In 2023, the Utah Legislature created the Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner. The commissioner has been tasked with developing and maintaining a strategic plan as well as coordinating collaborative work amongst all agencies and interests in relation to the lake. The commissioner also holds the authority to require a state agency to act, or refrain from acting, in order to protect the Great Salt Lake.
Address
Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner
1594 W. North Temple, Suite 3710
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
About the Commissioner
Brian Steed, JD PhD
Great Salt Lake Commissioner
(801) 631-7634
bsteed@utah.gov
May 2023, Governor Spencer Cox appointed Brian Steed as the first Great Salt Lake Commissioner.
Currently, Steed also serves as executive director of the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air at Utah State University. As part of this role, he has served as co-chair of the Great Salt Lake Strike Team, a cooperative effort by Utah State University, the University of Utah, the Utah Department of Natural Resources and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality that provides up-to-date data and analysis of the lake as well as policy recommendations to the governor and legislators for the protection and preservation of the Great Salt Lake.
Previously, Steed has served as executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, deputy director of policy and programs of the Bureau of Land Management in Washington D.C., and chief of staff to Congressman Chris Stewart.
Steed holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in political science from Utah State University, a Juris Doctor and certificate in natural resources and environmental law from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah and a doctorate in public policy from Indiana University.
About the Deputy Commissioner
Tim Davis
Great Salt Lake Deputy Commissioner
(801) 247-3940
tdavis3@utah.gov
Tim Davis is the Deputy Great Salt Lake Commissioner.
Davis previously served as the Director of the Utah Division of Drinking Water. Prior to coming to Utah, he oversaw the water rights, water resources, drinking water and water quality programs for the state of Montana. He led the Water Quality Division at Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Water Resources Division at the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Davis also served as the Chair of the Western States Water Council.
Davis grew up in Lander, Wyoming. He spends most of his free time outdoors with his family and their two dogs.