Along with reducing the lake's method of replenishment, a climate-change-fueled megadrought choking the Southwest means there is less water all around Utah than there has been in the past 1,200 years. Currently, 100 percent of Utah is in a drought, with 83 percent of the state experiencing extreme drought, Gizmodo reports. Losing the Great Salt Lake could put migrating birds at risk and threaten a lake-based economy worth an estimated 1.3 billion in recreation, mineral extraction, and brine shrimp, also known as sea monkeys, the Guardian's staff reports. Locally, the lake contributes to roughly 7,700 jobs. If the lake were to dry up, about 6,500 people would lose their source of income, CNN's Rachel Ramirez reports.