The health and vigor of big game populations and other native wildlife species are closely correlated to the quality and quantity of forage and habitat in key areas

The State of Utah, Division of Wildlife Resources received $1.05M in funding under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611), administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6. The award, effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, supports two primary components aligned with Utah's Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan and Wildlife Action Plan objectives. The monitoring component establishes systematic evaluation of habitat trends at designated key areas throughout the state, tracking plant community composition changes and restoration project effectiveness to inform adaptive management practices for biologists, public land managers, and private landowners. The research component addresses identified knowledge gaps in habitat restoration by expanding native plant material availability, improving planting requirements understanding, developing more effective restoration equipment, and refining habitat restoration techniques through independent work and collaborative partnerships with universities, state agencies, and federal entities.

The statewide mule deer management plan for utah has a goal to conserve improve and restore mule deer habitat throughout the state. Utahs wildlife action plant has identified key habitats that generally meet the needs of most of utahs native wildlife species including species of greatest conservation need as well as threats to those habitats. The projects under this grant will focus on monitoring and improving the quality and quantity of forage for big game and other wildlife in key habitats statewide. The monitoring component of this grant will assist with evaluating and reporting habitat trends at designated key areas throughout the state and inform biologists public land managers and private landowners of the current status and any significant changes in plant community composition in these areas. Monitoring of restoration projects and the resulting changes to plant communities also provides insights into treatment effectiveness and informs adaptive management practices.beyond inventorying and monitoring habitats there are crucial knowledge gaps in habitat restoration including as defined by utahs WAP threat analysis inadequate restoration tools and methods and plant material development. The research component of this grant will assist with addressing these issues through the increased availability of native plant materials used in habitat restoration increasing our understanding of the planting requirements for those materials developing and increasing the effectiveness of habitat restoration equipment and refining and developing habitat restoration techniques in order to improve habitat restoration practices. Work will be done independently and in collaboration with university state and federal partnerships to achieve these objectives.