Salt Lake City — Dozens of projects benefiting wildlife — including wildlife research, conservation and habitat restoration projects — have been funded after a record $6.6 million was committed to the projects by participating conservation groups during the annual conservation permit project funding meeting held on April 2.
The Utah Conservation Permit Program was launched in 1980 in an effort to increase funding for conservation projects for fish and wildlife throughout Utah. Each year, the Utah Wildlife Board designates a small percentage of limited-entry and once-in-a-lifetime hunting permits as "conservation and expo permits."
Conservation projects
Many of the conservation projects that are funded by these special permits are proposed to Utah's Watershed Restoration Initiative, a Utah Department of Natural Resources partnership-based program launched in 2006. The WRI focuses on improving watershed health and biological diversity, increasing water quality and yield, improving wildlife habitat, and increasing opportunities for sustainable uses of natural resources.
Proposals for the projects are due around the first week of January each year. After reviewing all of the proposals, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and WRI committees decide which habitat and conservation projects are of the highest priority. They then give the conservation groups an opportunity to review these projects, and the groups determine during the annual meeting which projects to assign funds to. The annual funding meeting has been taking place since 2008.
"These projects help improve wildlife habitat and watershed health throughout the state, which helps our fish and wildlife populations in these areas," Utah's Watershed Restoration Initiative Program Director Tyler Thompson said. "These projects are crucial, and the conservation permits and funds help make them possible."
During the April 2 meeting, DWR biologists presented 94 projects, 81 of which were then partially or fully funded by the conservation groups in attendance. The groups assessed the individual projects' goals, benefits and costs, and then selected the projects they wanted to support. A total of 163,231 acres of wildlife habitat will be improved as a result of the projects.
The funded projects will benefit wildlife in several ways, including:
- Protecting and improving critical winter and summer ranges for deer and elk, particularly in sagebrush and aspen ecosystems.
- Helping the DWR better understand movements and migration routes of big game and other species in Utah so they can build wildlife crossings and improve habitat in crucial areas.
- Monitoring survival rates and condition of adult female deer (does) and their fawns to help the DWR better understand the status and trends in deer populations throughout Utah.
- Increasing resistance to uncharacteristically large and severe wildfires.
- Addressing impacts of developments (roads, fencing, etc.) on wildlife migration corridors.
The projects that received the highest funding from the meeting were:
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Watts Mountain Habitat Improvement Phase 2
- This project will take place on the Fillmore Ranger District of the Fishlake National Forest and will improve over 6,200 acres of sagebrush, using several treatment methods. The project will also protect roughly 2 acres of high-value river habitat by fencing the area and seeding and transplanting plants inside the protected area. This project received $460,000 in funding.
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Central Region Mule Deer & Upland Game Habitat Project
- This project will occur on the Santaquin Wildlife Management Area and will improve mule deer habitat by irrigating several fields with desirable plants for mule deer. It will also increase the amount of water available for upland game birds — like turkeys and chukars — by installing several water catchment guzzlers on the west side of Utah Lake. This project received $357,000 in funding.
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Book Cliffs Wildlife Habitat Improvements
- This project will take place on the Book Cliffs range on DWR wildlife management areas and Trust Lands Administration properties. It will involve removing encroaching pinyon pine and juniper trees that are negatively impacting sagebrush habitats. The project will include planting desirable plants for wildlife in the area, as well. It will also improve river and stream health along Willow Creek through the installation of in-stream structures and the removal of invasive plant species. This project received $292,500 in funding.
"We are really grateful for the support of our conservation partners who believe in wildlife conservation and want to help improve wildlife populations and habitats in Utah," DWR Habitat Conservation Coordinator Daniel Eddington said.
Most of these habitat projects take multiple years to plan and complete. Funds for these projects will become available July 1, with much of the seeding and restoration work being conducted in the fall, during prime planting season. Over 168,000 acres across Utah were improved through WRI habitat projects in 2023-24. Since 2006, the WRI program has improved nearly 2.7 million acres of Utah's landscapes through more than 2,800 restoration projects.
Conservation permits
The conservation permits are offered to conservation and sportsmen's groups, who then auction them at banquets, fundraisers and other events. The conservation groups provide 90% of the money raised from these permit sales toward conservation and research projects like habitat enhancement, wildlife transplants, aerial surveys and deer survival studies. The remaining 10% of the proceeds are retained by the conservation groups to help cover administrative costs.
Expo permits
The expo permits are not auctioned, but rather, are offered once each year through a public drawing currently held at the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City. Utahns and nonresidents who attend the expo can apply for these permits. There is a $5 application fee and part of that fee goes to the conservation groups hosting the expo to help pay for costs associated with hosting and running the permit drawing. The remaining portion of the application fee is used for conservation efforts.
How do these permits benefit Utah hunters?
Since 2001, conservation permits have generated more than $88 million for conservation work in Utah. If not for the revenue from these permits, the DWR and its partners would have much less funding to complete high-priority wildlife conservation projects. The conservation and expo permit funding has led to the enhancement of thousands of acres of crucial habitats and the completion of important research to help the DWR better manage big game populations.
The conservation groups that participated in the meeting and helped fund the conservation projects include:
- Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit Association
- Dallas Safari Club
- Mule Deer Foundation
- National Wild Turkey Federation
- Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
- Safari Club International
- Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife
- Utah Archery Association
- Utah Chukar and Wildlife Foundation
- Utah Houndsmen Association
- Utah Wild Sheep Foundation
- Wildlife Conservation Foundation
