Hi-Ute barn to become Utah Open Lands field station following historic designation

Photo: Utah Open Lands

PARK CITY, Utah — The historic Hi-Ute Ranch barn was officially designated as a historically significant structure in May by the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission. With that designation and a recently approved conditional use permit, Utah Open Lands is now moving forward with plans to restore and repurpose the barn as a conservation-focused field station.

“One big part of it was designating the barn as a historically significant structure,” said Wendy Fisher, executive director of Utah Open Lands. “We recently found a photograph that has a big 1918 stamp painted on the Hi-Ute barn, so it would appear that it at least dates back to then.”

Fisher said the designation aligns with the land trust’s broader mission to preserve both landscape and legacy.

“I really do think that glimpsing a sense of the past gives us context for the present and the future,” she said. “We all talk about history repeating itself, and I think there are always lessons to be learned from the past in terms of the legacy that we want to leave for the future.”

Although the barn is already protected under a conservation easement—including preservation of its façade—the conditional use permit was essential for structural stabilization and future programming. “The conditional use permit, first and foremost, was fundamental for us in terms of just being able to stabilize the barn and that structure, in order to do work on it and to do it in the right way,” Fisher said.

The long-term goal is to create a functional field office and host curated, small-scale public programs focused on stewardship, resilience, and conservation science.

“What we’re looking at is this really becomes Utah Open Lands’ field station and a way for us to, in a curated fashion, engage the public in all of this conservation modeling that we think is important as we look to the future of resilient landscapes throughout Utah,” Fisher said.

The field station will also serve as a hub to share data and observations from land management practices beyond Hi-Ute Ranch.

“We hope that this becomes a center of stewardship,” Fisher said. “A place to have thoughtful discussions on what’s working and what’s not working up at Bonanza Flat Conservation Area, what we’re seeing with Bonneville Shoreline Trail, things down on the Wasatch Front, what we hope to accomplish in the North Fields.”

While the barn will host Utah Open Lands’ annual gala this August, the organization does not plan to open the site for general public access.

“It is going to have to be these curated experiences, because this again comes back to that fundamental principle of balance,” Fisher said. “Everybody understands that when you get out of balance, you lose some of the health and restorative powers—whether it’s your body or the landscape.”