Garff family makes major commitment to future of Great Salt Lake

Members of a prominent Utah family have made a landmark commitment to the future of the Great Salt Lake as part of a statewide effort to mitigate water loss from the massive body. 

Matt and Nicole Garff, through their company MTNP, have donated an 80 percent controlling interest in Big Ditch Irrigation Co. to the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, a division of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. Big Ditch owns the contractual entitlements to over 10,600 acre-feet of annual water, along with a network of easements, rights-of-way and stormwater infrastructure spanning a 3,000-acre service area.

The donation is valued at more than $47 million.

Matt Garff is a grandson of Ken Garff, founder of what is now known as the Garff Automotive Group. Matt’s father is the late Bob Garff, well-known businessman, church leader and philanthropist.

The Garffs said the decision to make the donation was driven by the urgent and interconnected risks posed by the shrinking Great Salt Lake — including significant habitat loss affecting more than 10 million migratory birds, rising public health threats from toxic dust exposure and increased vulnerability to drought and climate extremes.

“This was not a symbolic gesture — it was a decision rooted in responsibility,” said Matt Garff. “Water security underpins Utah’s environmental health, economic resilience and quality of life. Through MTNP, we focus on deploying private resources where they can create durable, generational impact. Protecting the Great Salt Lake is essential to ensuring Utah remains livable, prosperous and resilient for decades to come.”

“Securing Utah’s future depends on strong partnerships between the public and private sectors,” said Gov. Spencer Cox. “This donation demonstrates how private leadership, aligned with state priorities, can help protect essential resources like the Great Salt Lake for generations to come.”

Matt Garff said a conversation between him and State Rep. Melissa G. Ballard helped catalyze the decision, “identifying a rare opportunity to pair private infrastructure assets with public conservation goals at meaningful scale.”

“This extraordinary donation exemplifies the type of public-private collaboration our legislature has been working to foster,” said Ballard. “By aligning private resources with state conservation priorities, the Garffs are accelerating work that will have a generational impact on the Great Salt Lake and on Utah’s future.”

MTNP is a private investment platform designed to create, grow and accelerate companies essential to the broader ecosystem, with a focus on strategic land development, resource stewardship and consumer products and experiences that enhance the state’s long-term resilience, the firm’s website says. Through MTNP, private capital is aligned with public need to deliver durable economic, environmental and community outcomes.