Utah hoping to 'win a Super Bowl' with new Great Salt Lake commissioner

Editor's note: This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative with funding from Love the Lake, an initiative of the nonprofit Great Salt Lake Alliance. Editorial decisions are made independently by the Collaborative and partner newsrooms.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's interim Great Salt Lake commissioner said she's ready to be the starting quarterback after spending the past year as a backup, and state leaders seem ready to have her take that role.

Members of the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Confirmation Committee offered a unanimous positive recommendation that Hannah Freeze be the new head of the agency that manages the lake's challenges, setting up a confirmation vote Wednesday.

"If (former commissioner Brian Steed) was Joe Montana, then Hannah is our Steve Young," said Jordan Nielson, executive director of the coalition Great Salt Lake Rising, speaking in support of Freeze before the vote. "We're going to win some games."

Freeze was appointed by Gov. Spencer Cox in July, replacing Steed, who had stepped down for a role at Utah State University earlier this year. She was serving as the deputy commissioner before that, joining the state office in 2025.

Her background is in agriculture, having served as the head of the Department of Agriculture and Food's agricultural water optimization program before that. She and her husband own a farm in Box Elder County, in addition to her government work.

That has sparked some controversy because of the role agricultural water use has played in the lake's decline. The Great Salt Lake Strike Team, for example, points to human diversions of water that would otherwise make it to the lake as a top reason for the lake's demise, with agricultural water remaining the top water consumption within the lake's basin.

She faced online criticism for previously selling hats that read "Make Alfalfa Great Again," Axios reported in July.

Alfalfa is the biggest water consumer within agricultural water use. A study published last year found that 80% of water diverted from the lake went toward alfalfa and grass hay for dairy and beef cattle.

But Freeze told the committee on Tuesday that she sees benefits coming from the agricultural industry.

"Many often think of the Great Salt Lake and agriculture as being one of the state's largest collisions, but I see it as an opportunity to find solutions that protect agriculture while also benefiting the Great Salt Lake," she said. "The collision doesn't have to be a negative one."

Either way, she's poised to take over during another difficult point for the Great Salt Lake.

While salinity levels and the lake's wetlands remain healthy, the lake has fallen to 4189.6 to 4,189.8 feet elevation, only a little over a foot above its previous low point set in 2022. That's left over 1,220 square miles of exposed lakebed, prime for future dust events, per the organization Grow the Flow.

"When I move around my district, the Great Salt Lake is something I hear about the most," said Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, a member of the committee.

Freeze said the office will continue to seek solutions that get water to the lake, such as water leasing and water optimization, as well as working to collaborate with different organizations as much as possible. She plans to make adjustments as the state learns more about what can and can't help the lake, calling the state's strategic plan a "living document."

Utah is still seeking to receive $1 billion in federal assistance for lake solutions, which President Donald Trump has signaled support for. That's something that Freeze said she'll work to ensure the state receives.

A win, as the lake's quarterback, is a healthier Great Salt Lake, she added. That includes working to ensure that dust is suppressed for better air quality, that brine shrimp have a habitat that allows them to thrive, and that the wetlands continue to attract millions of migratory birds, among other things.

"That can be achieved a lot of different elevations," she said.

Freeze received glowing recommendations from people who attended the meeting, including Nielson, Steed and former Utah natural resources commissioner Joel Ferry. They said the lake is in a better position because of her efforts.

The committee agreed, recommending her nomination with little debate. It's also recommended that Freeze be confirmed to the state board of water resources.

"You just need to win a Super Bowl now," said Sen. Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, with a grin.

Jamie Barnes was also recommended to be confirmed as the state's new natural resources commissioner, following Ferry's exit last month, among other recommendations made on Tuesday. Barnes previously served as the director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.

The full Senate body will vote to confirm all the recommendations during an extraordinary session Wednesday afternoon.

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