humidity and dry conditions, posing a high risk of wildfires.

“Heroic efforts are underway as firefighters and emergency personnel work around the clock to save homes and neighborhoods,” Cox said in a statement. “We are mobilizing every tool at our disposal to support them and keep Utahns safe.” 

This year Utah has recorded 718 fires, which have burned nearly 140,000 acres, according to the order. Over 100,000 of those burnt acres were due to the four largest active wildfires in the state. The cost of fighting them has exceeded $103 million. 

“Shifting winds, abundant dry fuels, and fast-moving flames continue to threaten the surrounding community. The governor will continue to urge residents to follow evacuation orders and stay clear of the area so first responders can operate safely and effectively,” Cox’s office said in the release.

About 70% of wildfires in the state have been human-caused. Cox advised Utahns to reduce sparks from everyday activities.

This article was originally published by Utah News Dispatch

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A judge has dismissed a lawsuit from environmentalists that argued Utah’s now-failed petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to gain control of millions of acres of federal land was unconstitutional, which would have prevented the state from bringing a similar case forward in the future.  

Last week, 3rd District Court Judge Thaddeus May dismissed the lawsuit from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, siding with the state in a case that stems from Utah’s 2024 petition to wrest control of 18.5 million acres of Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, land. 

But since the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Utah’s case, May said the environmental group’s argument is now moot. 

“The non-existence of that suit is fatal,” May wrote, while also finding the group’s “statements about any future action to be too vague to be redressable.”

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, or SUWA, disagreed with the ruling — since Utah leaders, including Gov. Spencer Cox, have suggested they will try to re-file the lawsuit in a lower court, they still have a case, the group said. 

Utah filed its lawsuit with the country’s high court in August of last year, arguing that it’s unconstitutional for the BLM to hold “unappropriated land” — land that lacks a formal designation — in perpetuity. Unappropriated land does not include national parks, monuments, or forests. It’s often used for cattle grazing or wildlife habitat, with much of it found in Utah’s west desert. 

SUWA filed a lawsuit in December arguing the petition violated the Utah Constitution. Utah, the constitution reads, must “forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands.” 

But not long after SUWA filed its lawsuit, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Utah’s case, which the state was attempting to bring directly before the high court. State leaders, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, said they might try filing a similar lawsuit in a lower court. 

SUWA then filed an amended complaint, based on Cox and other leaders’ comments, in an effort to prevent the state from trying to revive its lawsuit. 

In a hearing earlier this month, May heard arguments for and against keeping the lawsuit going. During the hearing, May seemed to suggest it would be easier for SUWA to sue Utah once they actually re-filed their complaint. 

“If the suit is unknown, why is it not better to wait for that suit to be filed in federal court and then have a reaction? Why does this court have to preempt that decision or that lawsuit?” May asked. 

In a statement, SUWA’s legal director Steve Bloch said he disagreed with the ruling, and was considering “potential next steps.” 

“We’re disappointed with today’s decision but grateful that the true intent of the state’s lawsuit has been made clear: to force the sale of millions of acres of public lands to the highest bidder and not to acquire these lands for the state, as its deliberately misleading media campaign suggests,” Bloch said. “It’s our position that with the repeated statements made by Governor Cox — doubling down on the state’s intent to refile its lawsuit in federal district court — Judge May had what he needed to proceed with our case and conclude that Utah’s constitution prohibits the state from bringing a lawsuit like this in the first place.”

This article was originally published by Utah News Dispatch.

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See more stories like this and all of our City Watch coverage. And while you’re here, why not subscribe and get six annual issues of Salt Lake magazine’s curated guide to the best of life in Utah?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kyle Dunphey covers politics, public safety and the environment for Utah News Dispatch. He was named Best Newspaper Reporter by the Utah Society of Professional Journalists in 2023 for his work on crime and immigration at the Deseret News.

All of Utah is now in either moderate or severe drought, which is causing the state’s lakes and reservoirs to decline at an abnormally fast rate. 

According to a report this week from the Utah Division of Water Resources, the state’s reservoir levels dropped by about 10% between June 1 to July 1—levels typically drop by about 2% during that timeframe. 

“Unfortunately, our storage is declining at a concerning rate,” said Candice Hasenyager, director at the Utah Division of Water Resources, during a news conference at the Jordanelle Reservoir on Monday. “This dramatic decrease in storage is a clear signal that we need to watch how we use our water more closely than ever before.” 

Abnormally dry weather, coupled with an underwhelming spring runoff season, have resulted in all of the state now experiencing some kind of drought. The desert regions in eastern and western Utah are now in severe drought, which means the air quality is worsened by dust, cattle have inadequate water, and pasture and streams and ponds are drying out, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. 

Higher elevation areas in central Utah are in moderate drought, which limits feed for cattle, negatively impacts soil moisture and begins to dry out natural springs. 

That’s resulted in a statewide decline in reservoir levels. Earlier this month, almost all of northern Utah’s reservoirs were above 90% capacity — now, Porcupine, Jordanelle, Strawberry and Currant Creek reservoirs are the only bodies of water in Utah above 90% capacity. 

And some reservoirs in the south are now at meager levels. Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the country, is at 32% capacity; Yuba Reservoir is at 20%; Piute Reservoir is at 22%: and Panguitch Lake is at 50%. 

Statewide, the average reservoir level is 75%. 

Meanwhile, the Great Salt Lake is currently at about 4,192 feet in elevation, several feet below 4,198, the minimum for what’s considered a healthy range. Lake levels peaked in April at about 4,193 feet, and according to the Division of Water Resources, will continue to decline until temperatures drop and the irrigation season ends this fall. 

Some water providers have now imposed restrictions on water usage and irrigation — to see if your provider is enforcing restrictions, visit the Utah Department of Natural Resources’ website.

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See more stories like this and all of our City Watch coverage. And while you’re here, why not subscribe and get six annual issues of Salt Lake magazine’s curated guide to the best of life in Utah?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kyle Dunphey covers politics, public safety and the environment for Utah News Dispatch. He was named Best Newspaper Reporter by the Utah Society of Professional Journalists in 2023 for his work on crime and immigration at the Deseret News.

The small town of Bluff in southeastern Utah—near several national monuments including Bears Ears—has been granted a new international dark sky designation. 

Obtaining a designation from the global group DarkSky International is no easy task, according to state tourism officials. It was a rigorous, yearslong process that, for Bluff, involved not just the adoption of an exterior lighting ordinance years ago to require homes and businesses use night-sky-friendly lighting, but also volunteer sky brightness monitors and community stargazing events. 

“We’re so proud to receive this designation,” Bluff Mayor Ann Leppanen said in a prepared statement included in a news release issued by DarkSky International, a global nonprofit devoted to reducing light pollution and protecting natural night skies. 

The mayor added that designating Bluff — home to a population of about 300 people — was “one of the first things our community wanted to do” after they voted to incorporate Bluff as a town in 2018. 

“The dark skies over Bluff are more than beautiful — they’re part of who we are,” Leppanen said. “Earning this designation reflects years of dedication from our residents and a deep respect for the natural world.”

To achieve the designation, the Bears Ears Partnership, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the natural and cultural landscapes of Bears Ears National Monument, agreed to provide at least two dark-sky educational programs per year, as well as conduct sky quality monitoring on a seasonal basis. 

“Since 2016, community-led star parties have helped inspire reverence and respect for the night sky,” DarkSky International said in its announcement. “In 2024, the Town of Bluff solidified a formal partnership with Bears Ears Partnership (BEP) that helped push the town over the finish line. BEP now leads ongoing education and seasonal sky monitoring, ensuring Bluff meets DarkSky’s requirements for years to come.”

Bluff was officially awarded the designation on June 24. DarkSky International described it as a “prestigious certification” that “recognizes the dedicated efforts of Bears Ears Partnership, Town of Bluff, and community advocates committed to protecting the natural night environment.” 

“Bluff now joins a select group of communities around the world working to preserve the natural night environment,” the DarkSky International announcement said. “This achievement reflects Bluff’s deep respect for the land, its wildlife, and its people — now and for generations to come.”

Bluff is now one of 57 certified dark sky communities, according to DarkSky’s website. It joins five other Utah communities on that list, including Springdale near Zion National Park, Torrey near Capitol Reef National Park, Moab and Castle Valley near Arches National Park, and Helper in Carbon County. 

Utah, with its five national parks and 46 state parks, is also home to dozens of other dark sky designation types, including 27 accredited international dark sky places and 18 dark sky parks. Timpanogous Cave National Monument has been designated one of 13 urban night sky places, and Rainbow Bridge National Monument is one of 23 certified dark sky sanctuaries. 

The perks of a dark sky designation? The certification raises awareness of light pollution while helping agencies achieve “long-term conservation targets and connecting people to nature, according to DarkSky International’s website. The bragging rights also help serve “as an economic driver by fostering tourism and local economic activity.” 

To celebrate Bluff’s designation, the town — in partnership with groups including Business Owners of Bluff, Bears Ears Partnership and the Bluff Community Foundation — will be holding a Dark Sky Festival this fall, on Nov. 14-15. 

For more information about Bluff’s designation and the upcoming festival, visit Bluff’s website.

This story was originally published by Utah News Dispatch, read the full article here.

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Kane County Hospital, in Kanab, is one of the state’s most remote hospitals. It’s the furthest south, close to the Arizona border, and it’s more than an hour away from St. George, the nearest major city in the state. 

Though it will likely take years for the full ramifications of the slashes to Medicaid benefits and other health care spending cuts included in congressional Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” to come to fruition, Utah Hospital Association officials are concerned about what they could mean for the state’s health care system. In particular, they worry about rural hospitals, like the one in Kanab. 

Matthew McCullough, rural hospital improvement director for the Utah Hospital Association, posed a hypothetical. 

“Worst case scenario, they have to reduce services and they get rid of labor and delivery, and they close their maternity services,” he said, which he noted is usually the first service to “get cut, because it’s not a revenue generating service.” 

So if labor and delivery services get cut, expecting mothers in that area would then have to drive more than an hour to St. George to the nearest hospital equipped to deliver their babies. 

“An hour is an eternity if you’re going into labor,” McCullough said. 

Kanab’s not alone. “A lot of communities in Utah, if they lost their hospital, they’re looking at an hour drive to the next location for emergency care,” he said. 

For those living along the Wasatch Front, imagine needing to drive up to Logan to get to the nearest emergency room. 

“That’s the kind of real world impact,” he said. “Health care isn’t about hospital finances. It’s about caring for people.”

Earlier this week after the megabill’s passage, the Utah Hospital Association issued a prepared statement warning of the bill’s impacts to hospitals’ ability to deliver quality care without increasing prices. 

“While we support efforts to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid system, we are deeply concerned about the magnitude of the Medicaid cuts included in this legislation,” the Utah Hospital Association said.

“These cuts will significantly impact the ability of Utah hospitals to deliver high-quality care in our communities and to keep healthcare costs down for patients,” the association continued. “We are disappointed that the Senate’s proposed reductions were ultimately signed into law. The result will likely be reduced access to care, higher insurance costs, and increased pressure on Utah’s state budget.”

The megabill pushed by President Donald Trump included about $1 trillion in total Medicaid cuts over 10 years, according to KFF, a nonprofit health policy research organization. That could result in a $4 billion to $7 billion loss in federal dollars for Utah, according to that analysis. 

However, that analysis did not include the $50 billion provision that was added into the bill to create the Rural Health Transformation Program to provide state grants meant to help offset the impacts to rural hospitals. McCullough said that could help — the program is expected to provide about $100 million to Utah each year for five years — but it won’t fully offset the cuts. And it also depends on how Utah lawmakers decide to divvy up those funds. 

A separate analysis by KFF estimated federal Medicaid spending in rural areas across the country is estimated to decrease by $155 billion over 10 years. In Utah, KFF estimated a total loss of $872 million in that time period.

While that’s a significant number, it pales in comparison to other states that have larger rural populations. Kentucky, for example, is expected to see the most dramatic decline, at an estimated drop of $12 billion. 

Impact to rural hospitals

Rural hospitals, in particular, are expected to be hit the hardest. 

“Rural communities have a higher proportion of their population that are on Medicaid,” McCullough said. “But, you know, these people are our farmers and ranchers. They grow our food, produce our energy. And they rely on Medicaid, and the hospitals and clinics that serve on them rely on Medicaid to pay them for the services they provide.” 

Utah has 21 rural hospitals. Of those, 13 are “critical access hospitals,” meaning they’re designated by Medicare to ensure health care access in remote areas. To have that status, they must have no more than 25 inpatient beds, be located at least 35 miles from other hospitals, and provide 24/7 emergency care. 

Of Utah’s 21 rural hospitals, nine are also known as the “Rural 9,” or part of the Utah Rural Independent Hospital Network, a nonprofit that formed to help financially stabilize those hospitals and improve their care in rural areas. Larger health systems, including Intermountain Health and others, own Utah’s other rural hospitals, which helps keep them financially secure. 

Those not owned by larger health networks, like the “Rural 9,” said McCullough (who is also the network’s director), are likely the most at risk of losing services due to Medicaid cuts — though he emphasized that it’s not all “doom and gloom” for several reasons. 

First of all, he said, “there’s no panic,” among rural hospitals right now because the cuts are not “immediate.” Hospital officials are concerned, he said, but it will likely take three to five years for the cuts to take effect and show their “real toll on hospitals.”

Second, Utah’s rural hospitals are generally in better financial positions than many in other states. 

Even before the “big, beautiful bill’s” passage, more than 700 rural U.S. hospitals — one-third of all of rural hospitals in the country — were at risk of closure due to “serious financial problems,” according to an analysis by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. At the time, Utah had zero hospitals at risk of closure as of June 2025, though it did have six that reported losses on services, according to that report. 

But now that Trump has signed the “big, beautiful bill” into law, state officials are still unpacking its impacts to Utah’s hospitals, and it’s not yet clear exactly how much revenue Utah hospitals will lose due to the Medicaid cuts and other provisions in the bill. 

“We really don’t know yet,” McCullough said, adding that the Utah Hospital Association is trying to come up with a “model” to project what the impact will be hospital by hospital. He noted that those figures will likely depend on what Utah lawmakers decide to do with the state’s Medicaid programs in reaction to the cuts. 

However, because of the sheer size of the federal cuts, he said it’s likely to mean a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for Utah hospitals.

This article was originally published by Utah News Dispatch, read the full story here.

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Even though home prices in Utah have grown less than 1% since 2022, Utah in 2024 ranked as the ninth most expensive housing market in the nation. 

Statewide, the median sales price of a single-family home hit $547,700 in the fourth quarter of 2024. 

That’s according to a new report published Tuesday, marking another yearly iteration of the “State of the State’s Housing Market” published by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. 

The report, written by Jim Wood, senior research fellow and one of the state’s leading housing market experts, paints the latest picture of Utah’s housing market for 2024. 

“High but stable housing prices” underscored Utah’s housing market that year, he wrote. “Stable prices, however, offered little relief to potential homebuyers as high interest rates and housing prices excluded many households from homeownership.” 

His big takeaway from last year? Utah’s housing marketplace — for both homebuyers and renters — is seeing a “correction” from the COVID-19 era, when low interest rates and new remote work opportunities sparked a homebuying spree, especially in the West. 

“We’re living in the shadow of that,” Wood told Utah News Dispatch in an interview Tuesday, adding that when prices skyrocket more than 40% in two years like they did from 2020 to 2022, some level of correction is “inevitable.” 

