The Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI) is a partnership based program in Utah to improve high priority watersheds throughout the state. WRI is sponsored by the Utah Partners for Conservation and Development and is in its 12th year. The Watershed Program focuses on improving three ecosystem values: 1) watershed health and biological diversity, 2) water quality and yield, and 3) opportunities for sustainable uses of natural resources. WRI is a bottom-up initiative where project planning, review, and ranking occur at a local level. Five regional teams elect their own leaders, establish focus areas, review,score and rank project proposals using a comprehensive project prioritization score sheet, and assist their members in implementing projects. If you want to be involved in WRI, the place to start is on a regional team. Maps of the regional team boundaries are found on the front page of this site.
Since 2006, WRI partners have completed nearly 1,500 projects and are approaching nearly 1.5 million acres and nearly 400 miles of streams restored to a more proper functioning condition. These restored and rehabilitated acres and stream miles are only made possible through a diverse partnership of state and federal government agencies working together with non-government organizations, industry, elected officials and private landowners. As of 2016, nearly 500 agencies, organizations and individuals have contributed to WRI projects by providing funding and/or in-kind assistance.
WRI through its partners provides a number of project services including: funding, assistance with project planning and implementation, contracting and accounting, seed purchasing, storage, mixing and delivery, free use of restoration equipment, project monitoring and reporting, project management, and an on-line project database. The locally-led teams provide a means to work on a landscape scale across ownership boundaries.
WRI projects receive funding from a number of sources but the core funding comes from an appropriation of general fund tax dollars through the Utah Legislature to the Department of Natural Resources. This funding is matched many times over through both financial and in-kind contributions by partners. The Utah DNR provides the administrative oversight for the program. Contributors of funding to WRI vary annually but consistent funding for projects often comes from the following sources; federal agencies (e.g. Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), state agencies (e.g. Division of Wildlife Resources, Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands, Department of Agriculture and Food, State Institutional Trust Lands Administration, Governor’s Public Lands Policy Coordination Office, Department of Environment Quality) and NGO’s ( e.g. Mule Deer Foundation, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, