Trust Lands Staff Recognized as 2023 Range Manager of the Year
The Utah Society for Range Management has named Slate Stewart its 2023 Range Manager of the Year. This is the third time a Trust Lands Administration (TLA) Range Manager has been bestowed an award from the prestigious group.
“Slate is widely known as one of the hardest workers around,” said Ron Torgerson, Assistant Managing Director for the Trust Lands Administration’s Surface group. “Slate is very passionate about agriculture and rangelands, and his ability to manage the complex nature of rangelands and grazing permits is remarkable,” Torgerson continued.
Stewart is the third Trust Lands employee to receive an award from the group within the last four years. In 2021, Scott Chamberlain was named Utah’s Range Manager of the Year. In 2020, Ethan Hallows was named Utah’s Outstanding Young Range Professional of the Year.
“This is a great honor, and I really look up to the previous recipients of this award. I’m appreciative of those who nominated and supported me,” said Stewart.
Stewart is a fifth-generation rancher whose family still operates farmland in southeast Utah. Stewart is known as a leader and advocate for responsible grazing and agriculture practices across the state.
“Having Slate on our team is an honor. We have the best of the best at Trust Lands, and the work our range managers are able to accomplish is critical to the stewardship of Trust Lands in Utah,” said Michelle McConkie, TLA’s director. “These guys come to work here, and I’m proud to say they stay here for years. And it’s not because the job is easy. It’s one of the hardest jobs around. They work for Trust Lands because they love the land and want to see it maintained for decades to come.”
The Trust Lands Administration manages 3.3 million acres of Trust Lands in Utah. Trust lands are not public lands. Trust Lands were allocated by Congress specifically to generate revenue to support designated state institutions. The beneficiaries of trust land revenue include public schools, hospitals, teaching colleges, universities, and reservoirs. The Trust Lands Administration is constitutionally mandated to manage the lands and revenues generated from them in the most profitable manner possible for the current beneficiaries and preserve trust assets for future beneficiaries.
