SALT LAKE CITY — Kim Shelley, who recently stepped down as director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, is now in line to oversee public lands in the state’s capital city.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall named Shelley as her choice to lead the city’s public lands department. The role has been vacant since Kristin Riker retired at the end of 2024.
“Our public lands shape the way Salt Lakers experience our communities, from the parks where we gather to the trails that connect us to nature. Kim has spent her career ensuring Utah’s natural resources are well-cared-for and thoughtfully managed, and I know she’ll bring that same dedication to every acre of our city’s green space,” Mendenhall said in a statement Monday.
The Salt Lake City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to confirm the mayor’s recommendation. The council will also decide whether to confirm Brian Redd, director of the Utah Department of Corrections, as Salt Lake City’s next police chief, following a recommendation Mendenhall announced late last month.
Shelley, who has a degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Utah, has spent over two decades working in various environmental and natural resource management capacities. She was appointed the director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality in late 2020, shortly before Gov. Spencer Cox was sworn in.
However, she abruptly resigned last month. The department issued a statement on Feb. 6 acknowledging that she was “stepping down” at the end of February.
“Under Kim’s leadership, DEQ has achieved many significant milestones that will have a lasting, positive impact on Utah’s air, land and water,” Ashley Sumner, the department’s spokeswoman, wrote. “We are grateful for her leadership and dedication to our mission throughout her tenure and look forward to her continued focus and success on environmental priorities in her future endeavors.”
Cox has since named Great Salt Lake deputy commissioner Tim Davis as Shelley’s interim replacement.
Meanwhile, under her new role, Shelley will be tasked with overseeing over 700 acres of park land, as well as 30 miles of trails, 1,650 acres of natural lands and six golf courses and other outdoor components the city manages.
She’s slated to take over as the department looks to implement more of its “Reimagine Nature” master plan, while also completing more projects tied to the $85 million parks bond residents approved in 2022 and the next phases of the city’s paused foothills master plan.
In a statement, Shelley said she’s “honored” to take over the department.
“Our city’s open spaces are at the heart of our community, enriching our quality of life and connecting us to nature and one another,” she said. “I believe deeply in the importance of responsible stewardship of these lands for the benefit of all community members, and I look forward to fostering collaborative partnerships that protect, enhance and expand these treasured places for generations to come.”
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