Water Pilgrimage: A Collaborative Perspective of Our Endangered Lake

As a child, Linda Dalton Walker spent summers at Black Rock on the Great Salt Lake, where the water once stretched close enough to jump in without a long walk. Those early family trips fostered a deep love for the lake and its shorebirds, a passion she later channeled into painting and photography. Over the years, her frequent visits made the lake’s decline impossible to ignore. As the shoreline receded, she noticed dramatic changes in the ecosystem — the loss of vital wetlands, shifting bird populations and a drying landscape once teeming with life.

Determined to draw attention to the lake’s transformation, Walker, an international award-winning nature photographer, partnered with nationally published poet and performance artist Sarah Ann Woodbury to create “Water Pilgrimage: Where the Rivers End.” Their collaborative exhibit, featured at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center from January 9 to February 25, captured the confluence of the Jordan, Weber and Bear Rivers as they flow into, or should flow into, the Great Salt Lake.

“I would go to different exhibits and I would look specifically for pieces that had a moving message. I like how they tell different stories about the lake through their mediums and styles.”

For a year, Walker and Woodbury followed these rivers, documenting their journey through photography and poetry. “Many people don’t realize all three rivers feed the Great Salt Lake — most only know about the Jordan,” Walker explains. “We wanted to walk from where the rivers should meet the lake to where they actually do.” What they encountered was alarming. The water’s edge was farther away than expected, requiring them to trek through tangled invasive weeds, boggy shallow water that should have been the lakebed, and vast stretches of dry, cracked earth. At one point, they even encountered a rogue hunter firing warning shots in the distance.

Their work underscored a stark and recurring theme: The lake is still in danger. Over time, excessive water diversions have drastically reduced its volume and the shrinking shoreline continues to expose more of the lakebed, disrupting the delicate balance of its ecosystem. The damage extends beyond the lake itself, affecting the surrounding habitat and the migratory birds that depend on it.

Walker’s photography precisely captures these fragile details: ripples in the soil beneath the water, the faint imprint of a coyote’s paw and flocks of birds navigating the altered landscape. Specializing in

avian photography, she captured dynamic shots of birds in flight, pecking at the soil, or wading through the shallow remnants of the lake. Woodbury, on the other hand, recorded their experiences in real-time, later transforming her notes into poetry that complemented Walker’s images.

Together, their work created a layered narrative. While Walker’s photographs provided a visual record of the lake’s transformation, Woodbury’s poetry added depth by capturing the sounds, sensations and emotions of their journey. “Her words bring the whole scene back to life, like being there again,” Walker reflects. “She notices things I might overlook, which pushed me to stretch myself as a photographer and consider whether my images truly conveyed what I wanted.”

“We wanted to walk from where the rivers should meet the lake to where they actually do.”

Beyond Walker and Woodbury’s contributions, “Water Pilgrimage” also featured works by photographers Ash Gerlach, Mary Perry and Doug Tolman, as well as paintings by Brekke Sjoblom, Bill Petersen and Jeanne Hansen. Together, these artists provided a broader perspective on the lake’s changing landscape and the urgency of its preservation. “I would go to different exhibits and I would look specifically for pieces that had a moving message,” Walker explains. “I like how they tell different stories about the lake through their mediums and styles.”

Walker is preparing for another collaborative exhibition featuring more of her avian photography, set to take place in May and June at the Salt Lake City Main Library. Through her work, she hopes to inspire deeper conversations about the lake’s future and the actions needed to protect it. More of her photography can be found at lindadaltonwalker.com.

Read more interviews with local artists:
“Where Art and Community Meet”: The Curatorial Ethos of Michelle Pace
Splitboard Adventures at Chimera and Pallas Snowboards