Utah’s Species Protection Account allocates $4 million to fund wildlife recovery projects

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources announced the allocation of $4 million to support dozens of wildlife conservation projects during the annual Utah Species Protection Account funding meeting on April 24.

The Utah Species Protection Account, previously known as the Endangered Species Mitigation Fund, was established in 1997 to finance projects to prevent species from being listed under the Endangered Species Act. Guided by the Utah Wildlife Action Plan, the fund identifies species and habitats needing conservation and prioritizes funding accordingly. The plan is currently being updated to guide the next decade of conservation efforts.

“Proactive conservation helps keep Utah’s native species healthy,” DWR Assistant Habitat Section Chief Paul Thompson said. “Healthy populations don’t need protection under the Endangered Species Act, which in turn keeps management decisions at the state level and reduces additional federal oversight and economic restrictions that can come with Endangered Species Act listings.”

About 30 projects will receive funding for the fiscal year spanning July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. Although the \$4 million allocation marks a decrease from previous years, new revenue from a tax on certain energy development projects, approved during the 2025 legislative session, is expected to support future conservation efforts.

“Conservation funding for species that are not hunted or fished is hard to come by,” Thompson said. “Those of us in Utah working to better understand and maintain healthy populations for our lesser-known species are fortunate that our state legislature understands the value of funding the preservation of Utah’s biodiversity.”

This year, the funds will be allocated to the following:

• Programs and recovery efforts to help Utah species currently listed under the Endangered Species Act, including the Utah prairie dog, June sucker, Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker, bonytail, Virgin River chub, woundfin, Mojave desert tortoise and several plant species. Approximately 48% of the total funds will go toward these species’ recovery efforts.

• Three community science projects will also be funded this year to encourage the public to collect needed information on amphibians, reptiles, bumblebees and the monarch butterfly. The projects are the Utah Herp Search, Western Toad Project and Utah Pollinator Pursuit. Understanding where these species occur in Utah will help further their conservation.

• Other projects to help biologists better understand native species and improve their habitats, including projects focusing on Utah’s Western toads (also known as boreal toads), Mexican spotted owls, roundtail chubs, pygmy rabbits, pinyon jays and other native birds, plants and pollinator insects.

• Matching federal state wildlife grant funding, which will stretch funds even further to help with additional conservation projects that benefit Utah’s native species.

Since 1997, the Species Protection Account has:

• Completed more than 680 projects that benefit native fish and wildlife species.

• Dedicated more than $89 million toward native species conservation efforts.

• Helped recover populations of various species to achieve two Endangered Species Act delistings and three downlistings (from endangered status to threatened), and to prevent more than 20 species from being listed under the Endangered Species Act.