Not all the world's salt water is in oceans. And so birds that live in saltwater ecosystems are found well inland, especially in the American west.
A bill to protect saline lake ecosystems has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Oregon's Jeff Merkley and Utah's Mitt Romney. It would create programs to monitor and potentially protect bodies of water like Great Salt Lake and Oregon's Lake Abert.
The Oregon Natural Desert Association and the Oregon Lakes Association both have interest in the bill advancing. Ryan Houston from ONDA and Ron Larson from OLA, who has studied Lake Abert, visit with the information.
Ron sent along two charts to help understanding... the first shows Lake Abert level, the second shows salinity.