State homeland security officials still have monthly meetings with government agencies and private businesses about threats and protection for 13 separate sectors: agriculture, banking/ finance, the chemical industry, defense industry, energy, emergency services, computer services, telecommunications, postal/shipping, public health, transportation and national monuments/icons.

Looking at some of that planning offers insight into the ongoing work to protect Utah from terrorists.

Working together

It might seem unlikely that Utah, which is relatively remote and has a small population, would be high on target lists for international terrorists (except, perhaps, when it hosted the Olympics). But officials say the times still require them to plan extensively for just such a possibility.

"We're not New York. We're not Los Angeles. But we do have significant infrastructure here," Kuehn says.

"Anyplace can be a target. In our Intermountain area, we have a lot of energy facilities and hubs for transportation that could cause widespread disruption if they were hit," says Peter Bakersky, executive officer for national preparedness for Region 8 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Ross Larsen, police chief and public safety manager for the Utah Transit Authority, adds, "We are up against folks who will take any and all advantage of any weakness anywhere."

Even spy novelist Tom Clancy — who wrote about terrorists flying jetliners into government buildings before they actually did it on 9/11 — used his latest novel, "The Teeth of the Tiger," to depict terrorists targeting middle America far from New York or Los Angeles to create panic. In fact, one of the targets attacked in that novel was the Provo Towne Centre mall.

Amid all that, local officials say they are determined to make it as difficult as possible to hit targets even in usually out-of-the-spotlight Utah.

As part of that, Utah has developed a list of "critical infrastructure" that it especially seeks to protect from terrorism. That list is not public but is part of a National Asset Database designed to help federal planning and budgeting.

Kuehn said it also helps guide local priorities and helps identify local vulnerabilities and steps for overcoming them. It is an ongoing process.

"I believe because of the Olympics experience, we are much further ahead than other states. There are a few states that have really ramped things up, like California and New York. But among the vast majority, Utah is looking pretty darn good as far as identifying risks and working toward negating (attacks)," Kuehn said.