The utah division of wildlife resources has primary responsibility for managing utahs wildlife resources and the wildlife section of the udwr has primary responsibility for managing the terrestrial…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Department of the Interior) awarded the State of Utah, Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) $16.0 million in formula grant funding under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611) for the period July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. This funding supports UDWR's comprehensive statewide wildlife management programs, including watershed restoration initiatives, habitat stewardship programs, hunting recommendations, management plans, surveys and inventories, technical guidance, wildlife transplants and introductions, waterfowl and wildlife management area operations, wildlife health programming, and the Utah Wildlife Migration Initiative. The formula grant allocation, distributed through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act framework, provides funding for Utah's terrestrial wildlife management activities across the state.

UDWR executed multiple sub-awards to implement the grant's wildlife conservation objectives through partnerships with academic institutions and conservation organizations. Utah State University (USU) received sub-awards for moose population studies examining climate and parasite impacts, rare plant surveys in the Logan Peak area with mountain goat augmentation monitoring, mule deer population monitoring across Utah, noxious weed control and eradication, carnivore population monitoring methodology development, mule deer migration behavior quantification, and Great Salt Lake bio-energetics modeling for migratory bird management. Brigham Young University (BYU) conducted research on mule deer population dynamics in the La Sal Mountains and Nebo unit, examining limiting factors on fawn production and the relative influences of predation versus habitat quality. Pheasants Forever, Inc. provided a habitat specialist position for waterfowl and upland game management on wildlife management areas, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service (Pacific West Area) contributed research on establishing important browse species for wildlife. These coordinated research, habitat management, and monitoring activities directly support UDWR's statutory responsibilities for terrestrial wildlife conservation and restoration across Utah's diverse ecosystems.

The utah division of wildlife resources has primary responsibility for managing utahs wildlife resources and the wildlife section of the udwr has primary responsibility for managing the terrestrial wildlife in the state. This proposal is for federal aid in wildlife restoration funding to administer utahs statewide management programs. Activities for funding includeutahs watershed restoration initiativehabitat stewardship programshunting recommendationsmanagement planssurveys and inventoriestechnical guidance and informationtransplantsintroductionscapturesmanagement of waterfowl management areas and wildlife management areaswildlife health programutah wildlife migration initiative