Some Utah lawmakers claim overgrown forests suck too much water to save lakes like Lake Powell

That is an interesting concern! It is well known that overgrown or badly managed forests can be prone to wildfires.

"... Claiming “overgrown” forests are guzzling Utah’s water resources dry, rural members are now calling for a major logging initiative as the best hope for saving the shrinking Great Salt Lake and Lake Powell, despite a lack of scientific evidence that tree removal would make a big difference. ...
Utah’s 5 million acres of forests are crowded with 100 to 200 trees per acre, about 10 times the densities in the 1800s, Randy Julander, a retired federal hydrologist, told the caucus gathering. And the trees on about a quarter of this land are standing dead because there isn’t enough water in the ground to sustain them, he added. ..."

Utah lawmakers pitch tree removal as plan to save Great Salt Lake “Yellow Cake” legislators claim logging can save Great Salt Lake, but scientists are doubtful.