Description
Background: The BLM Utah, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) and other sportsmen organizations and volunteers have worked cooperatively together over the years to identify and develop areas in needed of additional free water, forage or other big game and upland game habitat needs. Over the past decades the BLM along with the UDWR and other sportsmen organizations have installed hundreds of guzzlers and other wildlife habitat enhancement projects on public land throughout the state of Utah. These projects have aimed to protect and improve existing habitats, help off-set loss of habitats from human encroachment and to provide expansion habitats for either growing populations or to populations losing prime habitats due to human encroachment. Wildlife, such as big game and upland game, depend on available free water adjacent to safe and suitable foraging areas. If existing guzzlers fail, free water becomes unavailable or habitats become degraded, wildlife may have to look elsewhere for water or in extreme cases may die from lack of water near foraging areas and the stress of seeking new free water and forage during drought and other extreme weather conditions. As energy development and recreational use continue to expand on our public lands and drought cycles continue to occur, there is a need for the BLM along with other interested agencies and organizations to continue to protect, maintain, upgrade and seek new opportunities to ensure big game and upland game habitats offer needed free water, foraging opportunities and suitable habitats. Objectives: The BLM is looking to partner with a recipient to ensure all existing of guzzlers and other wildlife habitat enhancement projects remain functional and adequate forage and habitat is available. Additionally the BLM seeks new opportunities to ensure big game and upland game habitats offer needed free water, foraging opportunities and suitable habitats. This will include the recipient identifying and implementing wildlife habitat enhancement projects while ensuring existing guzzlers and other wildlife habitat enhancement projects are in good working order. This project would also provide for the recipient to identify areas in need of additional free water, install new developments, and provide project upgrades and habitat improvements as needed. Habitat improvements may include ensuring fencing is ⿿wildlife friendly⿿, developing upgrades to protect kit fox from predation and enhance their habitats, upgrading wildlife habitat enhancement projects to provide for multiple species, eliminating illegal travel near guzzlers, wildlife habitat enhancement projects and in prime big game and upland game habitats, identifying potential vegetation alteration that may improve habitats, or other needed activities that will improve habitats near guzzler sites and wildlife habitat enhancement. Public Benefit: In Utah 32% of the population in 2005 participated in wildlife viewing activities and 10% of the population participated in hunting activities (www.outdoorindustryfoundation.org). Maintaining healthy wildlife populations helps support active outdoor recreation that creates sustainable long-term economic growth and community development throughout Utah. Wildlife species of economic interest, such as big game and upland game, as well as many other wildlife species, benefit greatly from the hundreds of guzzlers, wildlife habitat enhancement and other habitat improvements on public lands. Funding for these developments and habitat improvements comes from taxpayer dollars and private wildlife organization, as well as funds collected from the sale of hunting licenses, throughout the state, therefore it is important to ensure all past projects remain functioning and that the BLM continues to seek new opportunities to support wildlife habitats . Many wildlife introductions or reintroductions, along with established populations would fail if free water and adequate habitats were not available to species released in dry, desert habitats.