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The Utah Department of Natural Resources Building

About the DWR

An overview of the Division, from an employee's perspective

New to the DWR? Take the new employee challenge!

Go to the checklist of unique, hands-on opportunities every DWR employee should try within their first year.

DWR and DNR

The Utah Department of Natural Resources Building

As you may be aware, the Division of Wildlife Resources is one of eight divisions of the Department of Natural Resources, one of Utah's largest state agencies. The DNR collaborates with federal, state and local organizations to actively manage Utah's resources and anticipate future needs. The current executive director of the DNR is Joel Ferry.

The other DNR divisions are:

The Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office and the Office of Energy Development are also part of the DNR.

Indigenous land acknowledgement

The traditional inhabitants of Utah are the Ute, Diné (Navajo), Paiute, Goshute, and Shoshone communities. Land acknowledgment is a gesture of recognition and respect to the indigenous peoples of Utah. Learn more about indigenous land acknowledgements here. For information about the tribal nations in Utah, visit our agency partners at the Utah Division of Indian Affairs.

History of the DWR

Early legislative protection for fish and game

The first protection for the Territory of Utah's fish and game came in 1853, when the Legislative Assembly passed the following:

AN ACT to prevent the needless destruction of Fish: Be in enacted by the Governor and Legislative Assembly of the territory of Utah: that the county courts of the several counties are hereby authorized to have jurisdiction of the fisheries, in their respective counties, and are required, upon the application of the citizens, to institute such regulations as in their judgment will successfully prevent the needless destruction of fish... approved January 13, 1853.

In 1874, the Legislative Assembly provided for "Fish Commissioners" from each county to administer fishing laws and report to the Legislature the first week of each regular session with status and recommendations. The act also broadened the protection laws to include quail and wild fowl.

Resolutions in the next two decades codified hunting seasons for game birds and big game animals, and established funding mechanisms for fish and game protection and management in Utah. The territory also allocated funds for creating Utah's first fish hatchery in 1882.

Framework for fish and game management

When Utah became a state in 1896, its first Legislature set up a Committee of Fish and Game, which determined that a department should be formally incorporated into the state's Constitution to provide as much legal protection for fish and game as possible. They stated, "The laws now in force (territorial laws) are fairly good, but are constantly violated. The citizens must be made to realize the importance of the fish and game." (source?)

Historic, black-and-white photo of two conservation officers and a K-9

Except for one small, isolated herd, Utah's native elk had been hunted to extinction. Protection alone would most likely not restore their numbers. Between 1912 to 1915, hunters, ranchers, and others paid the handling and shipping costs to relocate 155 elk from Wyoming — Jackson Hole and northern Yellowstone — to six areas of Utah.

The imported elk multiplied rapidly, and conflicts with private property owners soon arose. In 1921, the Legislature authorized the game commissioner to kill elk that were damaging farms or other property. By 1925, the Legislature reestablished elk hunting in the area of what are now the Cache and Mount Nebo units.

Department of Natural Resources established

In 1967, the Legislature created the Utah Department of Natural Resources, which consolidated into a single agency the state divisions of Engineer, Water and Power Board, Land Board, Park and Recreation Commission, Fish and Game Commission, and Forestry and Fire Control. During this period, the Fish and Game Code further stipulated management and proprietary oversight of all of the state's wildlife.

With the exception of birds, this law limited authority and protection to game species. In the case of birds, the code made it unlawful to kill, trap or otherwise ensnare birds or destroy their nests unless provided in the code. Exemptions for agricultural depredation were allowed for certain species of sparrows, hawks and "other predacious or destructive birds."

Division of Wildlife Resources roles and responsibilities expand
DWR biologists and technicians on a boat over water, next to a flock of geese

During the 1971 session, the Legislature changed the name of the Fish and Game Division to the Division of Wildlife Resources — to be administered within the Department of Natural Resources — and an oversight body called the Utah Wildlife Board. The Legislature also expanded the DWR's roles and responsibilities, and specified protections and designations:

  • Expanded jurisdiction over game species and birds to include all wildlife. Charged with protection, conservation and management of protected wildlife in Utah.
  • Appointed as "trustee and custodian" of the state's wildlife, the DWR was empowered to initiate civil and criminal proceedings.
  • Defined "protected wildlife" as all species of fish or birds, and specifically named the Abert squirrel, bear, beaver, bighorn sheep, buffalo, cottontail rabbit, cougar, deer, elk, marten, mink, moose, mountain goat, otter, pronghorn antelope, bullfrog and crayfish.

With a few minor changes through the years, the organizational framework and agency responsibilities established in the 1970s remain in place for the DWR today.

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