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Developer behind Utah Lake islands scheme received taxpayer money for working on his brother’s anti-wolf campaign

Lobbyists waged years-long court fight to shield documents that show who Big Game Forever paid with taxpayer dollars.

(Brian Maffly | The Salt Lake Tribune file photo) Ryan Benson, pictured here at Lindon Marina, was the CEO of Lake Restoration Solutions, a now-bankrupt company that had proposed dredging Utah Lake as part of a controversial development. Newly disclosed records show how a nonprofit founded by Benson — Big Game Forever — used taxpayer dollars to pay two consulting companies, one owned by Benson and the other by his brother, Jon Benson, for work related to removing federal protection for the gray wolf.