The purpose of the Species Protection line item is to prevent any plant or animal species from being added to the Endangered Species List, and to pursue actions that will allow the delisting of threatened or endangered species in Utah.
During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $3,458,300 from all sources for Species Protection. This is a 3.2 percent reduction from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources.
In addition to statewide compensation and internal service fund cost increases, the following appropriation adjustments were made during the 2015 General Session:
The following are the top performance measures chosen by DNR management to gauge the success of this program.
Miles of Virgin River free of Red Shiner
Red Shiner: One of the main limiting factors for endangered species (Wound Fin and Virgin River Chub) recovery in the Virgin River is the presence of Red Shiner. Efforts have been underway for a number of years to eradicate this species from the Virgin River. The number of miles that are free from Red Shiner will help determine the number of miles that have the potential for having Wound Fin and Virgin River Chub occupation.
Carp Removal from Utah Lake
Carp Removal: A major purpose of the program is to make progress toward recovery of federally listed species. The June Sucker is listed as endangered and occurs naturally only in Utah Lake. Common carp, a nonnative species, has been determined to be one of the major impediments to the recovery of the June Sucker. The goal of this measure is to reduce the carp population by 75%, which is determined to be necessary for the restoration of aquatic plants to Utah Lake. Aquatic plants provide cover to protect the June Sucker from predation, and be able to complete their entire life cycle in the lake, a requirement for recovery and de-listing.
Number of Spawning June Suckers Observed or Captured
June Sucker: The number of spawning June Suckers observed or captured spawning suckers has been increasing.
This program is funded through revenues from the brine shrimp royalty tax and dedicated sales tax revenues (UCA 59-12-103 directs 14% or $2.45 million of $17.5 million to this program, see Sales Tax Distribution Chart).
Special Funds
The figure below shows the activities of the fund over time, the appropriated amount for the current fiscal year, as well as the average revenues, expenditures, and balances.
COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.