Leadership

Executive Team

Jamie Barnes

Commissioner
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Jamie Barnes was appointed as DNR commissioner in August 2026 by Gov. Spencer J. Cox. In this role, she leads nearly 2,500 employees across nine divisions, three offices, and one authority. Her team oversees Utah’s most pressing natural resource priorities, including water security, energy and critical mineral development, wildfire management, forest health, state parks, outdoor recreation, and public lands stewardship.

Barnes previously served as Utah State Forester and director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL) beginning in 2021, capping over 15 years with the agency. During her tenure, she managed sovereign lands to safeguard Utah’s navigable lakes and rivers under the Public Trust Doctrine. Her leadership on the Great Salt Lake, including establishing a framework for critical mineral extraction and negotiating a major water donation with Compass Minerals, earned her the 2025 Utah Water Pioneer Award from the Utah House of Representatives. She was also named the 2019 DNR Employee of the Year.

She began her career in the private legal sector before joining FFSL as a paralegal in 2011, building a strong foundation in regulatory policy, field operations, and inter-agency coordination. Barnes holds a Master of Natural Resources from the University of Idaho and a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Weber State University. A lifelong Utahn, she enjoys exploring Utah’s beautiful mountains with her husband and two children.

Nathan Schwebach

Deputy Commissioner
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Nathan Schwebach joined DNR in 2015 as the communications director and was appointed deputy director in 2021. The Legislature changed the title to "Deputy Commissioner" May 6, 2026. His primary responsibilities include overseeing the department’s communication and community outreach efforts, legislative affairs and law enforcement. Additionally, he oversees management of the divisions of state parks; recreation; oil, gas and mining; water rights; the Office of Energy Development; and the Utah Geological Survey.

Prior to joining DNR, Schwebach was the public relations director for ThomasArts, a full-service advertising and communication firm in Farmington, Utah. As an expert in strategic communication, he has worked with a variety of public, private, government and nonprofit organizations throughout the United States, including General Motors, Subway Restaurants, Cancer Research Institute, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Comcast, Natural History Museum of Utah, Utah Department of Transportation, AARP and Aetna. Schwebach has a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations from the University of Utah.

Ben Stireman

Deputy Commissioner
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Ben Stireman serves as Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, overseeing the divisions of Wildlife Resources, Water Resources, Forestry, Fire and State Lands, Law Enforcement, and the Watershed Restoration Initiative. Dedicated to preserving Utah’s natural landscapes since 2016, he previously served as Deputy Director of the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. In this role, he managed state sovereign lands and led high-impact resource initiatives—from guiding the responsible development of critical minerals to executing historic water rights transactions to support the Great Salt Lake.

Stireman holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Urban Planning and Environmental & Sustainability Studies from the University of Utah, along with a Master of Public Administration from Southern Utah University. Outside of work, he enjoys exploring the outdoors with his wife and two sons.

Redge Johnson

Deputy Commissioner
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Redge Johnson was appointed as a DNR Deputy Director in August 2022. (The Legislature changed the title to "Deputy Commissioner" May 6, 2026.) He also serves as the Director of the Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office. Johnson brings extensive experience in public lands, natural resources, planning, policy, and leadership to the DNR team.

Previously, Johnson was the director of strategic initiatives at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. Prior to that, he served as the county liaison and natural resources planner for the Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office. Johnson also worked at the Utah DNR and The Nature Conservancy as a land and water acquisitions specialist.

A native of Utah, Johnson was born in Lost Creek, Utah and has lived all over the world, from metropolitan areas in Yokohama, Japan, Aix-en-Provence, France and Washington, D.C., to rural settings including Jean Lake, Nevada and Johns Valley, Utah. Johnson has a bachelor’s degree in pre-law from Utah State University and a passion for Utah’s public lands and natural resources.

