SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City is beginning development of a new Public Lands Master Plan. As an important first step, the city is calling on all community members to help reimagine the future of our Public Lands: the nature in our city that enhances the quality of our lives.

The Public Lands Master Plan will establish an inspirational framework to guide how the City grows and prioritizes investments for the next 10-20 years within the three public lands divisions (Parks, Trails & Natural Lands, and Urban Forestry). In acknowledgment of the findings from the 2019 Salt Lake City Parks and Public Lands Needs Assessment, this effort will address current challenges to improve our public lands system.

Given the goals of this master plan, it has been given the name, “Reimagine Nature.” Reimagine Nature will use comprehensive, evidence-based analysis, coupled with community engagement, to prioritize and identify transformative projects for Salt Lake City’s public lands.

The community is encouraged to participate in the Master Plan process during three engagement windows, the first of which begins on August 26,2020 and will last approximately 6 weeks. The goals of the first engagement window are to: 1) Present a foundation of understanding to various groups to gain a common understanding of opportunities and challenges to public lands; 2) Inform the public of the master plan objectives; and 3) Understand the community values regarding public lands.

During the first engagement window, Public Lands staff will be presenting at many virtual community council meetings. Additionally, there will be over 20 “pop-up” events in parks, along trails, and within other natural areas where staff will discuss Reimagine Nature with users of the spaces. These events will be designed with social distancing measures in place. The first pop-up event will take place at Liberty Park on Thursday, August 27^th, from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm (near the middle of the park on the east side). Residents will also notice an increase in social media posts and on-site signage related to Reimagine Nature.

Community members are invited to visit the project website, ReimagineNatureSLC.com, to learn about Reimagine Nature and to provide initial feedback through an online survey about what they envision for the future of Public Lands in Salt Lake City.

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