Search Wildlife
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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.
