The lack of inflowing water not only lowered the level of the lake but also increased the salinity. This reduced the population of brine shrimp which lived in the brackish water and which the young birds needed to feed off of before flying to new homes.

The islands in the middle of the lake became exposed all the way to shore. This allowed land predators like foxes and coyotes to simply walk across to the islands and feast on the birds' eggs.

The small community next to the lake fought for many, many years and finally restrictions were created to keep the lake at a minimum level. The birds are slowly returning to their nesting grounds.