The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), part of the Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR), serves the people of Utah by managing, sustaining, and enhancing the state's wildlife populations and conserving wildlife habitat. The Division also oversees hunting and fishing opportunities statewide.
As public servants, DWR employees seek to balance social- and science-based management. They are eager to cultivate and strengthen partnerships with any individual, organization, or agency that will commit time or other resources to benefit wildlife or expand recreational opportunities.
We want to pass along our wildlife heritage to future generations, and we want it to be in better shape than when it was passed to us. We also actively work to preserve Utah's necessary hunting and fishing heritage in a way that benefits wildlife and Utah residents alike.
Utah is home to diverse and abundant wildlife and the Division has received national recognition for its wildlife management, world-class fisheries, and variety of non-game species. DWR consistently performs wildlife transplants for turkeys, sage-grouse, bison, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, pronghorn, and river otters. Ongoing work is being done to protect sensitive species, like native cutthroat trout, and to prevent federal listing under the Endangered Species Act. Popular fisheries are regularly stocked with hundreds of thousands of pounds of fish raised in Division hatcheries.
The Division's innovative habitat program leads North America in restoration efforts. Through Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative and with the help of over 100 partners, the state has restored and rehabilitated nearly 2.25 million acres of land statewide.