DNR News

New Study Recommends Utah Maintain Use of Property Taxes and More Aggressive Tiered Rates to Fund Crucial Water Projects

SALT LAKE CITY (Nov. 19, 2024) – In relation to SB 34 (2023), the Utah Division of Water Resources has contracted with LRB Public Finance Advisors to complete a new study on water infrastructure funding. This study evaluates how property tax revenue is currently utilized in the supply, delivery and water infrastructure needs of Utah and neighboring states. It also explores best practices for the

Nearly 300,000 boats inspected for quagga mussels during 2024 boating season

SALT LAKE CITY (Nov. 12, 2024) — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and other partnering agencies worked hard inspecting and decontaminating boats across the state this year to prevent the spread of invasive quagga mussels in Utah. Lake Powell is currently the only Utah waterbody infested with invasive quagga mussels. Statewide, aquatic invasive species technicians with the DWR, Utah

New Fossil Mammal Was A “Giant” of the Cretaceous

VERNAL (Oct. 23, 2024) — A research team of paleontologists from Utah State Parks, Dinosaur National Monument, the University of Colorado, Loyola Marymount University, and Appalachian State University have described a collection of fossil teeth and a jaw belonging to a big, new mammal from the Cretaceous Period near the Colorado-Utah border. Unknowingly collected in 2016, and found during the preparation

OED Awarded $1,811,730 for Energy Efficiency Program for Government Buildings

SALT LAKE CITY (Oct. 24, 2024) — Utah recently ranked fifth in the nation for energy efficiency, and the Utah Office of Energy Development (OED) is poised to push that ranking even higher. OED has been awarded $1,811,730 through the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant program. OED will leverage its EECBG funding to support energy efficiency and conservation projects

NEWS RELEASE: Gov. Spencer Cox appoints Emy Faulkner Lesofski as energy advisor and director of the Office of Energy Development

SALT LAKE CITY (Oct. 22, 2024) – Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has appointed Emy Faulkner Lesofski as his new energy advisor and director of the Office of Energy Development within the Department of Natural Resources. “Emy’s extensive career in public service and deep expertise in energy policy make her exceptionally well-suited for this role in our administration,” Gov. Cox said. “Last

A new tool launched for tracking water conservation at state facilities

SALT LAKE CITY (Oct. 21, 2024) – The Utah Division of Water Resources and the Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management have partnered to create the State Facility Water Tracker. This new tool displays data related to water use specifically at state facilities. Visualizing this data helps us better understand water conservation efforts at these locations. Preliminary numbers show that

Utah Legislature and Utah Department of Natural Resources Host Water Symposium

SALT LAKE CITY (Oct. 17, 2024) – The Utah Senate, Utah House of Representatives, and Utah Department of Natural Resources brought together industry leaders, policy experts, elected officials, and stakeholders at the fourth annual Utah Water Symposium. “Over the last several years, we have made tremendous progress in the way we think about and manage water in the Beehive State,”

Gov. Cox unveils ‘Operation Gigawatt’

Plan calls for doubling power production over the next 10 years NEWS RELEASEOct. 8, 2024 Contact:Robert CarrollOffice of the Governor(801) 243-2290, [email protected] SALT LAKE CITY (Oct. 8, 2024) – In response to the looming energy crisis, today at the One Utah Summit, Gov. Spencer Cox shared Operation Gigawatt, an initiative to double Utah’s power production over the next 10 years. “Operation Gigawatt

Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative receives $24.6 million grant from BLM

The Bureau of Land Management has awarded a total of $24.6 million to the Utah Department of Natural Resources to continue the collaborative efforts to restore and preserve watersheds across the state. Read the full press release.