SALT LAKE CITY — A little over $3.4 million was allocated to 71 selected habitat restoration projects — several of which will benefit mule deer in Utah — at the recent annual Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Habitat Council funding meeting on April 29.
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 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 Alison Whittaker said. "When you buy a hunting or fishing license, you are 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 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, 2026 to June 30, 2027). Several high-priority fish and wildlife projects will be funded during the upcoming fiscal year, including:
- Canyon View Park Pond Habitat and Access Improvements project: This project aims to improve habitat for fish and fishing access for anglers at the Canyon View Park Pond community fishing pond in Spanish Fork. The project will include dredging the pond and installing habitat structures and an aeration system. Nearly $220,000 in funding was allocated to this project.
- Little Montes Recreation Developments project: This project will help to provide more feed and habitat for wildlife and also improve fishing amenities and access at the Little Montes Wildlife Management Area in northeastern Utah. It will include the construction of a floating trail, tree planting, building three pavilions around the reservoir, planting food plots for wildlife and adding structures below the dam to help reduce erosion. This project received over $188,000 in funding.
- Dry Creek Reservoir Conservation Pool project: This project will increase water storage for this community fishing pond so that fish can survive during extreme drought years. This project received $150,000 in funding.
- Thousand Lakes Habitat Improvement project: This is the fourth phase of a project to improve habitat in the Garden Basin drainage on the east side of Thousand Lake Mountain. This phase of the project aims to improve habitat through the removal of water-guzzling trees, which will allow for the growth of other vegetation — like native shrubs and flowering plants — that benefit deer and other wildlife. This project will receive over $58,000 in funding.
- Willow Watershed Habitat Improvement project: This is part of an ongoing effort to improve the area near Willow Creek and Meadow Creek in northeastern Utah. This project will include maintaining beaver dam-like structures to reduce erosion. Deer and other big game will benefit from the removal of Utah juniper trees, and seeding work to improve plant diversity in the area. This project will receive $50,000 in funding.
- Eastern Sierra De La Sal Mountain Beaver Basin project: This project will focus on restoring aspen and other habitat improvements to important mule deer summer range on the northeastern side of the La Sal Mountains in Grand County. This project will receive $50,000 in funding.
"We are extremely grateful for other partners who help fund these projects as well, which are so critical for fish and wildlife," Whittaker 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 $50.6 million to complete 1,672 wildlife habitat projects across Utah
- Improved over 455,450 acres of terrestrial habitat
- Restored 2,151 miles of streams and rivers
The recent Habitat Council funds are in addition to the:
- $6.5 million in conservation permit funds that were allocated to wildlife research and additional habitat projects to benefit deer and other wildlife in April.
- $5.1 million in funding from the Species Protection Account allocated in April toward species and projects that will proactively help to prevent Endangered Species Act listings in Utah.
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.