Trust Lands Update - September 2002
15-Sep-2002
Trust Lands Update
LAND DONATION RECEIVED
Mr. Roen A. Hale, chairman of the board for Simpson Steel Fabricators, recently donated 160 acres of land in Duchesne County to the Trust Lands Administration. The property is located approximately 10 miles south of Strawberry Reservoir near Red Creek.
Recently, Simpson Steel decided to dissolve the corporation to pursue other business opportunities. The Duchesne property was part of the corporation's holdings.
Simpson Steel had many choices for disposing of the property, but Mr. Hale said that he is appreciative for the education he received as a child in Utah and believes that this donation is a good way to give something back to the schools. The land has been placed in the real estate trust portfolio of Utah's public schools. Trust Lands Administration will manage the land for the economic benefit of Utah's schoolchildren.
The Donations Program of the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration was established in March of 1999 for the purpose of accepting gifts such as this one from Simpson Steel. Since then, the agency has received property, cash and testamentary donations. For example, in December of 2001, an anonymous donor sent a check for $24,895.37 designated for the schools' permanent fund.
Monies received from the sale of real estate or cash donations go directly to the permanent fund for the schoolchildren of Utah. The interest and dividend revenues from this fund are distributed directly to the schools. Trust Lands Administration welcomes donations to help reach the goal of $1 Billion in total assets by 2010.
CARBON COUNTY, RIDGE ROAD INDUSTRIAL PARK
NELCO Contractors Inc. of Price has purchased and improved more than 15 acres of trust land in the Trust Land Administration's Ridge Road Industrial Park near Price. In addition to the purchase price, NELCO brought utilities and constructed a county road into that part of the industrial park. The new road and infrastructure serve six more lots in the park, improving their desirability.
NELCO outgrew its old location on Fairgrounds Road in Price. The new Ridge Road Industrial Park site allows the company to consolidate its operations into one place, conveniently situated to some of its most important customers. NELCO builds and maintains roads for businesses which produce natural gas from the coal beds south of Price.
ART DUFAULT RECEIVES WASHINGTON APPOINTMENT
Art DuFault, Associate Director of Schools and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, has announced his appointment as a Chief Advisor on resource and fuels with the Bush administration and his subsequent resignation from Trust Lands. DuFault will be working as a member of the National Fire Team in the office of the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Land Management. He will act as liaison among the administration and the Department of the Interior and other agencies.
"The devastating forest fires this summer demonstrated the need for a national fire control plan to be put into action immediately. More homes being built near public lands, years of suppressed fires, and forests being overcome with fuels show how we are contributing to unhealthy forests," DuFault said. He does believe, however, that the local economies of the forest timber areas can benefit greatly and that the "...economic value in timber reclamation will offset the cost of economic treatment while still maintaining the characteristics of an environmentally healthy forest."
DuFault has over 36 years of professional forestry management and protection experience and came to Trust Lands Administration from the State of Utah Department of Natural Resources where, for seven years, he held the position of State Forester and Director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. Before coming to Utah in 1994, he spent 29 years with the USDA Forest Service where he was Forest Supervisor of the Winema National Forest, Manager of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and Deputy Forest Supervisor of the Deschutes National Forest - all in Oregon. At Trust Lands DuFault was involved in the implementation of plans for the administration of large blocks of property under Trust Land's management. He also served as special advisor to the director, Steve Boyden.
For more information contact:
Dave Hebertson
(801) 538-5102
DAVEHEBERTSON@utah.gov
Or
NormaLee McMichael
801-538-5105
NLMCMICHAEL@utah.gov
Trust Lands Administration
675 East 500 South, Suite 500
Salt Lake City, UT 84102