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TAKE A CULTURAL ECO TOUR
Preserving the Future since 1990
Courtesy (c)Tom Till
This isn't your typical Q1 newsletter - because this isn't a typical year.
In honor of our 35th anniversary, we’ve gone monthly in 2025, sharing the stories that shaped Utah Open Lands—people, places, and pivotal moments that remind us what conservation is really about. This March edition pulls double duty: it brings you the Q1 updates, success stories, and upcoming events you’ve come to expect—plus more anniversary storytelling to celebrate the moments that shaped us. Whether you’re here to catch up on the latest or to reflect on how far we’ve come, we’re glad you’re with us. Thanks for being part of this journey—and here’s to the groundwork we continue to lay, together.
By the Numbers: The Power of Protected Land
120 properties protected. Over 64,000 acres—and counting. Our work lays the groundwork for healing: for adventure that restores, for ecosystems that rebound, for communities that mindfully connect to place. Beyond the habitat, trails, and scenic beauty, the lands we protect store carbon, protect clean water, and reduce and mitigate our collective impact on our environment. By way of example:
Source: Williams, C.A. et al., 2020. Forest Carbon Stocks and Fluxes from the NFCMS, Conterminous USA, 1990–2010. ORNL DAAC. View Dataset
The Ground We Gained: Q1 Highlights
Courtesy (c)Tom Till
Furthering the Legacy of the Hi Ute Ranch
Utah Open Lands has received a major new gift—344 acres of the Hi Ute Ranch, including the iconic barn and the sweeping meadows, ponds, and streams visible from I-80. Already protected under a conservation easement, this land will remain undeveloped in perpetuity. The donation includes finalizing the alignment and creation of the Mid-Mountain Connector Trail, with Utah Open Lands contributing $35,000 toward the trail construction.
UOL Celebrates Community and Conservation at the Midway Volksmarch
Thanks to a final $15,000 gift from Preserve Midway, Utah Open Lands has secured the funding needed to protect 37 acres of generational farmland along Midway’s scenic entry corridor. There is more to do to follow through with federal and local processes to complete and record a conservation easement, but having all of the funding in place makes the conservation a reality.
Upcoming Events
April 11–12: Moab Spring Spruce Up – Castleton Tower Preserve, Moab
Join us for our third annual weekend of stewardship at the stunning Castleton Tower Preserve as part of the Moab Spring Spruce Up hosted by Grand County Trail Mix and the Landmark Project. We’ll be seeding native vegetation, upgrading camping facilities, and restoring sensitive habitat to protect free public access for years to come. Kick things off Friday night to sign up for the Castleton Tower project and have dinner with other participants, then spend Saturday making a hands-on impact. On Saturday morning, Grand County Trail Mix will have coffee and the fixin’s to make your own lunch, provide a shuttle to the project, and will wrap it all up with live music, dinner, and drinks under the stars. For more information and to sign up to volunteer with us, visit the Spring Spruce Up website.
April 25: City Nature Challenge Bioblitz – University of Utah Heritage Preserve
Join us for this family-friendly, hands-on event where you’ll help document the plants and animals living in one of Salt Lake City’s protected landscapes. Using the iNaturalist app, you’ll contribute to a global citizen science effort that directly supports conservation. The data collected helps guide land stewardship decisions, prioritize species for protection, and allocate resources for restoration—ensuring urban areas like Salt Lake remain healthy, resilient, and vibrant for generations to come. Utah Open Lands will be at University of Utah’s Heritage Preserve, just behind the Natural History Museum along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, from 1-3pm on April 25th. No sign-up is required to participate and all ages are welcome. Last year, Utah’s Wasatch collected over 9,000 observations, so come out and help us reach over 10,000 observations this year!
May 12–18: Portraits of Preservation Online Auction
Portraits of Preservation returns this year as both a celebrated online auction and a summer gala—each shining in its own way. First up: the Online Auction, launching May 12. This exciting event celebrates conservation while raising essential funds to protect Utah’s open spaces. Featuring incredible stays, outdoor experiences, and unique items, the auction offers something for everyone who loves the land and the lifestyle it inspires. Proceeds directly support Utah Open Lands’ operations and the work we do every day to safeguard the landscapes that make Utah extraordinary. We’ll be sharing how to browse, bid, and support soon—stay tuned! If you’re interested in sponsoring the event or donating an item to the auction, please reach out to Josh Stasinos at Josh@utahopenlands.org. And mark your calendar: the Portraits of Preservation Gala is set for August 23rd—more details to come.
