Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air in 2024

Establishing Trust

Establishing trusted relationships with Utah decision makers is the first step in bringing new research insights into policy discussions. Our executive team serves on more than 30 boards and commissions with public, private and nonprofit partners. We’ve provided consistent service to the state through Brian Steed’s appointment as Great Salt Lake Commissioner and our ongoing engagement with both the legislative and executive branches. We’ve trained policy makers at the federal level on Western water issues through the U.S. Senate Colorado River Caucus and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Sharing Thought Leadership

We strive to convene experts and share insights that drive collaboration. Over the past two years, we’ve been invited to present at more than 500 events in Utah, nationally and even abroad. We will soon publish our 100th issue of This Week in Utah’s Land, Water and Air, providing weekly, unbiased insights into land, water and air news. Through the Colorado River Collaborative, we’ve supported training for Utah newsrooms to expand coverage of Colorado River issues, and we’re gearing up to host a National Conference on Colorado River Studies in Utah in October 2025.

Generating High-Quality Research

We’ve been proud to partner on research projects with four state agencies, and to begin to welcome external collaboration in our Report to the Governor and Legislature on Utah’s Land, Water and Air. We are actively connecting key researchers to critical state priorities in land, water and air. Efforts this year included the Great Salt Lake Strike Team, the Logan River Observatory, and the Bear Lake Needs Assessment.

Expanding Community Partnerships

Utah’s business community is a critical part of Utah’s land, water and air trajectory. To learn more about their priorities, we hosted two corporate idea exchanges with executives from leading Utah employers. We created a Community Partners program as a pathway to support our work and brought in several new investments.

We are gathering momentum and welcome new prospective partners to join us.

Governor Cox speaks at the Northern Utah Water Users/Spring Runoff Conference in Logan, Utah.
Brian Steed and Anna McEntire host a panel at the NUWU/Spring Runoff Conference.
Institute administrators attend a salon held by Ellen Rossi of the Lawson Foundation.
Members of the Institute in an airboat in the Great Salt Lake wetlands with Ben Stireman, Deputy Director of the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands.
Stephanie Frohman, Associate Director, standing in front of the White House in Washington D.C.
A group standing in front of a red rock landscape.