Art lovers and conservationists come together to protest oil drilling near Great Salt Lake artwork

On the northern shore of the Great Salt Lake is a piece of art not many people have seen, but those who have are fighting to preserve it, reports Kirk Johnson of The New York Times. Called “Spiral Jetty,” it's a "1,500-foot curved construction of rock and earth by the artist Robert Smithson that juts into the lake," and it has become a rallying point for art lovers and conservations who oppose plans to drill for oil nearby, Johnson writes. (Times photo by Tom Smart.)

"A fierce debate, with equal parts art, environmentalism and economics, has erupted over a plan by the state to allow oil drilling about five miles across the lake," he continues. "The owner of 'Spiral Jetty,' the Dia Art Foundation in New York, in an alliance with a conservation group called Friends of Great Salt Lake, says the oil rigs would harm the work’s aesthetic experience."

Those two groups have sparked a flood of e-mails — more than 3,000 — sent to the state during the public comment period. The state is expected to make a decision on the drilling plans in April. Drilling for oil is nothing new for the area. Pioneers harvested from a natural seep of oil sludge not far from "Spiral Jetty," and drilling was taking place in 1970 when Smithson sculpted the formation. (Read more)