OUR
WORK
Here at Stewardship Utah, we are guided by three main objectives: support environmentally-conscious candidates at the municipal and state levels, propose and advocate for bold climate and voting policies, and engage our community to make Utah a healthier and more just place to live.
POLICY
Through electoral and legislative involvement, we are committed to implementing novel policy plans to clean our air, restore the Great Salt Lake, protect public lands, and advocate for voting rights.
PROSPERITY 2030
Prosperity 2030 is our overarching policy plan to reduce emissions by 50% along the Wasatch Front by 2030. Our policies target pollution from transportation, buildings, industrial point sources, and more. EMISSION OUTLOOK In the next decade, the state will allow emissions from mining and industrial sources to increase. Due to federal and state standards, some emission sources will decrease, but the Wasatch Front is not on track for a 50% reduction by 2030. POLICY PLAN The Prosperity 2030 policy plan addresses emissions from four main sources. Area Sources Incentivize low-emission home appliances and rooftop solar Mobile Sources Phase out high-emission heavy-duty vehicles and incentivize electric state vehicles Non-Road Sources Incentivize electric lawn equipment and idle-reducing locomotives Point Sources Register diesel mining equipment and set standards for halogen emissions
AIR QUALITY
On average, we lose 2-5 years of our lives simply by breathing the air of northern Utah, and our economy loses $2 billion annually in direct and indirect impacts from pollution. During the 2023 legislative session, we helped pass Phase 1 of Prosperity 2030 — HB 220 (Emissions Reduction Amendments) — into law! HB 220 sets a standard on halogen emissions from industrial sources, specifically bromine pollution, which increases our winter-time inversion up to 25%. HB 220 is a monumental win, and the most impactful piece of air quality legislation passed in the state in decades.
GREAT SALT LAKE
We are facing a water crisis in need of immediate attention. The health of the Great Salt Lake affects agriculture, air quality and climate, surrounding ecosystems, and much more. As a community, we’ve come a long way in bringing attention to GSL over the last few years. However, our lawmakers have yet to meet the moment and urgency needed to address the issues. In order to move our solutions forward, we need to deepen our relationships with lawmakers and come to the table with clear ideas to get water to GSL and to ensure better coordination across the watershed.
CLIMATE
Stewardship Utah's goals for air quality, water, clean energy, and public lands are each intertwined with climate change. It is our responsibility to hold Utah's leaders accountable and pass policies to reduce our carbon emissions and protect our ecosystems in the name of climate.
PUBLIC LANDS
Utah is known for breathtaking public lands and world class outdoor recreation, and with that comes conflicts with how these lands are managed or threats to their very existence. Before becoming Stewardship Utah, the Rural Utah Project was involved in several coalitions to save some of the most pristine wild spaces in Utah. Most recently we joined the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition to protect Nine Mile Canyon’s Gate Canyon from being paved. This would’ve destroyed rock art and historic sites throughout Gate Canyon to realign and pave this rarely-used road. During the 2024 legislative session, we were prepared to fight against funding for this project however no initiatives to do so took place. We are still working to ensure the protection of this historic area. In March of 2022, we successfully stopped the Book Cliffs Highway after 30 years of fighting. Similar to our current issues going on with Nine Mile Canyon, the Book Cliff Highway project would have destroyed 19 known cultural sites within the study corridor.
DEMOCRACY
Utah is leading the nation in voting policy concerning voting by mail, providing same-day registration, and more. Despite this, every year our voting rights are attacked by members of the legislature. Our goal is to not only protect our way of voting in Utah but to push for bold policies to make voting even more accessible so that every Utahn’s voice can be heard. As the Rural Utah Project, we have developed a track record of defending Utahn’s access to vote by mail. We have turned out rural activists from across Utah to protect our way of life and talk to their representatives. As Stewardship Utah, we look forward to proactively protecting these rights with innovative policies. 92% of Utahns vote by mail.
VOTING
Stewardship Utah seeks to empower underrepresented voters through training, education, voter registration, and issue advocacy. We identify, invest, and ignite a dialogue with Utahns, empowering them to take action and vote on the issues that matter most to our future.
REGISTRATION
We work with communities to register voters and support voter education across the Wasatch Front and throughout Southeastern Utah. From Bluff to Logan, we know that getting out the vote is a crucial first step to engaging communities for further advocacy. When we register to vote, we take the first steps towards being counted, recognized, and heard.
MOBILIZATION
In every county and town in Utah, our friends and neighbors have been fighting to improve their communities. We see it as our work to support these local activists, and to build and support the infrastructure that allows them to engage in long-term campaigns for progress.
RURAL ORGANIZING
We believe in the power of local organizing, as well as supporting candidates for local office. It is our work to empower our neighbors and the advocates who call this region home. Campaigns are not won by staff who too often are deposited into the places where they organize, but instead by the people that live there. It takes structure, resilience, and a shared vision to create change. We will continue to work to support the many people who advocate for their communities, and to provide infrastructure to local campaigns and candidates.
ENDORSEMENTS
Stewardship Utah’s endorsed candidates is where our theory of change begins. Our team identifies key races at the municipal and state levels and supports environmental champions for each seat. We provide full campaign support — strategy, canvassing, phone banking, fundraising, design, and more — to help elect the next stewards of Utah. This is the first step as we work to pass bold policies. We build trusted, working relationships with each of our endorsed candidates, and once elected, we hit the ground running to pass legislation.
THE
STEWARDSHIP UTAH
FOUNDATION
The Stewardship Utah Foundation, a 501(c)(3) and sister organization of Stewardship Utah, is dedicated to a greener and more just Utah by developing and strategically implementing visionary policy.
HB 22O
Utah lacks concrete legislative policy in key areas like improving air quality, raising Great Salt Lake levels, and addressing climate change. Emission Reduction Amendments During the 2023 legislative session, we helped pass HB 220 (Emissions Reduction Amendments) into law. Phase 1 of Prosperity 2030, HB 220 sets a standard on halogen emissions from industrial sources, namely bromine pollution — a super pollutant that increases our inversion up to 25%.
HB 411
The Community Renewable Energy Program is an initiative for Rocky Mountain Power to supply 100% renewable energy by 2030 to residents and businesses in participating communities. Eighteen communities throughout Utah opted in to participate in this innovative partnership with our state's largest, investor-owned utility supplier, Rocky Mountain Power. Transitioning communities to renewable energy, and away from Rocky Mountain Power's dirty fleet, is the single most significant step we can take to reduce carbon emissions in Utah. The Stewardship Utah Foundation works with city councils and citizens to ensure this program moves forward to transition our state to renewable sources.