Utah allocates $5.1 million to 33 wildlife projects in 2026

Photo: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources allocated $5.1 million to 33 wildlife conservation projects for the 2026-27 fiscal year at the annual Utah Species Protection Account funding meeting held April 16.

The Utah Species Protection Account, formerly known as the Endangered Species Mitigation Fund, was created in 1997 to direct funding toward species and projects that proactively help prevent listings under the federal Endangered Species Act. The account’s funding pool grew this year in part due to a tax on certain new energy development projects approved by the Utah Legislature during the 2025 session, which contributed $1.2 million in new revenue. Additional increases from that source are expected in future years.

“Proactive conservation helps keep Utah’s native species healthy,” said Scott Gibson, DWR Utah Wildlife Action Plan coordinator. “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.”

The $5.1 million represents an increase over past years. Projects will be funded from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

Among the highest-funded projects this cycle:

• A rare plant and insect program run through a partnership between DWR and Utah State University received $280,000.
• Efforts to remove invasive carp from Utah Lake to protect the threatened June sucker, a fish found only in Utah Lake and its tributaries, received $150,000.
• Research into the Wilson’s phalarope, a shorebird recently petitioned for federal listing under the Endangered Species Act, received $147,000.

The projects are selected by the Species Protection Account Advisory Committee, a seven-person panel of diverse stakeholders and organization representatives.

Funding decisions are guided by the Utah Wildlife Action Plan, which identifies species and habitats in need of conservation attention and helps prioritize spending. The plan is currently being updated to direct the next decade of conservation efforts.

“Conservation funding for species that are not hunted or fished is hard to come by,” Gibson 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.”

Since its creation in 1997, the Species Protection Account has completed more than 700 projects benefiting native fish and wildlife, dedicated more than $90 million to native species conservation, and helped achieve two ESA delistings and three downlistings from endangered to threatened status. The account has also helped prevent more than 20 species from being listed under the act.

The Species Protection Account funding is separate from $6.5 million in conservation permit funds also allocated in April for wildlife research and habitat projects through Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative.