SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Division of State Parks officially has a new director. Bountiful native and Weber State University alumnus Scott Strong, who spent the previous six years as Utah State Parks’ deputy director of business management and eight years as the division’s financial manager and accounting officer, was appointed to the role in January.

More recently, the Utah State Parks board announced its support of Strong’s appointment.

Strong replaces previous director Jeff Rasmussen, who retired in December after 31 years of involvement with Utah’s state parks division. He had been the division’s director since 2018 and, over the years, had worked closely with his eventual successor.

“Jeff was a great state parks director,” Strong told the Standard-Examiner. “He loves the outdoors and he retired so that he could spend more time in our parks and in the outdoors.”

As it happens, getting more people to spend more time in Utah’s myriad state parks is an area of focus for Strong, who aims to foster greater connectedness between parkgoers, staff and the parks themselves.

“One of the things I would like to do is more planning as far as what areas are we going to develop. Where are we going to focus in the future? How can we bring back some of our programs at the parks to educate people and to share the outdoors and the outdoor experience with people who maybe haven’t been before and want more of that personal touch?” Strong said.

“Really, that’s about planning for the future, thinking about where we are today and being strategic in our intentions moving forward, how we’re going to focus on the visitor and the visitor experience, as well as create a culture within our staff that is more connected.”

He’s also working to build relationships with local communities and legislators to better tell the stories and address the needs of Utah’s state parks.

Strong’s love of parks and the great outdoors in general developed early and was influenced by his upbringing on Bountiful’s East Bench.

“We just had this neighborhood where we would go up in the hills and we would go hiking all the time,” he said. “So from a young age, I’ve always loved the outdoors. And then my dad and I spent a lot of time playing golf as I grew up. I started playing golf when I was about 8 years old. My dad and my two uncles and I would often play on a Saturday morning. So my love of golf started very early and so did my love of the outdoors.”

Among Strong’s big early projects is the construction of another marina at Bear Lake State Park. Things also are happening at the Great Salt Lake Marina, where Strong anticipates more visitors amid rising water levels.

Where the Ogden area and surrounding locales are concerned, Strong told the Standard-Examiner that the state parks division is looking to expand Morgan County’s East Canyon State Park.

“We’re in the process of acquiring some more land that’s adjacent to the park now. And by doing that, we’re going to open up more trails and mountain bike areas, as well as the potential for a new campground,” he said.

Strong also mentioned the potential expansion of trails and the construction of a new IMAX theater at Antelope Island State Park, the latter of which could be completed in 12-18 months.

“I am so excited about this new opportunity,” he said. “And one of the things, one of the many things, that excites me is I believe that we have beautiful state parks and it’s our staff that makes incredible experiences in our state parks.”

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