DWR acronyms and terms
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DWR acronyms and terms

A cheat sheet for employees, new and old

As DWR employees, we come across and use a seemingly endless array of jargon on a daily basis. It can be kind of overwhelming when you first get started. Here's a list of some frequently used acronyms, terms and lingo that may come in handy.

DWR offices

  • CRO: Central Region Office
  • NERO: Northeastern Region Office
  • NRO: Northern Region Office
  • SERO: Southeastern Region Office
  • SLO: Salt Lake Office
  • SRO: Southern Region Office
  • WCFO: Washington County Field Office

DWR facilities

  • AAHRC: Aquatic Animal Health and Research Center (formerly FES)
  • CVPSR: Cache Valley Public Shooting Range
  • EWEC: Eccles Wildlife Education Center
  • FES: Fisheries Experiment Station (now AAHRC)
  • HWEC: Hardware Wildlife Education Center
  • LKPSR: Lee Kay Public Shooting Range

DWR/DNR programs and terms

  • CWMU: Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit
  • DH: Dedicated Hunter program
  • ESMF: Endangered Species Mitigation Fund
  • GSL: Great Salt Lake
  • GSLEP: Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program
  • HE: Hunter Education
  • ICP: Internal Conservation Program
  • LOA: Landowner Association
  • NASP: National Archery in Schools Program
  • PRC: Proclamation Review Committee ("proclamation" is the old term for the hunting and fishing guidebooks)
  • RAC: Regional Advisory Council
  • WB: Utah Wildlife Board (or, "the board")
  • WIA: Walk-in access
  • WMA: Wildlife management area OR Waterfowl management area
  • WMI: Wildlife Migration Initiative
  • UHEC: Utah Hunter Education Challenge (Utah version of YHEC)
  • YHEC: Youth Hunter Education Challenge

DWR/DNR employment

  • IRA: "I Really Appreciate" You Award
  • P4P: Pay for Performance
  • PMC: Performance Management Contract
  • SIP: Salary Improvement Plan
  • UPM: Utah Performance Management system (synonymous with "PMC")

General terms, slang and lingo

  • AIS: Aquatic invasive species
  • ALW: Any legal weapon
  • BG: Big Game
  • BOM: Big ol' meeting (conference-style, in-person, DWR-wide meeting)
  • CO: Conservation Officer
  • COR: Certificate of registration
  • FY: Fiscal Year
  • GIS: Geographic Information System
  • GRAMA: Government Records Management Access Act
  • LE: Law enforcement OR Limited-entry permit
  • OIAL: Once-in-a-lifetime hunts
  • R3: Recruit, Retain and Reactivate (hunters and anglers)
  • SGCN: Species of Greatest Conservation Need
  • UTiP: Utah Turn-in-a-Poacher (refers to the hotline for reporting a poacher)

Wildlife diseases

  • AI: Avian influenza
  • CWD: Chronic wasting disease
  • HPAI: Highly pathogenic avian influenza
  • WD: Whirling disease

Partner organizations

  • ACI: Association for Conservation Information
  • AFS: American Fisheries Society
  • AFWA: Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
  • BHA: Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
  • CAHSS: Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports
  • CLfT: Conservation Leaders for Tomorrow
  • Fallon: Shorthand for System Consultants Inc. of Fallon, NV
  • MDF: Mule Deer Foundation
  • NAS: National Audubon Society (more often referred to as "Audubon")
  • NWTF: National Wild Turkey Federation
  • RBFF: Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation
  • RMEF: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
  • SCI: Safari Club International OR System Consultants Inc. of Fallon, NV (our contractor who conducts the big game drawing)
  • SFW: Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife
  • TU: Trout Unlimited
  • TWS: The Wildlife Society
  • UCI: Utah Correctional Industries
  • WAU: Wild Aware Utah (DWR, Hogle Zoo & USU Extension)
  • WCS: Wildlife Conservation Society
  • WAFWA: Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

State of Utah agencies and programs

  • DEQ: Department of Environmental Quality
  • DNR: Department of Natural Resources
  • DWR: Division of Wildlife Resources (a DNR division)
  • FFSL: Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (a DNR division)
  • GIP: Grazing Improvement Fund
  • ICP: Internal Conservation Program
  • OED: Office of Energy Development (a DNR division)
  • OGM: Division of Oil, Gas and Mining (a DNR division)
  • PLPCO: Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office
  • SWG: State Wildlife Grant Program
  • UDAF: Utah Department of Agriculture and Food
  • WRI: Watershed Restoration Initiative

Federal agencies we work with frequently

  • BLM: Bureau of Land Management
  • BOR: Bureau of Reclamation
  • NPS: National Park Service
  • USFS: U.S. Forest Service
  • USFWS: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • USGS: U.S. Geological Survey

Federal laws, programs and funding

  • DJ: Dingell-Johnson Act (and funds)
  • ESA: Endangered Species Act
  • PR: Pittman-Robertson Act (and funds), aka Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration
  • QZAP: Quagga and Zebra Mussel Action Plan
  • RAWA: Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (and funds)

Hunting, fishing and outdoors lingo

  • Bag limit is the number of fish, waterfowl or upland game animals you can legally harvest in a day, usually determined at the species level.
  • Bonus point is a point given to a hunter who is unsuccessful in drawing a limited-entry tag, with the intent that the more bonus points you accrue, the better chance you have of drawing a tag the next cycle. Hunters can also purchase a bonus point only in years that they do not apply for a permit.
  • Drawing, or "the draw," is when hunters apply online for a limited number of permits for various species, hunting seasons and particular hunting units.
  • Glass/glassing is using binoculars or a spotting scope to watch for game or evidence of game.
  • Hunter's Choice is a permit where the hunter can harvest either a male or female of the same species.
  • Over-the-counter tags are permits available for hunters to buy at a DWR office, license agency or online.
  • Preference point is a point that is given to a hunter who is unsuccessful in the general-season drawing. Hunters can also purchase a preference point only in years that they do not apply for a permit.
  • Pursuit permit is a permit for bear or cougar hunting that allows a hunter to pursue a bear or cougar, but not harvest. This is basically a dog training exercise where they will tree, corner or hold the bear or cougar at bay, and then call the dogs off.
  • Smokepole is another name for a muzzleloader rifle.
  • Shed hunting is searching the landscape looking for shed antlers from big game animals.
  • Tag is used interchangeably with hunting permit.
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