SALT LAKE CITY (April 21, 2022) – Gov. Spencer J. Cox declared a state of emergency due to the dire drought conditions affecting the entire state. This declaration activates the Drought Response Committee and triggers increased monitoring and reporting. It also allows drought-affected communities, agricultural producers and others to report unmet needs and work toward solutions.
The state of Utah recognizes and is closely monitoring changing hydrology on the Colorado River. Because Utah’s citizens are among the millions who rely on the Colorado River, this is an issue of critical importance to our state and the West.
During the summer months, the Utah Divisions of Water Rights and Water Resources provided weekly drought and water updates. These reports are more infrequent during spring, fall and winter as we continue to monitor conditions.
SALT LAKE CITY (Oct. 12, 2021) – Neither the State of Utah nor the Lake Powell Pipeline has taken the Ute Indian Tribe’s water rights. The tribe has long held a federally decreed water right for 144,000 acre-feet of depletion from the Colorado River system. The state has recognized and respected this water right and the tribe’s annual use of water under it.
As Great Salt Lake experiences alarmingly low water levels this year—dropping by nearly a foot below its previous historic low, the Utah Division of Water Rights this past week approved applications to deliver water to Farmington Bay of Great Salt Lake via the Jordan River. An innovative partnership is laying the groundwork to voluntarily share water for the lake to meet crucial needs for people, birds, and other wildlife.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 22, 2021) – A federal judge dismissed claims in a lawsuit filed by the Ute Indian Tribe against the U.S. Department of Interior, the State of Utah, and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District. The Tribe alleged mismanagement of water-development projects in northeastern Utah.
The Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands is providing weekly Utah Wildfire Activity updates. The report includes year-to-year comparisons; leading causes of human-caused wildfires; wildfire prevention tips and a future weather outlook.
Reports that the Great Salt Lake has dropped below its historic low elevation of 4,191.35 are premature. The Utah Division of Water Resources is following the lake’s elevation closely and expects it will drop below that point in the coming days.
The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) launched has launched an online tournament called “Utah Arch Challenge” to pit some of Utah’s well-known and lesser-known natural arches and bridges against each other for statewide geologic superiority.
It has been one year since Utah’s most spectacular dinosaur fossil block, the 18,000-pound Utahraptor megablock, moved from Thanksgiving Point to a new dedicated fossil preparation lab at the Utah Geological Survey (UGS). In that year new unanticipated discoveries hidden within the block have been found.
Roger Lewis became the Finance Director for DNR in April of 2017. His primary responsibilities include managing DNR’s finances and coordinating budgeting and accounting activities with DNR’s seven divisions. Lewis also oversees the internal audit function of the department.
Tyler Thompson has worked for DNR since 1997 starting his career as a seasonal employee collecting vegetation trend data for DNR’s Division of Wildlife Resources Range trend program. Since this time, Tyler has worked as a research biologist in the development of new grass and forb seed releases and as one of the first restoration biologists hired to implement projects in southern Utah funded through Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative (UWRI). For the last decade, Tyler has been a part of WRI’s statewide administration staff. In that position, Tyler helped find matching funding for WRI projects and administered the incoming and outgoing funding contracts to help get project dollars on the ground each year. In January of 2017, Tyler was selected as DNR’s watershed program director. Tyler coordinates and manages WRI through five regional teams that submit and review over 150 restoration projects each year. WRI completes nearly 100,000 acres of restoration work each year in Utah.
Todd Royce currently serves as the DNR law enforcement director and joined the department in 2018. Royce works closely with DNR division leadership and section chiefs to oversee the public safety efforts of DNR law enforcement, including wildlife conservation officers and state park rangers.
