Good news, land speed racing fans! We’re pleased to announce exciting progress regarding SEMA’s “Restore Bonneville” program. SEMA and the racing community have joined forces with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and its Utah Geological Survey (UGS) division, and Intrepid Potash, Inc. in a collaborative effort to restore the Bonneville Salt Flats, starting with the installation of a new water well and weather and hydrologic equipment for measuring salt growth conditions on the salt flats.
The BLM and DNR signed a Memorandum of Understanding in April 2020 to jointly pursue restoration efforts. DNR is managing the program in conjunction with the BLM, and it is operated by Intrepid Potash. The endeavor, which SEMA calls “Restore Bonneville”, is strongly supported by the Save the Salt Coalition, a SEMA-led collection of companies, organizations, individuals, and land speed racing teams.
Thanks to everyone from the automotive community who have sent letters in the past encouraging Utah and Federal agencies to spend the money appropriated to them to help restore the Bonneville Salt Flats. Federal and state funds have been released to install the monitoring equipment and to increase the volume of salt pumped onto the Bonneville Salt Flats this year to a total of up to 500,000 tons.
Stakeholders are now identifying projects to be pursued in 2022 and beyond to continue increasing the volume of salt being pumped. While the bulk of the program funding will come from federal and state appropriations, both industry and the land speed racing community will voluntarily help pay the costs. Financial contributions from the racing community are encouraged and gratefully accepted at www.savethesalt.org, a 501(c)(3) organization.
More information: SEMA Applauds Public-Private Effort to Save the Bonneville Salt Flats | Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA)
