Latest news with #UtahDivisionofWildlifeResources
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Brine flies make their home at the Great Salt Lake
SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah () — It's a feeding frenzy for birds out on the Great Salt Lake that rely on its ecosystem — billions of brine flies are buzzing along the shores of the lake. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said that brine fly larvae begin hatching in late April and May, peaking a few times each year. Brine flies are just one of the food sources that make up the ecosystem around the Great Salt Lake. The flies don't bite and have up to eight times more caloric value than brine shrimp, but they can be a bit of a nuisance for visitors at the lake. Adult brine flies are essentially harmless, and their life span only lasts a few days. Experts said the flies will continue to hatch through October or even November. Latest Headlines: SILVER ALERT: 69-year-old woman with dementia missing in Riverton Smith's Pineapple Cheesecake Ice Cream Dekliderm tackles 'tech neck' with targeted, affordable neck firming cream Kids and parents: It's time to get involved in County Library's Summer Reading program Brine flies make their home at the Great Salt Lake Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Daily fishing limit increased at Utah reservoir over low water levels
Utah wildlife managers have issued an emergency change to the state's fishing guidebook, doubling the daily number of trout an angler can take from a reservoir in northeast Utah as its levels slip. Anglers are now able to keep up to eight trout of any species every day at Crouse Reservoir, up from the previous daily limit of four, through an emergency order that Utah Division of Wildlife Resources deputy director Michael Canning authorized on Tuesday. The order remains in effect through the end of this year. 'This emergency change will allow the public to harvest more fish from the reservoir so they can be used and not wasted as water levels continue to decline this summer,' Canning said in a statement. 'Increased harvest will hopefully improve the survival of any remaining fish, as well.' Crouse Reservoir, located about 30 miles northeast of Vernal near the Uintah-Daggett county border, is often filled with rainbow, tiger and brown trout. While many reservoirs in the area are at least 60% full, Crouse Reservoir struggled from a below-normal snowpack, said DWR spokeswoman Faith Heaton Jolley. It's closest to the Northeastern Uintas and Yampa-White-Little Snake snowpack basins in Utah and Colorado, respectively, which peaked at approximately 83% to 89% of the region's median average, per Natural Resources Conservation Service data. Some of the localized sites closest to Crouse Reservoir fared worse than that. Most of the region's snowpack collection melted prematurely, as well, which can reduce the efficiency of the snowpack runoff. The reservoir currently holds about 350 acre-feet of water, which is about 20% of its full capacity of 1,750 acre-feet, according to the Utah Division of Water Rights. Senior water rights dictate that most of what's left will go toward the Pot Creek drainage downstream, state wildlife officials said. They add that anglers looking to catch trout should use a boat or small watercraft out on the water because thick vegetation along its shoreline could make access difficult otherwise.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources reports increased populations in formerly endangered June sucker fish
SALT LAKE CITY () — A formerly endangered Utah native fish, the June sucker has been downlisted to threatened status, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR). The June sucker is a fish species native to Utah, inhabiting Utah Lake and using tributaries in the Provo River and Hobble creek among others to spawn. It is an omnivore that can live for 40 years and grows several feet in size. In an interview with Native Aquatics Project Leader at DWR Keith Lawrence said, 'A few decades ago, it was believed that the population [of June suckers] was down to only a few hundred individuals, maybe as many as a thousand.' Now, however, through conservation efforts, the June Sucker population has recovered, to numbers 'estimated today to be in the tens of thousands, probably somewhere between 30 and 50,000 fish,' according to Lawrence. 'It's important to understand that Utah Lake has undergone many changes over the decades since Western settlers arrived. And many of them have not necessarily been good for the June sucker, at least, and other native fishes that lived there previously. The June sucker is one of the few that remain.' Keith Lawrence, Native Aquatics Project Leader at DWS Lawrence explained that the June sucker is not a predator, but as an omnivore it feeds on invertebrates and zooplankton, so it plays a role in the ecosystem as a mid-level omnivore. Cat who survived 400-foot Bryce Canyon fall adopted by rescuing pilot The recovery program for the June sucker has been a large undertaking that began shortly after the species was listed as endangered, Lawrence said. Alongside partners, DWR has taken a myriad of measures to protect the species, including non-native management, water conservation especially in the Provo River, public information and outreach, habitat improvement, and a 'very aggressive' stocking program. As part of the stocking program, conservationists took some of the remaining individuals and propagated them, mostly at the Logan Hatchery in northern Utah, Lawrence said. They are raised in these hatcheries and then they are stocked into the lake. Lawrence told that there have been 'hundreds of thousands' of June suckers stocked into the lake over the years. Lawrence stated that while the recovery has been very successful, there are still threats to the June sucker population, including 'all the non-native potential predators and competitors that we have in the system.' Additionally, water flow continues to be a major threat. The Supreme Court reinstates federal approval in Uinta Basin Railway project 'At one time, the Provo River ran completely dry, you know, during the summer,' Lawrence said. 'Memory of the summers that that did happen, and so obviously that's not good for the fish, and so the program has spent tens of millions of dollars to try to purchase money and provide those flows when the fish need them.' Lawrence stated that they are monitoring the spawning run into the Provo Delta and Oville Creek, using PIT tag antennas, which passively detect tags put into some of the fish. June suckers are most vulnerable after spawning. 'They're very vulnerable, as you might imagine, when they're small,' Lawrence said, and he described getting them from the larval stage to 'age one' fish as a 'bottleneck.' The research to figure out how to get over that bottleneck is key, he said. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources reports increased populations in formerly endangered June sucker fish Car crosses median, causing multiple vehicle crash in Kaysville/Farmington One of two water wells in Hildale City back online after repairs Pride flag raising ceremony kicks of 2025 Utah Pride festivities Intermountain Health first in nation to expand stem cell collection for CAR-T Cell Therapy bringing innovative cancer procedure to Southern Utah Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Here are 3 Utah conservation success stories for this year's Endangered Species Day
