Twenty-first century problems require novel and dynamic solutions. The Utah Partners for Conservation and Development (UPCD) is committed to providing such solutions for the serious, statewide issues of conserving, managing and restoring Utah's vast and diverse watersheds, wildlife habitat and rangelands. In an unprecedented collaborative effort, the UPCD combines the resources of agencies and organizations with long histories of ecosystem management and restoration endeavors in Utah into a single, functional partnership.

The Problem

Historic and recent ecosystem changes, often human-induced, have resulted in a current landscape in need of our attention and effort. Invasion of exotic species and pathogens, increased frequency and intensity of wildfire, conversion of productive habitat to undesirable species, land fragmentation, habitat loss, and lack of public understanding of these issues are just a few of the factors facing Utah's ecosystems and citizens. These problems not only affect wildlife and their habitat, but also goods and services provided by Utah's land base.

Approaches to Solutions

The UPCD has developed three general approaches to address the risks to the shared interests of the partnership. The first is ecosystem restoration through physical and mechanical habitat manipulations such as seeding, reconstruction, vegetation management, species transplants, and other means. Secondly, administrative changes in land management may be made through permitted or allowed uses and management prescriptions. This may be done either independently of, or together with, mechanical interventions. Finally, communication and team building among the public, stakeholders and the UPCD is promoted to better understand the risks to natural resources and values, and to improve cooperation and problem solving across boundaries.

Organization

The partnership is represented at four levels of organization.

1. Director's Council—Agency and organization administrators meet regularly.
2. Statewide Core Teams—Each member has a representative on a state-level team that meets regularly alongside of conservation organizations to monitor the effectiveness of each group's involvement in the partnership, share information about new programs, discuss problems and address resource allocation needs.
3. Regional Teams—Organized in each of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources' five administrative regions, these teams consist of UPCD members, conservation organizations, and stakeholders who meet to discuss priority conservation focus areas, identify potential projects and pool resources (funding, technical assistance, logistics support) needed to implement restoration projects.
4. Local Conservation Work Groups—Identify local conservation concerns and develop strategies to meet local needs.

Of all these levels of organization, the Regional Teams fill the important role of acting as clearinghouses for conservation priorities and actions. Each team defines focus areas for their region and habitat restoration objectives for those areas. Objectives are developed collaboratively while focusing on management plans, the best available science, and outreach to targeted publics.

Projects

Each year, biologists within the partnership propose projects to the Regional Teams. Proposals are entered into a statewide habitat projects database, and then reviewed at Regional Team meetings. This approach helps the partners share information and resources, and many of the projects receive funding from several partners. Project objectives vary widely from mechanical habitat manipulation to requests for equipment and personnel to implement projects.