Henefer-Echo WMA
Salt Lake City — Roughly $3.4 million was allocated to selected habitat restoration projects at the recent annual Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Habitat Council funding meeting on April 30.
The DWR Habitat Council was created in 1995 by the Utah Legislature as a way to provide funds for fish and wildlife conservation that are specifically used to:
- Enhance fish and wildlife habitat
- Preserve and protect habitat
- Manage and acquire new habitat areas for fish and wildlife
- Improve hunting and fishing access
These funds are a portion of the revenue from license, permit and certificate of registration fees related to hunting and fishing.
The Habitat Council consists of eight individuals who act as an advisory board. They provide recommendations regarding the use of the funds received annually each year from the sales of hunting and fishing licenses. Members include four public representatives and four DWR or Department of Natural Resources employees.
"We appreciate the hunters and anglers who truly are the backbone of wildlife conservation," DWR Habitat Conservation Coordinator Daniel Eddington said. "Anyone who buys a hunting or fishing license is directly supporting wildlife conservation. That money helps fund many of the crucial habitat restoration projects that help to maintain fish and wildlife populations for future generations to enjoy. Providing the necessary habitat for these species is vital to their survival, and requires ongoing restoration efforts as climate conditions continue to shift."
The funding available to the Habitat Council from this year's fishing and hunting license sales totaled a little over $3.4 million and will help fund 71 projects over the next fiscal year (from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026). Several high-priority fish and wildlife projects will be funded during the upcoming fiscal year, including:
- Maintenance and improvements on wildlife management areas across the state: There are 148 wildlife and waterfowl management areas in Utah. These state-owned and managed properties help to conserve critical habitats for wildlife, help minimize and mitigate wildlife damage on private property, and provide anglers and hunters — who provide funding for the WMAs through the purchase of a fishing or hunting license — places to hunt and fish in Utah. This project received over $916,000 of the total funding.
- Northern Region community fishery docks and amenities project: This project will expand fishing access at the Steed Pond community fishery by providing a fish dock that is universally accessible. In addition, two floating docks at Andy Adams Reservoir will be refurbished to help maintain angler access to the water. This project received $111,321 of the total funding.
- Weber riparian improvement project: This project aims to improve stream and river habitats and to improve range and forest health in the Weber area. Efforts include aspen regeneration work on the Henefer-Echo WMA, river restoration in Chalk Creek and Lost Creek, floodplain reconnection and fish passage and fishing access improvements along the Weber River (from Weber Canyon to downtown Ogden). This project received $100,000 of the total funding.
- Gooseberry, Salina and Lost creeks habit project: This project will improve wildlife and fish habitat, including seeding, treating and improving roughly 2,221 acres of big game habitat areas. This is a multi-phase project that will be implemented over the next two to four years. This project received $100,000 of the total funding.
- Indian Peaks WMA mule deer habitat improvement project: This project aims to improve and increase the quantity of habitat available for mule deer, elk, sage-grouse, turkeys, burrowing owls, ferruginous hawks and other wildlife species in the area. The project will include the implementation of prescribed fire, mechanically removing juniper trees and seeding to increase sagebrush and bitterbrush, and improving water quality on two streams by installing low-tech structures. This project received $100,000 of the total funding.
"We are extremely grateful for other partners who help fund these projects as well, which are so critical for fish and wildlife," Eddington said. "We wouldn't be able to complete as many of these necessary conservation projects without these important partnerships."
Since 2006, the Habitat Council program has:
- Allocated over $47.3 million to complete 1,591 wildlife habitat projects across Utah
- Improved over 433,636 acres of terrestrial habitat
- Restored 2,070 miles of streams and rivers
The recent Habitat Council funds are in addition to the:
Both the Habitat Council and the Conservation Permit Program funding programs coordinate with Utah's Watershed Restoration Initiative, a Utah Department of Natural Resources partnership-based program, which serves as a centralized portal for funding and tracking the completion of these habitat-related projects.
