Utah Sage-grouse Summit Establishes Common Dialogue; Recordings Available

More than 250 participants attended the 2014 Utah Sage-grouse Summit held in Salt Lake City in February to discuss the preservation of the sage-grouse species in Utah.

According to Terry Messmer, Utah State University Extension wildlife specialist and summit coordinator, the event served to establish a common dialogue and provided new information regarding the status of the sage-grouse species and the efforts of Utah partners to implement the Utah plan to address the threats to the species, and thus negate the need to list it for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert was the opening speaker for the summit and he commended the group for the past two decades of work and expressed confidence that the Utah Plan would be successful in conserving the species and ensuring the sustainability of local communities.

In addition to Herbert, speakers included researchers from USU and Brigham Young University as well as representatives from Utah’s Local Working Groups and federal, state and private natural resource agencies.

Messmer said the summit will provide a working template for the National Forum on Sage-grouse Local Working Groups, which will be held on Salt Lake City in November. He will also report the results of the February meeting at the upcoming Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agency directors meeting.

For those who were unable to attend, recordings of the summit are available online.

For further information on the Utah Sage-grouse Summit, contact Messmer at 435-797-3975 or terry.messmer@usu.edu.

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Utah State University Extension

Contact: Terry Messmer, 435-797-3975 or terry.messmer@usu.edu

Writer: Julene Reese, 435-797-0810