From Deseret News archives:
Utah wildlife budget faces cut in fed aid
Utah stands to see its federal funding for the state Wildlife Action Plan slashed by $319,000 after the House of Representatives moved to reduce the national government's share. As recently as last November, then-Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton said all state plans had been submitted to the Interior Department and were approved.
At that time, Utah officials said the state had received $872,158 under the plan for the present fiscal year, which started July 1, 2005. The total would be boosted by state contributions.
Utah's plan was among the first to win approval from the Interior Department. It is intended to improve the likelihood of survival of a variety of animals, from pygmy rabbits to sage grouse.
Besides helping the animals, bettering their chances makes it less likely these creatures would be added to the federal threatened and endangered list. Species that are designated as threatened are entitled to special protection, which can cause complications for developers and others.
The plans are also supported by outside interests including hunters, anglers, environmentalists, scientists and local officials.
Miles Moretti, deputy director of the state's Division of Wildlife Resources, noted that overall the House moved to cut $50 million from the program. The reduction in Utah's share of the federal funding would amount to $319,000, he has heard.
However, the measure was still in the congressional markup process, and he hoped that some or all of the amount would be restored. If that doesn't happen, there's still a chance the Senate's funding bill would have a higher amount, then the two versions would be reconciled.
"It's not final yet, but it really hurts that the House has cut that," he said.
The state action plan covers "everything from spotted frogs to sage grouse to pygmy rabbits," Moretti added. "We've been able to leverage that (federal) money with the state endangered mitigation money."
The state has been studying more about the pygmy rabbit, a little, secretive rodent that relies on sagebrush. In November, the DWR said many locations where the rabbit was found in the past no longer support them because sagebrush habitats were destroyed or no longer healthy.
"However," the DWR added, "pygmy rabbits also were found in many localities where biologists didn't know the rabbits lived."
State biologists worked to improve habitat in northeastern Utah, helping sage grouse and elk. They reintroduced frogs in some areas, and helped bison and deer in the Henry Mountains in the Hanksville vicinity.
On Monday, Moretti said the Wildlife Action Plan program has been a great one. "It's brought a lot of people together to try to keep these species off the endangered species list."
If forced to scale back, the state may place less emphasis on some species. Animals facing the greatest risk would receive most attention.
"It's disappointing," Moretti said, "because we did a big effort as a state to get the comprehensive wildlife strategy written."
E-mail: bau@desnews.com
