Utah Gov.-elect Spencer Cox on Thursday filled two key positions in his incoming administration overseeing the state’s environmental and land-use affairs.
The Department of Environmental Quality’s deputy director Kim Shelley will become executive director in January, while Redge Johnson will succeed the retiring Kathleen Clarke at the helm of Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office.
“Both Kim and Redge have depth of experience and the respect of their colleagues. They each are uniquely qualified to take on these new roles,” Cox said in a prepared statement. “We’re excited to have them join our team as we get to work for the public good.”
(Photos courtesy of the Utah governor's office) Kim Shelley, left, will be the new executive director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Redge Johnson, right, has been named head of the state's Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office.
Shelley, who has previously served as a section chief with DEQ’s Division of Water Quality, succeeds Scott Baird who steps down this month.
A 1989 graduate of Utah State University, Johnson has worked as a consultant for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and for The Nature Conservancy. He has long been a familiar voice at the Utah Capitol advocating for the ranching community, often extolling the environmental and social benefits of public lands grazing. From 2015 to 2019, he served as county liaison for the public lands office, helping rural communities have a say in the management of natural resources overseen by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other federal agencies.
Clarke retires this month after a long career that included stints as the head of the BLM and the Utah Department of Natural Resources.