But the housing market isn’t imploding like it after the 2008 bubble popped. What’s happening now isn’t as dramatic of a correction. Price increases have slowed — but they’re still every so slightly up. Home building and apartment construction has declined after a record home building boom in 2021. It’s all leveling off as interest rates remain high, squeezing affordability for homebuyers, renters and developers. 

“We haven’t seen housing prices go down substantially like some thought would occur,” Wood said. Yes, prices dipped slightly in 2023, he said, by less than 3%, but they came back up slightly in 2024. 

That 1% increase since 2022 reflects a “very stable” market, Wood said. 

“But we’re still (seeing), unfortunately, very high housing prices,” he said. Today’s high interest rates, hovering around 6.6%, combined with high prices, “introduces into this market a more extreme level of (lack of) affordability. … It’s still a huge issue.” 

In Utah’s five largest counties — Salt Lake, Weber, Davis, Utah and Washington — housing prices “are seriously to severely unaffordable,” when comparing median sales prices to median household income, Wood wrote in the report. 

Utah’s housing affordability level has only slightly improved from 2022, but not much. In 2022, the state’s “median multiple ratio” — which measures the severity of housing affordability by dividing the median sales price of a home by median household income — was a record 5.7, or “severely unaffordable,” according to the report. Last year, that dipped slightly to 5.1 after housing price growth leveled off, but a ratio of 5.1 is still considered “severely unaffordable.” 

Consider that Utah’s median multiple ratio was 3.5 just over 10 years ago, in 2014. That ratio was considered “moderately unaffordable.” 

And while rental rates showed little to no change in 2024 (and even dipped in some areas), the average rental rate of all unit types in Salt Lake County increased from $1,582 a month in 2023 to $1,593 in 2024. That’s a less than 1% decrease — but came after rent prices jumped 20.7% in 2021. 

As for Utah’s housing shortage? It’s expected to persist since construction has contracted. About 22,000 residential units were permitted in 2024, the lowest number since 2016, according to the report. 

“A drop in apartment development accounted for 90% of this decline,” Wood wrote, noting that apartment unit permits fell from 7,622 in 2023 to 4,801 in 2024 — which he described as “the lowest level since the Great Recession.”  

However, that’s after the “apartment development boom peaked in 2021, at 14,143 units, leading to an overbuilt market with higher vacancy rates and, in some cases, lower rents,” he wrote. 

Today, Salt Lake County has a rental inventory of 160,000 units. Only 1,283 apartment units were permitted in 2024 in that county, making up less than 1% of its inventory. That’s not on pace with 3% growth, so inventory continues to pace behind demand. 

“We probably need at least 4,000 or 5,000 (units) if we have consistent growth in our net immigration and kids going from living with their parents and form households,” Wood said. 

Housing affordability could be impacting Utah’s growth

With supply continuing to pace behind projected demand, Wood predicted Utah will continue to face high prices and a limited inventory. 

“To get an equilibrium, good balance is really tough,” he said. “We’re in a period right now where we had a ton of supply, so the builders cut it off, we got no supply, demand continues to grow, and then by the time the supply is induced, you know it’s a year or two too late so we have a tight market.” 

However, Wood noted Utah is feeling the impacts of its housing affordability issues. 

“Utah’s growth is slowing down. Employment growth and demographic growth are both just drifting lower and lower,” he said. Last month, Utah’s job growth increased an estimated 2.5% year over year, down from more than 3% job growth in 2019, according to state estimates. 

Combined with other factors including slowing population growth, Wood said that and demand for lower-priced homes like apartments, townhomes and condominiums show that the state’s housing affordability issues could be having a real impact on its growth. 

“Now the question is, why? Why is employment growth slowing down in Utah? A couple of us here at the institute, we’ve discussed that, and we think it has a lot to do with housing prices,” he said. 

Anecdotally, Wood said he personally knows of people who have quit their jobs and moved out of the state in search of lower-priced homes. 