Kim Wells

Communications Director
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Kim Wells was appointed as the communications director for the Department of Natural Resources in August 2021. Wells replaces Nathan Schwebach who was named deputy director for DNR. Wells started her career at DNR in 2019 and worked for the Division of Water Resources as the public information officer. Prior to joining Water Resources, she worked for the City of West Jordan as the communications manager and public information officer for 12 years. She holds a bachelor’s of fine arts in communications from Brigham Young University.

Stephanie Cormack

Executive Assistant
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Stephanie Cormack joined the Department of Natural Resources in 2024 supporting Administration and the Great Salt Lake Commissioners Office. She was appointed to serve as the department's Executive Assistant in August 2026. Prior to moving to Utah, she lived in North Carolina for thirteen years working in local government as an Administrative Officer.

Stephanie and her family have lived in many places in the United States supporting her husband’s military career, one of those being in Utah where they fell in love with the natural beauty and all that Utah has to offer, from camping, and fishing to hiking and skiing.

Administrative Team

Wade Kloos

Enterprise Services Director
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Wade Kloos serves as the director of enterprise systems for DNR. His main responsibilities are to cultivate and manage the systems that serve the entire department, such as GIS, AV Services and the UAS/Drone Program. Wade also plays an important role in the department’s data security, liaison to DTS as well as specializing in performance measurements and operational improvement.

Wade began his career as a City Planner and that evolved into GIS management roles within both the public and private sectors. Wade was hired in 2013 as DNR’s first GIS Director. Wade has authored numerous articles on GIS return on investment (ROI) strategies for IT and GIS publications as well as created opportunities and awards for DNR’s GIS staff to be recognized for their contributions to DNR’s mission. In 2017, Wade was instrumental in developing DNR’s AV Services which has greatly improved the impact of DNR’s many internal and external events and presentations. Wade created a presentation literacy workshop series as a resource for all DNR staff.

Wade has a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado-Denver and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from California State University-Fullerton. Wade and his wife Emily have two grown boys, and they all enjoy exploring Utah’s amazing environments. Wade has been designing, building and flying RC model airplanes and drones for over 30 years.

Mike Tribe

Human Resources Director
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Michael Tribe joined the Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in 2017 as the Human Resources Director. Mr. Tribe has a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Utah. His primary responsibilities include managing and directing DNR Human Resources team and government outreach efforts and overseeing the department’s recruitment, classification, compensation, performance management and liability issues for DNR and its seven divisions.

Prior to joining DNR, Mr. Tribe served the state of Utah in a variety of Human Resources positions and agencies since 1993, most recently as the Human Resources Manager for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

Mr. Tribe and his wife Marci have four children and live in Bountiful, Utah. He is an avid fan of the Utah Jazz and the University of Utah and enjoys enjoying traveling throughout Utah’s to take in the scenic beauty. In his spare time he enjoys singing in two local community choirs, Utah Voices and Witness Music.

Bryan Brown

Information Technology Director
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Bryan Brown joined DNR in 2023 as the information technology director. His primary responsibilities include overseeing DNR’s technical environment with application development and maintenance, desktop support, servers, network and help desk. Bryans’s career spans nearly 30 years of information technology in a variety of business sectors. Prior to joining the DNR team, Bryan was hired at the state in 2015 and, most recently, was a lead application manager for Health and Human Services. His career in private industry included work in advertising, video game development, public key encryption service provider, and as a systems architect for the highly successful 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Following the Olympics, Bryan focused his career on management, becoming an information technology director for a major Salt Lake law firm, and then as the Manager of IT Operations for a nationwide insurance company. He has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Utah and loves to root for his alma mater.

Tyler Thompson

Watershed Director
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Tyler Thompson has worked for DNR since 1997 starting his career as a seasonal employee collecting vegetation trend data for DNR’s Division of Wildlife Resources Range trend program. Since this time, Tyler has worked as a research biologist in the development of new grass and forb seed releases and as one of the first restoration biologists hired to implement projects in southern Utah funded through Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative (UWRI). For the last decade, Tyler has been a part of WRI’s statewide administration staff. In that position, Tyler helped find matching funding for WRI projects and administered the incoming and outgoing funding contracts to help get project dollars on the ground each year. In January of 2017, Tyler was selected as DNR’s watershed program director. Tyler coordinates and manages WRI through five regional teams that submit and review over 150 restoration projects each year. WRI completes nearly 100,000 acres of restoration work each year in Utah.

