Cave Towers

Trust Lands Stewardship & Conservation

Help protect Utah’s trust lands.

Since 1994, the Utah Trust Lands Administration has been the land manager and fiduciary of land assets belonging to Utah’s public schools and 11 other institutions. Trust Lands has preserved and/or protected over 560,000 acres of Utah land.

The duty of the Trust Lands Administration is the utilization of these resources for the short- and long-term support of the trust beneficiaries, primarily Utah’s schoolchildren. 

Wildfire Rehabilitation

After a wildland fire Trust Lands works with our partner agencies and adjacent landowners on rehabilitation plans for the affected properties. These efforts are critical—if left untreated these lands become susceptible to erosion, allow invasive plant species and noxious weeds to take root, lose their productivity for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat, and are more likely to burn again. When rehabilitation is done successfully, it results in more sustainable landscapes for future use.

Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative

The WRI (Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative) program has played an important role in helping Trust Lands rehabilitate wildfires, complete fire prevention work, improve critical watersheds and restore habitat for wildlife and livestock. This partnership has made it possible to leverage funding and implement many projects with little cost to the trust. Stewardship of wildlands is important, and our partnership with WRI makes it possible to implement large-scale projects that improve the function and value of the land.

Stewardship & Conservation Projects

Penstemon Conservation Agreement

A multi-agency Utah conservation team is working to protect two species of penstemon found in the Uinta Basin, Graham’s and White River beardtongue. The team includes representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Utah Public Lands Policy Coordination Office, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, School and Institutional Trust Lands

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Spirit Railroad

The Spirit Railroad site is located approximately 35 miles east of Castle Dale on Trust Lands’ 31,000-acre Cedar Mountain Block, which is managed by the agency on behalf of Utah’s public school system. Trust Lands employees and volunteers installed directional signs to the historic site and constructed buck and rail

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Tabby Mountain – Mill Hollow Aspen Regeneration

Trust Lands has worked to protect the Tabby Mountain forest from catastrophic wildfire through a multi-phase aspen regeneration project. The project also improves wildlife habitat and protects the local watershed. Please watch the video below to learn more about the project.

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Temple Mountain Pictograph Protection

The Temple Mountain Pictograph Panel is a large Archaic- (Barrier Canyon Style) and later Fremont-era rock imagery site conspicuously placed on a canyon wall. The site is well known, and the area is a very popular destination for camping and ATV enthusiasts. As a result, the panel has suffered tremendously

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Coal Bed Village Site Protection

Coal Bed Village is a very large, very important Ancestral Puebloan (or Anasazi culture) archaeological site on school trust land in San Juan County, Utah. One of the largest sites in the area, Coal Bed Village has been known to the archaeological world since the 1870s. Unfortunately, during this time

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Cave Towers Site Protection

Cave Towers is an archaeological site built and used by the Ancestral Puebloan people, likely between A.D. 1000–1300. The dramatic site, part of which resides on school trust lands, includes towers, kivas, and other structures that are centered around a “cave” and natural spring. The site is well-known locally and

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Jacob City Fire Rehab

The Jacob City Fire was a human-caused blaze that started in July of 2022 on trust lands just east of the town of Stockton, Utah. The fire burned over 4,500 acres of trust, private, and BLM lands, with 1,321 acres of trust lands being damaged in the process. Unfortunately, the

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La Sal – Dark Canyon Stream Rehabilitation

Dark Canyon Lake is a hidden gem located at the base of Mt. Peale in the La Sal Mountain Range. For many decades, this high-alpine retreat has been mostly known by locals. In recent years, the area—especially the lake—has increased in popularity. Most recreationalists used the area for camping, fishing,

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La Sal OHV Project

Trust Lands manages two large properties—comprising 27,500 acres—on the east side of the La Sal Mountain Range in Grand and San Juan Counties. In 2008-09 a comprehensive route inventory was conducted which identified a 40% increase in user-created routes over the previous 15 years. Trust Lands undertook a project to

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Lake Mountain Illegal Dumping & Undisciplined Target Shooting

Trust Lands manages a large block of trust lands located in the Lake Mountains area west of Utah Lake. Due to its proximity to growing population centers along the Wasatch Front, the property has become very popular with the public for target shooting and other recreational uses. Unfortunately, it also

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Beaver Creek Forest Enhancement Project

Since 2017 Trust Lands has been working on a sustained effort to promote long-term forest health on its 3,000-acre block of land in the Beaver Mountain area of Cache County, near the Beaver Mountain Ski Resort. The effort began with a timber harvest project designed to mimic natural fire cycles

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