The Great Salt Lake’s most important source of water has a troubled history. But there is hope its future may be better.

The Northwestern Shoshone are prioritizing restoration of Battle Creek, which runs through one of the bloodiest sites in U.S. history.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Super heated waters bubble to the surface on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, on the Bear River near Preston, Idaho, the site of the Bear River Massacre in which a village of Shoshone were attacked in 1863 and experienced the largest slaughter of Indigenous people in the nation’s history. Recently the Shoshone acquired the site with plans to turn it into a place of healing.

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Leia LarsenWater and land use reporter

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.

The Great Salt Lake’s most important source of water has a troubled history. But there is hope its future may be better.

The Northwestern Shoshone are prioritizing restoration of Battle Creek, which runs through one of the bloodiest sites in U.S. history.

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