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John Hollenhorst ReportingThe extreme low level of the Great Salt Lake in recent months has created a couple of unusual situations. A new recreational opportunity has emerged and some mysterious Unidentified Lurking Objects have come into view.
If you want to know about low lake levels, take a ride with the airboat guys. Skimming along at 40 miles an hour on water a sixteenth of an inch deep, or less, they've been watching the lake rise and fall, but mostly fall in recent years. Early last winter they started noticing things coming out of the water when the lake hit its lowest level in a third of a century.
Larry Daley, President, Utah Airboat Association: “We’re concerned that the sail-boaters, the air-boaters, anybody utilizing the lake could run into something.”
Some stuff is easily identifiable: garden variety driftwood, junk building material, the odd spare tire. But some of it, who knows? One big metal object sticks out at an odd angle puzzling state officials who went along for the ride.
Karl Kappe, Div. Forestry, Fire & State Lands: “I have no idea what that is.”
Mysterious pipes are left over from some unknown industry or project, and there's an item the air-boaters call "The Bomb."
Karl Kappe: "One of our advisory council members was quick to identify it as a piece of a military aircraft. Uh, but I don't know yet. I think it's something we just live with. We will try to identify it to the extent we can, the owner of the debris and ask them to remove it."
The low water has created one new recreation opportunity. The state is considering opening an off-road vehicle park on the exposed lakebed along the south shore.
In fact, there's 995 square miles of new land, where there used to be lake. State officials say the OHV park might be put in near Saltair, if they can sort out private ownership and wildlife issues.