Horse training requires dedication.
It’s quiet work. Slow work. Hard work. Sometimes invisible—but always essential. For a horse trainer, groundwork is where it all begins: laying the foundation for connection, building trust, honoring a promise, and showing respect. The same is true for land conservation. Our connection with the land is one we share across generations—passed between strangers who marvel at wildflower tapestries or pause at the glimpse of a moose, a deer, an elk, or a soaring hawk. It’s a connection we inevitably pass on to those yet to come, and one that brings us together across aisles and around kitchen tables in a shared spirit of saving something lasting. The trust we build begins before the land is ever saved—and continues in the stewardship we embrace for every acre, every year, forever. It’s a commitment built to last lifetimes. The promise we make—to care for these landscapes—is born in conversations on farms and ranches with landowning families, at city council work sessions, and in community living rooms. It’s the promise that we will be the line of defense for these lands. The mutual respect we hold for the land itself is evident in our partnerships, in the thousands of acres saved, in the miles of trails, and in the enduring nature of our work. In this issue, we return to the earlier days of UOL’s conservation and stewardship work. These are the moments that made everything else possible. Because when we talk about preserving the land, we’re really talking about relationships—rooted in care, and sustained by trust.
Where Groundwork Took Root
Hidden Hollow Natural Area Preserve
Preserved in 2000 | 3.25 acres | Sugarhouse
Stewardship doesn’t always begin on a mountain trail or at a ranch gate. Sometimes, it starts with a handful of kids, a forgotten creek, and a shared belief that even the smallest places are worth fighting for. In the late 1990s, a group of passionate students from Hawthorne Elementary School formed KOPE—Kids Organized to Protect our Environment. Inspired by their teacher and fueled by a sense of justice, these young environmentalists took action to save a neglected stretch of Parley’s Creek in the Sugarhouse neighborhood. The area, now known as Hidden Hollow, was at risk of being paved over for a parking lot. Development plans included culverting the creek and erasing the natural habitat altogether. The KOPE Kids became the voice for the trout, the trees, and the community. Armed with determination, they cleaned up the site, raised awareness, and championed the need to preserve this green space. Their grassroots activism led the charge toward permanent protection. In May 2000, Salt Lake City granted a conservation easement to Utah Open Lands, ensuring Hidden Hollow would be preserved forever. With the passion of the late Dr. Ty Harrison, students and volunteers restored native plants, daylighted Parley’s Creek, and transformed the space into an outdoor classroom. But conservation doesn’t end when the papers are signed. In 2001, when construction crews damaged trees and native vegetation, Utah Open Lands sounded the alarm and requested that the city issue a stop work order. Utah Open Lands defended the conservation easement in lock step with the City. Mayor Rocky Anderson made it clear: no further development until the damage was addressed. The organization knew that the loss of 50 year old trees could not be replaced, but we also knew that because of the kids, because of our conservation efforts, the stream, the trees, the natural world oasis in the heart of Sugarhouse would endure.