Tyler grew up in Orem, Utah where he graduated from Mountain View High School, attended Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University. Tyler received both a bachelors and masters degree from BYU where he did his graduate research on the use of both native and non-native seed mixes for fire rehabilitation in the Tintic valley, Utah following the 1999 Railroad fire.

Tyler and his wife Brooke have been married for 15 years and currently live in West Jordan. Tyler enjoys fishing, outdoor photography and riding off-road motorcycles through Utah’s beautiful desert and mountain landscapes.

Tyson Plastow

Internal Audit Director
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Tyson Plastow joined DNR in 2024 as the Internal Audit Director. Tyson is responsible for DNR’s internal audit program and its role of strengthening DNR’s ability to manage, protect and sustain public resources with independent, risk-based and objective assurance, advice, insight and foresight. Part of those responsibilities include ensuring DNR’s internal audit complies with State Code and Global Internal Auditing Standards.

Prior to joining DNR, Tyson worked in the Office of the Utah State Auditor. While there he worked in Special Projects, conducting performance, compliance, and fraud-related audits. Tyson holds a Bachelor’s from Brigham Young University and a Master’s of Business Administration from Weber State University. He also has multiple professional audit certifications through the Institute of Internal Auditors.

Tyson and his wife Carrie have three children. He loves the outdoors and enjoys whitewater rafting and kayaking. He is also an avid woodworker and plans to build his own kayak.

Division Directors

Todd Royce

Division of Law Enforcement Director
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Todd Royce was appointed as the director of the Division of Law Enforcement in July 2024 in preparation for the unification of DNR's four law enforcement agencies: Wildlife Resources; State Parks; Outdoor Recreation; and Forestry, Fire and State Lands. Prior to the appointment, he served as DNR's law enforcement director since 2018.

Achieving the rank of Lieutenant, Royce has served in many capacities during his 23-year career with the Utah Department of Public Safety, including as a public information officer for four years. Much of his field experience was obtained in Utah County as a Trooper and Sergeant. Royce previously served as president of the Utah Troopers Association and as a member of the board of directors for the UHP Honoring Heroes Foundation. Royce holds a criminal justice degree from Salt Lake Community College.

Brianne Emery

Forestry, Fire and State Lands Acting Director
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Brianne Emery serves as the Acting Utah State Forester and Director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. The division administers numerous forestry programs, is responsible for wildfire management on state and private lands, and oversees Utah’s state sovereign lands. Prior to her appointment as Acting State Forester and the division’s acting director in September 2026, Brianne was the division’s deputy director of Program Services and has been with the division for six years. Prior to joining FFSL, she was the planner for the state’s Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office for four years.

Brianne has a diverse background working on planning and policy initiatives with state, local and federal government as well as a variety of stakeholders. She began her natural resources career working for the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in college, and after graduate school she joined the private sector gaining experience in public outreach, GIS and NEPA. Brianne holds a Master’s in Environmental Communication and Policy from the University of Utah with undergraduate degrees in Environmental Studies and Geography from the University of Utah.

Emy Lesofski

Energy Advisor and Office of Energy Development Director
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Emy Lesofski was appointed as director of the Utah Office of Energy Development in October 2024. She also serves as energy advisor to Gov. Cox. Lesofski brings extensive experience in federal appropriations and natural resources and environment policy. She oversees the policy and program staff, as well as the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab.

Lefoski worked in Washington, D.C. for 24 years as a senior staffer in both houses of Congress and was the Republican staff director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

Lesofski studied political science at BYU and is happy to be back in Utah with her extended family. She has a passion for good policy, energy and finances.

Dana Dean

Oil, Gas and Mining Acting Director
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Dana Dean is the acting director of the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining and serves as deputy director over the mining programs. She has over 30 years of professional experience in mine design and operations, environmental regulation and natural resource management.

