Lake Abert - Human Activity

Human Activity

Today, the Bureau of Land Management is responsible for Lake Abert and the land around it. There is one grazing allotment, that borders the southwest shoreline of the lake, covering 6,886 acres (27.87 km2) of Bureau of Land Management land. The area is semi-arid with bluebunch wheatgrass, cheatgrass, and big sagebrush as the primary vegetation. A 1997 study showed that the grazing practices on the allotment conformed to Federal and state standards.

Because of the lake’s extreme alkalinity, there are no recreational activities that occur on the lake. In fact, swimming or extended contact with the lake’s water would be harmful to humans. There are no developed campgrounds at Lake Abert, but the Bureau of Land Management does allow dispersed camping in the area. The only common recreational activity at Lake Abert is bird watching.

A small brine shrimp collection enterprise on Lake Abert was begun in 1979. The brine shrimp’s high tolerance for salinity and ability to withstand freezing temperature during the winter make brine shrimp the lake’s only residents. While the brine shrimp harvest from the lake is relatively small, the impact of harvest has never been studied.