Inland Port Gets a Makeover: Executive Director Jack Hedge Addresses Major Concerns

The controversial inland port plans to use16,000 acres of land near the bird sanctuaries and wetlands of the Great Salt Lake: Executive Director Jack Hedge answers concerns on the Utah Stories Show.

Richard Markosian

July 20, 2020

The controversial inland port plans to use16,000 acres of land near the bird sanctuaries and wetlands of the Great Salt Lake: Executive Director Jack Hedge answers concerns on the Utah Stories Show.

Watch the video:

Listen to the podcast:

Jack Hedge is a newcomer to Utah, he was imported into Utah and is now the star player of the Inland Port Authority Board. Hedge, it seems, was brought in to help, especially Salt Lake County residents, understand how the port will benefit us. A marketing company helped to produce a very pretty strategic business plan (for nearly $1 million), showing how amazingly great the port will actually be for the environment, sustainability and the promotion of all things green. But despite the beauty of the plan, many environmentally-minded residents still aren’t buying it.

Utahns who don’t like the idea of the port, need to be brought back into the fold. Hedge has worked at other inland ports in California and more recently Tacoma, Washington, we will see if he can convince residents that the “Stop the Polluting Port” campaigns, activism and demonstrations against the port are unfounded.

Hedge says that with stormwater harvesting; the usage of solar technology; and the adoption of green energy, this port will create new high-tech jobs in Utah. Hedge also claims that it will have little to no impact on our air quality or bird migratory patterns because one of the major objectives will be to move cargo from trucks to rail and serve as a logistical hub for existing freight operations.

Hedge claimed that the new port will also help to sustain and protect the major migratory bird refuge area that the wetlands surrounding the Great Salt Lake.

“But how do migrating birds and additional planes in the sky go together? Those two things seem at odds with each other,” Richard Markosian asked Hedge.

Hedge said that these are planes that are already flying into Salt Lake and the inland port will serve as a means to handle far more of the logistical operations for moving international freight from Utah to more hubs throughout the country.

Mr. Hedge didn’t address the problem of how the billions of mosquitos which are the food supply for thousands of birds will be still available when these mosquitos will need to be poisoned to protect workers. The mosquito abatement issue and the poison required to protect workers is the major concern of Bryan Moench who operates Physicians for a Healthy Environment who said about the port:

“The newly released plan is filled with a lot of words like ‘sustainable,’ ‘renewable energy,’ ‘zero-emissions,’ ‘clean technologies,’ and ‘monitoring,’ but otherwise gives us no actual information. It gives us no reason to reconsider what has been obvious since the beginning. This inland port will bring a lot more pollution and dirty energy into the Salt Lake Valley, and is exactly the wrong direction for our economic future,” said Brian Moench, President of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, in a statement.

I am a story teller and journalist. I have a passion for farmers, local craftspeople, and folks who aspire to create, build and grow their business in the local marketplace. Why local? By supporting locally-owned businesses we create more opportunity for entrepreneurs, and we claim our sovereignty to shape our communities how we want to see them. I aspire to build Utah Stories Magazine into a household Utah name, and assist Utah businesses and makers with marketing. On the journalism side of things my passion is investigative journalism that offers true insight into issues. I believe strongly in the forth estate: strong, meaningful, insightful journalism is essential to a free market Democracy.

Independent News

“We’re Criminalizing Homelessness”: Utah’s Growing Crisis and the Need for Collaboration

In the heart of Salt Lake City, where the LDS Church sends aid to every corner of the globe, a growing humanitarian disaster is unfolding just blocks away.
Homeless encampments are dismantled, lives disrupted, and still, there’s no lasting solution in sight.
So why can’t Utah’s political leaders get it right?
Homeless advocate Robin Pendergrast pulls back the curtain on the state’s broken system, revealing why temporary fixes like pods and camps are dismantled, and how grassroots efforts are the only thing keeping hope alive.

“Instead of helping, we’re tearing down camps, bulldozing lives, and offering no place for these people to go,” Pendergrast says.
Read on to find out why Utah’s war on homelessness is making things worse, and what needs to happen next.

To access this post, you must purchase Full Access Membership.
Utah Stories

The Battle Over Books in Utah: A Clash for the Future of Freedom

“Books don’t turn kids gay, but banning them just might turn them into adults who can’t think for themselves.”

With those words, Rebekah Cummings cut straight to the heart of Utah’s most heated controversy. As school districts across the state debate which books belong in children’s hands, the battle lines are drawn between parents who demand control over their children’s reading material and educators who fear that censorship will smother intellectual freedom. But behind the arguments about explicit content, gender identity, and family values, a bigger question looms: What happens when a society starts erasing the stories it finds uncomfortable?

To access this post, you must purchase Full Access Membership.
Podcast

Left Behind in Utah’s ‘Golden Age’: The Fight for Affordable Housing and Freedom

“If you’re not making $150,000 a year, you’re not feeling this golden age. Most people are just trying to keep up.” While Utah’s leaders celebrate a booming economy, many residents are left struggling with rising housing costs and economic inequality. Discover the untold story of how Utah’s ‘golden age’ is leaving its middle class behind and the fight for affordable housing and true freedom. Read more about the growing movement challenging the status quo.

To access this post, you must purchase Full Access Membership.
Podcast

Turning Lives Around and Challenging the U.S. Prison System’s Failures in Utah

Jordan Holdaway was a career criminal, facing his fifth long-term prison sentence, when he was given a shocking chance to escape a decade behind bars. Enter The Other Side Academy—a Utah-based program that has not only kept him out of prison but transformed his life. What began as an opportunity to avoid more jail time became a life-changing journey. Now, after four years in the program, Jordan has turned his back on his criminal past and is helping others do the same, proving that even the most hardened criminals can change.