Where We Are Grounded
Castleton Tower Preserve
Preserved in 2001 | 221 acres | Grand County
It was the 11 year old who gave up birthday presents. It was the soldier who sent the last $20 in his pocket. It was three years of diligent fundraising and awareness raising. It was all of these efforts and the support of the Outdoor Industry, Castle Valley and Grand County residents that saved 221 acres at the base of Castleton Tower. Utah Open Lands’ promise to defend and protect these lands began more than 25 years ago, when the historic access and campground at Castleton Tower was threatened by a 15-lot gated subdivision. In the spring of 1999, the threat of a 15-lot subdivision loomed over the base lands surrounding Castleton Tower. Just a year prior, the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) sold eighty acres at the base of Parriott Mesa and had it not been for the money Utah Open Lands wired to stop the backhoe in its tracks those lands would have been lost to development. When a "For Sale" sign went up near Castleton Tower, and later appeared beneath Delicate Arch, it became an act of defiance aimed at the agency that definitely made a point; some lands just shouldn’t be for sale. With the threat of the sale of the baselines at Castleton Tower the reaction led to action. Local community members organized into the Castle Rock Collaboration (CRC) and Utah Open Lands (UOL) began conservation negotiations with SITLA agreeing to pay a fair market value for the 221 acres if the agency would provide the organization with the time to fundraise—a three year campaign began. What we didn’t know was who was watching. A letter arrived in the Utah Open Lands office. The hand written letter appeared to be scrawled on a torn sheet from a composition book. The world was upside down with the recent terrorist attack on two other towers in New York City and as uncertain as things seemed, the $20 dollars that accompanied the letter from a soldier headed off to the conflict in the Middle East was an undeniable sign of hope. We had to succeed. A call from the mother of 11-year-old Hunter Shotwell was the next sign. Hunter had told his friends and family that all he wanted for his birthday was to save Castleton Tower and his mother had collected donations to get to Utah Open Lands. The campaign garnered the support of outdoor retailers and over three years esteemed partners like Petzl, Patagonia, REI and Black Diamond, joined forces with Utah Open Lands and the community in raising funds for the preservation of this precious landscape. There’s a story from the day of the celebration—one not often told, but never forgotten. As we made preparations for a celebration gathering on the land, a group of climbers came down from the Tower, dirty, smiling, and chatting with the joy that comes from doing something special in a place that matters. One of them approached and asked if we were with Utah Open Lands. "You may not remember," he said, "but I sent $20 and a letter." We remembered. It was the same soldier. On that day—before his next deployment—he was climbing Castleton Tower for the very first time. Years earlier, he had sent that $20 as an act of hope for a place he had never been, but believed should still be there to climb when he returned. That’s what it means to protect land. To make space for moments not yet lived, and for the people who haven’t yet had the chance to fall in love with a place.
Ground Matters
​Humorist Will Rogers famously said. “Buy Land. They ain’t making any more of the stuff.” It was a clever line and an insightful commentary on the finite nature of our earth and the natural resources it holds. That idea is at the root of the University of Utah Heritage Preserve.
University of Utah - Heritage Preserve
Preserved in 2002 | 435 acres | Salt Lake County
The Salt Lake Valley has benefitted from policies and foresight dating back to the early 1900s, which laid the groundwork for protecting our most essential resource: water. Safeguarding the drinking water source for Utah's largest metropolitan area has been an ongoing effort—defending the canyons against development and resisting attempts to weaken watershed ordinances that help ensure public health. This is where the story of the University of Utah’s Heritage Preserve takes root. Its protection helped strengthen a larger network of land conservation efforts stretching up Emigration Canyon and beyond, ultimately supporting more than 2,000 acres of land that augment Salt Lake City Public Utilities’ reserves. It was Mary Pat Matheson, Executive Director of Red Butte Garden, who first noticed the signs of development pressure mounting in the foothills above the University. She reached out to Utah Open Lands and its Executive Director to ask what it would take to preserve over 400 acres already cherished by hikers, bikers, and wildlife alike—land rich with scrub oak, rattlesnakes, elk, and deer. Together with then-University President Bernie Machen, they launched the effort that would become the University of Utah Heritage Preserve. Its protection in the early 2000s wasn’t just a win for open space. It was a signal that the University’s natural setting was part of its identity—and that land matters to higher learning, to community connection, and to Utah’s outdoor culture. That early momentum became a catalyst for numerous land-saving campaigns across the Wasatch Front. Today, we rarely pause to consider that within ten minutes of downtown Salt Lake, we can access canyons, trails, and rugged rock formations—opportunities made possible by the foresight and protections of foothill lands. Fewer still know that over 26,000 acres of watershed land is protected, and that Utah Open Lands continues to bolster that effort by defending Wasatch Front canyons from encroaching development. The next outdoor adventure we enjoy could be deepened by the awareness—and reverence—for the land that provides not only beauty and access, but the very water we drink.
