Miller family to donate $2.2 million in water conservation efforts in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — In April 2022, officials at Antelope Island State Park announced plans to renovate and expand the visitors center to include a new learning center and theater.

This week, the Larry H. and Gail Miller Foundation announced a $2.2 million donation toward that effort focusing on water conservation in Utah.

With the Utah Department of Natural Resources, the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation is working alongside Utah Water Ways by donating millions of dollars to those efforts.

Funding for the center will go through the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation. The Antelope Island Learning Center will essentially be an education center.

It will bring people to the center to not only see Antelope Island, but also to have an experience with the Great Salt Lake.

A large theater will be located at the center, which will show a movie that is currently being produced, called "Secrets of the Great Salt Lake."

Officials said they hope the film is educational and inspirational.

"It will help people to understand the role that the Great Salt Lake plays in our state and the value that that water is to our state," said Julie Ramos, managing director of the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation. "We really believe in the power of proximity. We have to get proximate; we have to get close to those problems that we're trying to solve."

While the center will focus on water conservation, in turn, the conversation is around the health of Utahns.

"It has the potential for health impacts. And so, you know, when we talk about why do we need to conserve water, why we need to be smart — wise — about how we use our water, that water is what's covering that dust," said Joel Ferry, executive director for the Division of Natural Resources.

Some of the money from the ticket sales of the film will be used to fund conservation projects on the Great Salt Lake.

Officials hope to have the Antelope Island Learning Center open in July 2025.

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