SALT LAKE CITY () — In honor of Endangered Species Day, here are three species in Utah that have made great strides in their recovery over the last five years. An endangered species is identified as any species that faces a serious risk of extinction in a specific area, or throughout all of its natural habitat. Threatened species are defined as any species that is likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. Sinkhole on southbound I-15 halts traffic in Roy Currently, there are 41 wildlife, fish and plant species in Utah that are on the federal endangered species list. But, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) shares that several species have been able to make significant progress. 'Since 2001, our agency and other partners have helped prevent 20 wildlife species from being listed as endangered or threatened through conservation efforts guided by the Utah Wildlife Action Plan,' said Director Sarah Seegert of DWR Recovery Programs. DWR works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the conservation of federally listed species in Utah. The department says that it has jurisdiction over all wildlife in Utah and works to maintain healthy, sustainable populations to prevent them from becoming listed under the Endangered Species Act. Here are a few success stories DWR has recently shared: The June sucker is a native fish species only found at Utah Lake and its tributaries. According to DWR, overharvesting by early settlers, water-flow alterations and drought, habitat changes, and being preyed on by exotic fish species led to its decline. At its lowest, the June sucker population dropped to fewer than 1,000 fish, with fewer than 300 spawning individuals, and it was put on the endangered species list in 1986. In 2021, the fish species was moved from endangered to threatened. DWR attributes this change to ongoing efforts, such as the recently finished by several partnering agencies involved in the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program. An estimated number of 30,000 to 45,000 fish are in the spawning population of Utah Lake. The humpback chub is known for the pronounced hump it has behind its head. It's a relatively small fish, with its maximum size being about 20 inches and 2.5 pounds. It can live more than 30 years in the wild. In 1973, the humpback chub was listed as endangered after large dams and human water use impacted the river's flow. DWR said that through efforts from partnering agencies in the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, the humpback chub was moved from endangered to threatened in 2021. The Ute ladies'-tresses is an orchid plant with a long spike of small white flowers in a gradual spiral. Ute ladies'-tresses became threatened in 1992 when it was only known to be found in Utah and Colorado. DWR said that through additional surveys, habitat management, and protection, the plant is now known to grow in eight Western states (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming), as well as southern British Columbia, and Canada. It was proposed to be delisted from the Endangered Species Act in January 2025. 'We are extremely grateful to our many partners who coordinate with us on recovery efforts for these unique, native species,' Seegert said. 'Helping keep these species on the landscape ensures they can be enjoyed by future generations and also improves the overall habitat and ecosystem, which benefits other species as well.' Trump World has tough case with Comey over 'assassination' message Here are 3 Utah conservation success stories for this year's Endangered Species Day Kanab fire 15% contained, power restored World War II pilot from Bountiful accounted for nearly 80 years after death on warfront Woman arrested for prostitution in Springville massage parlor bust Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
'Drive with extra caution:' Black bear struck and killed in Bear Lake State Park
LAKETOWN, Utah () — Bear Lake State Park officials are asking recreators to slow down while driving after a black bear was struck and killed. According to a , a black bear was struck and killed by a vehicle. The bear was hit on the paved county road, and it appeared he walked down and died on the dirt road that runs through the Cisco Beach area on the Utah side of the park. Could grizzly bears cross Utah's border soon? Experts are not ruling it out Bear Lake State Park said that black bears were once native to the valley near Bear Lake, but 'were nearly wiped out in the late 1800s and early 1900s due to overhunting and habitat loss.' According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, in 2021, there was an estimated minimum of 4,000 adult bears in Utah, with an estimated decline in the population since then. DWR says it can be difficult to get an accurate total population number for bears. 'Seeing one return to the area is a rare and powerful reminder of the wild beauty that once thrived here,' they state in the post. 'Unfortunately, that beauty is too often met with danger on our roads.' Bear Lake State Park is asking people who drive in the area to slow down and drive with extra caution around dawn and dusk. They also asked that people traveling to Bear Lake remember that wildlife do not follow crosswalks, and have an equal right to inhabit their natural habitat. 'Let's honor the memory of this bear by keeping our eyes open, slowing down, and respecting the land we share with the wild,' they concluded. Here's how you can get $30 concert tickets this summer America First's 4.49% HELOC is the cheat code homeowners need Easy Utah Beef Council recipe turns basic peppers into a family favorite Western Surgical and Sedation is changing the way Utah does dental work Hogle Zoo's Wild Day Out is this Saturday Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