“We’ve got more people leaving than we’ve had years past because they couldn’t get into the housing market, or they wanted a bigger home and it was too expensive here,” he said. “So we’re probably losing people that we didn’t years ago, and we’re not getting as many coming because of high housing prices.” 

This story was originally published by Utah News Dispatch, read the full piece here.

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Drought conditions across Utah continue to worsen, which officials say is leading to lower reservoir levels, heightened fire risk and an increased demand for water. 

The state experienced unusually high spring temperatures and an average (in some areas, below average) snowpack, which led to a quick runoff season. 

Now, with summer underway, more than 90% of the state is either in moderate or severe drought, with some high elevation areas in central Utah classified as abnormally dry. 

“Temperatures have soared, and with that comes a natural increase in outdoor watering,” said Utah Division of Water Resources Director Candice Hasenyager. “We want our lawns and gardens to look nice and there are ways to do this through smart planning and new technologies that save water.”

According to the division, reservoir levels around the state remain at about 8% higher than normal for this time of the year. In northern Utah, Strawberry, Deer Creek, Jordanelle, Rockport, Smith and Morehouse, Echo, East Canyon and Pineview reservoirs are all at about 90% capacity or higher. 

As of Wednesday, the Great Salt Lake was at about 4,192 feet in elevation, slightly below the state’s “ecologically healthy” level of 4,198 feet. Utah Lake was at about 91% capacity. 

But with the drought worsening and peak summer temperatures still ahead, water levels in the state’s lakes and reservoirs are expected to drop. 

“Right now, we’re generally seeing outflows from reservoirs begin to exceed inflows,” Hasenyager said. “That pattern typically sets in later in the summer, but this year’s heat is accelerating things. Across all sectors, we need to look for ways to be efficient with our finite water supply.”

The drought prompted Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to declare a state of emergency in 17 counties earlier this spring

The executive order allows farmers and ranchers to access low-interest loans from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Agricultural producers in Beaver, Carbon, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Piute, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Tooele, Uintah, Washington and Wayne counties can apply to receive up to $100,000, with loans available until the end of October. 

The drought is also contributing to the high fire danger in Utah. So far this year, the state has seen more than 52,000 acres burned in 438 fires. 

That includes the Forsyth Fire, which as of Wednesday afternoon was at about 13,419 acres and 42% contained, and the 33,362-acre France Canyon Fire, which is now 64% contained.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kyle Dunphey covers politics, public safety and the environment for Utah News Dispatch. He was named Best Newspaper Reporter by the Utah Society of Professional Journalists in 2023 for his work on crime and immigration at the Deseret News.

Your summer trips to the Mighty Five may look a bit different this year, as the National Park Services face staffing shortages, protection rollbacks and structural upheavals within the Department of the Interior. As NPS leadership braces for the surge of high season, employee morale—and the future of public land preservation—sink deeper into uncertainty.

In February, the White House Department of Government Efficiency laid off nearly 1,000 NPS employees as part of a larger plan to reduce the federal workforce. Those targeted by the layoffs included probationary employees, but also a range of specialized positions, including emergency rescue, park guides, exhibit specialists, biologists and more. To further strain the already-thinned ranks, nearly 5,000 offers to seasonal employees—vital to maintaining park access and safety during the busy summer months—were
also rescinded. 

Among those hit hardest by layoffs were Florida’s Everglades National Park, New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. Closer to home, Utah’s own Zion National Park lost 13 employees, according to the Executive Director of the Association of National Park Rangers, Bill Wade. The impact was immediate. Visitors and staff alike encountered trail closures, reduced visitor center hours and long entrance lines—cars entering Zion stacked more than a half mile into Springdale over the last Presidents Day weekend.

The long-term consequences of NPS instability include much more than just visitor inconveniences. Stretched-thin rescue services make national parks inherently more dangerous, forcing some park managers to close high-risk trails altogether. At Arches National Park, the beloved Fiery Furnace hiking area was closed indefinitely on March 27 due to a shortage of available rescue personnel. Arches spokesperson Karen Hanker says the closure was a direct response to a the cuts. “Should something happen to someone in the Fiery Furnace, we would need to provide support,” Hanker said in a statement to the Moab Times-Independent. “Rescues are incredibly staff-intensive anywhere in the park, let alone a place as geologically complex as the Fiery Furnace.” 

