(Spenser Heaps | Deseret News) A California gull sweeps the surface of Mono Lake near Lee Vining, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022. The Western U.S.'s Great Basin has a constellation of terminal waters that help guide migrating birds on their long journeys across the hemisphere.
Leia Larsen is a sixth generation Utahn and a water and land use reporter reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune. She has covered environment, energy and political issues throughout the West. When she’s not chasing the news, Leia can be found exploring the Wasatch Mountains, sleeping in the desert or rooting around her garden.