Dean began her career working in coal, gold, trona and limestone mines throughout the United States, Mexico and Venezuela before joining the division. She has served as deputy director since 2008, overseeing the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program and the Minerals and Coal regulatory programs. Throughout her career, she has focused on improving processes, investing in employees, advancing technology and maintaining a reasonable balance in regulation.

Dean earned a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from the University of Utah, where she received the Watchman Award from the Old Timers Club. In 2021, she became the first woman to receive the program’s John E. Willson Distinguished Alumni Award.

She is a licensed professional engineer, a member of Chi Epsilon and fluent in Spanish.

Jason Curry

Division of Outdoor Recreation Director
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Jason Curry was appointed as the director of the Division of Outdoor Recreation in December of 2022. Prior to his appointment, he served as deputy director of the Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands, overseeing six state area offices, the division’s law enforcement program, public affairs, and its safety program. Before being promoted to deputy director, he was the division’s public information officer and chief investigator. He also served many years on the Davis County Search and Rescue Team.

Curry started his career with the DNR in 1999 as a public affairs coordinator, where he served for eight years orchestrating public information and branding for the department. He graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in economics.

Scott Strong

State Parks Director
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Scott Strong was appointed as the director of Utah State Parks in February 2024. He previously served as the deputy director of business management for six years and the division’s financial manager and accounting officer for eight years.

Strong has always felt a strong connection to and appreciation for nature. Asking him to choose just one outdoor activity as a favorite would be extremely hard due to the wide variety of them available at state parks. He has hiked Frary Peak at Antelope Island State Park, ridden ATVs at Wasatch Mountain State Park, floated the river from Green River State Park and wakeboarded at Sand Hollow State Park.

He holds a degree in business administration and marketing from Weber State University.

Darlene Batatian

State Geologist and Utah Geological Survey Director
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Darlene Batatian was appointed as the director of the Utah Geological Survey/State Geologist in April 2025. Batatian received a bachelor’s degree in earth sciences from UC Santa Cruz and a master’s degree in geology from Idaho State University. Her work has included drilling paleomagnetic cores on Alaskan islands, geologic mapping near Sun Valley, Idaho, delineating mineral resources for proposed Wilderness Study Areas with the U.S. Geological Survey and groundwater monitoring projects at Hill Air Force Base and in the U.S. Territory of Guam.

Batatian has focused on Utah geology for decades, serving as Salt Lake County Geologist from 1998 to 2006, where she was responsible for addressing impacts of geologic hazards on proposed developments. She was also instrumental in advancing Utah’s professional licensure requirement for geologists.

Teresa Wilhelmsen

State Engineer and Water Rights Director
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Teresa Wilhelmsen was appointed in 2020 as the State Engineer. She is responsible for the general administrative supervision of the waters of the state and the measurement, appropriation, apportionment, and distribution of those waters.

Wilhelmsen joined the Division of Water Rights in 1997 and most recently served as an assistant state engineer and the division’s hearing officer. Prior to that, she served as a regional engineer at the Utah Lake and Jordan River Regional Office, and as the division’s adjudication program manager. Before joining the division, Wilhelmsen worked for the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration and Utah Division of Forestry. She is a professional engineer and graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

Joel Williams

Water Resources Director
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Riley Peck

Wildlife Resources Director
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Riley Peck was appointed director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in January 2025. He leads the division’s efforts in the responsible management and conservation of the state’s fish and wildlife.

Peck's career at the division began in 2006. During his years as a biologist and regional wildlife manager, he worked with a variety of game and nongame species. His background in both conservation and wildlife policy led to his role as the division’s legislative liaison, a position he held from 2019-2025. In his work with lawmakers, he advocated for sustainable wildlife practices and habitat restoration projects.

Peck has a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in plant and wildlife science from Brigham Young University. He enjoys his free time in Utah’s outdoors, especially fishing, hunting and camping with his family.