The loss of expert personnel is not just a detriment to visitors, but to the ecosystems these parks exist to protect. Land stewards engage in ecological monitoring, long-term wildlife health, water quality, night-sky preservation and more—all of which are at risk with the drastic structural changes occurring under the current administration. “Land managers do incredibly important work,” said Outdoor Alliance VP for Policy and Government Relations Louis Geltman. “They are at the front line for stewarding the resources we all care so much about, and the loss of these workers will have real, tangible impacts on our public lands.” Predicting the full extent of the fallout remains difficult, as new directives continue to emerge almost daily from the Supreme Court and the Department of the Interior.

Efforts to reverse the damage have met resistance. In late March, two U.S. District Court judges ruled to reinstate the 16,000 laid-off employees across the federal government, including those within the NPS. The whiplash continued when the Supreme Court placed a hold on the order on April 8, creating a hiring freeze and further confusion. Just a week later, on April 17, Interior Secretary Doug Burghum signed a sweeping order transferring staffing and structural authority for the Department of the Interior to Tyler Hassen, former oil executive at Basin Energy. The appointed official is now acting chief for policy, management and budget across the National Park Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, Bureau of Land Management and other Interior bureaus. The secretarial order has raised alarm bells for conservation groups and environmental advocates, who view it as a significant step toward a full DOGE-led reorganization of the DOI.  “This order shows what it looks like when leaders abdicate their jobs and let unqualified outsiders fire thousands of civil servants who are working on behalf of all Americans and their public lands,” said Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala in a statement. 

Amid sweeping layoffs and shifting leadership, the National Park Service stands at a crossroads—undermined by uncertainty, stretched thin by politics, and struggling to protect the lands it was built to serve.  

More Policy Endangering Public Lands 

In the first weeks of his presidency, Trump declared a National Energy Emergency, citing an insufficient energy supply, grid instability, and notably, the need to tap into “unrealized energy resources” across the country. The executive order has serious consequences for public lands, whose protections are in danger of being rolled back to open up for extraction projects. In late April, the Interior Department announced that it would begin fast-tracking permits for fossil fuels and mining operations, slashing the approval timeline from years to just 28 days. Expedited permitting will more than likely override environmental safeguards, which could mean some of our favorite natural landscapes will become riddled with drilling rigs. Ongoing efforts to shrink national monuments like Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears, along with pushes to privatize public lands, further darken the outlook for America’s natural spaces.

More Than Maintenance 

Beyond their many external-facing duties, NPS employees research, survey and develop plans to protect and preserve our public lands.

• Scientists at the NPS Air Resources Division monitor smog, smoke and visibility to reduce air pollution. 
• NPS Climate Change response program helps parks plan for ongoing sea level rise, increasing wildfires and extreme weather
• NPS Natural Sounds + Night Skies Division preserves our Dark Skies by studying baseline light and noise levels to help mitigate sources of pollution 
• NPS Youth + Young Adult Programs partner with service organizations to place young people in parks across the country, shaping the next generation of public lands advocates 
• NPS Office of Native American Affairs supports the US’s Trust and Treaty responsibilities to tribal nations 
• NPS Tribal Historic Preservation Officers ensure cultural, religious, and spiritual sites are protected as required by federal law.

Action Items

Public lands belong to all of us. The fight to protect them is now. 

• Follow and support local land advocacy groups, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, National Parks Conservation Association, Outdoor Alliance, Utah Open Lands and Heal Utah 
• Follow and stay informed with watchdog groups like @restistancerangers
• Vote in local elections, share your voice on why you love public lands, and post about issues you care about

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See more stories like this and all of our City Watch coverage. And while you’re here, why not subscribe and get six annual issues of Salt Lake magazine’s curated guide to the best of life in Utah?