Science on the Move

This lesson is adapted from: The Business of Abusing the Lake: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_VSisRnRPxhU1FBeVMzdlhDbUU/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-RiU5FQagXhSzCTXgJavb8A
STEP#1:
Timeline of Utah Lake:
Pass out card(s) to each student (see link from above). Students read the card, create a small picture (think like a cartoon block) to show what happened. Make sure they include the date and one sentence to describe what happened.
Create a LARGE timeline on the wall. When students are finished, have them present each part of the timeline in chronological order to the rest of the class.

STEP 2:
Students create a descriptive map of the OLD Utah Lake:
https://www.junesuckerrecovery.org/resources/utah-lake-facts-history
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg76irg9WFw

Havestudents create a map of what Utah Lake looked like BEFORE 1847. Make sure the map is descriptive- showing what the ecosystem of Utah Lake was like- this includes- (labeling) local plant life, native fish, depth of Utah Lake, potential water quality. Some of this can be gathered from the timeline, other parts we will present (as students ask for information)
13 Native Fish Species:
June Sucker
Utah Sucker
Utah Lake sculpin
Bonneville cutthroat trout
Least chub
Bonneville redside shiner
Mottled sculpin
Leatherside chub
Utah chub
Speckled dace
Longnose dace
Mountain whitefish
Mountain sucker

Depth of the Lake:
29-34 feet

Native Plants:

Plant Image
Plant Names

Cottonwood Trees

Silver Sagebrush



Showy Milkweed



Common Sunflower



American Licorice



Bractine Vervain













STEP3
Virtual Field Trip - Students will create a map of what Utah Lake’s ecosystem is like TODAY.
DATA:
Utah Lake's water, for example, is classified as impaired for total dissolved solids and has high levels of phosphorus, which means it is not ideal for aquatic life. The lake's ecosystem, which historically supported many species of fish, is now overrun with carp and is barely able to provide adequate habitat for its two remaining native fish species – the June sucker and the Utah sucker. Efforts to remove non-native carp in recent years are gradually helping to change this.

Elevated nutrient loading such as phosphate from agricultural runoff and wastewater
The introduction and establishment of common carp, which disrupt aquatic vegetation on the lakebed as they search for food
Wind and wave action, which stir bottom sediments
Lake level fluctuations, which cause sediments along the shoreline to become suspended.
Utah Lake is very shallow, averaging only about nine feet deep over its 148 square miles. Over millions of years, thousands of feet of sediment have accumulated on the lakebed contributing to its shallow condition and naturally cloudy appearance. The amount of water in the lake is heavily influenced by the amount of snowfall Utah’s mountains receive, producing nearly 98 percent of its inflow. Every summer, the lake loses about one-third to one-half of its volume due mostly to evaporation, reducing the amount of water in the lake by three to four feet between June and September. The lake’s level is also affected by the amount of water taken from the lake and its tributaries for municipal and irrigation uses

Depth of the lake:
9-14 feet

PLANTS OF UTAH LAKE:
https://johnhutchingsmuseum.org/plants-research-utah-lake-field-station/

INVASIVESPECIES
Image of Plant
Name of Plant

Cotton Thistle

Russian Olive

Common Reed

Common Chicory

Perennial Pepperwood

Bittersweet Nightshade

Moth Mullein

Yellow Sweet Clover

Houndstongue

Purple Loosestrife












<br>



STEP4 and 5
Students will work on groups to develop a solution to restore Utah Lake
Students will need to consider- criteria, constraints, timeline of restoration, and justify why their idea is the best solution. They will present their solutions to the class- which should include a graphic, explanation and justification.
As students present their solutions, the rest of the students will be evaluating for the best solution.
Teachers should present THIS solution as a potential solution…..
https://www.deseret.com/2018/1/9/20638022/group-proposes-cleanup-island-city-at-utah-lake