Utah tribes get $350K in grants for wildlife conservation projects

SALT LAKE CITY — Two Utah tribes have won grants for conservation projects, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday.

The Goshute tribes in Utah get $167,000 for a wildlife assessment project, and the Paiute tribe was awarded $192,000 to erect fencing to reduce road kill.

The awards are part of $7 million the wildlife service is giving to 37 tribes as part of its Tribal Wildlife Grants program this year.

“Tribal lands provide important habitat for hundreds of species across the nation, and Tribal Wildlife Grants are a critical tool to help conserve them,” said acting U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director Rowan Gould. 

The Goshute tribes, whose reservation is in the Deep Creek Mountains along the Nevada border, will use their money to assess the impact on wildlife and challenge the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s proposal to pump groundwater from the tribe’s region to greater Las Vegas.

The Paiute Tribe will erect protective fencing in the Panguitch Lake area to reduce wildlife deaths from collisions with automobiles.

— Ladd Brubaker