John,

Late last week, the Box Elder County Clerk rejected the referendum effort challenging the proposed Stratos AI data center project. However, there is still a clear path forward for our work to stop Stratos. 

Now, Stewardship Utah, alongside B.E.A.R. (Box Elder Accountability Referendum), local residents, and coalition partners, is challenging that rejection and continuing the fight for the public’s right to weigh in before billionaire-backed interests permanently reshape not just Box Elder County but all of Utah. This moment shows exactly why Stewardship Utah has spent years working across the state to elevate local voices and elect climate champions. Efforts like this don’t happen in isolation.

For years, we've worked to protect the Great Salt Lake, public lands, air quality, and defend Utah’s future from environmental disaster. That work has included organizing communities, advocating for stronger air quality protections, and helping pass new transparency legislation around water usage in large data centers during this year’s legislative session, among so many other wins. And now, with the proposed Stratos AI data center project in Box Elder County, Utahns are seeing exactly why this work matters.

The proposed Stratos Data Center project, would be unlike anything Utah has seen before. Reports estimate that the project would eventually consume nearly double Utah’s current peak electricity demand, dramatically increase emissions, and place additional pressure on already scarce water resources tied directly to the Great Salt Lake basin.

At the same time, local residents are still being left with major unanswered questions around water use, infrastructure costs, energy affordability, and long-term environmental impacts, rendering decades of work protecting Utah’s land, air, and water null and void. That’s why Utahns across the state are stepping up to stop this disastrous project. And it’s why Stewardship Utah has rapidly shifted resources to support B.E.A.R. ’s referendum effort alongside local organizers and coalition partners.

But right now, we need your help. To support this fight, our members are helping fund:

Unlike the billionaire-backed interests pushing Project Stratos forward, this movement is being powered by everyday Utahns giving what they can because they believe our communities deserve a voice in decisions this large and a healthy, clean Utah for generations to come.

So far, 23 new monthly members have stepped up to help sustain this work, and we’re working to reach our goal of 40 new monthly members and $25,000 raised by June 5. If you believe Utah’s water, communities, and future are worth defending, now is the time to join us.

Thank you for helping us build a stronger movement for Utah.

Onward!

Greg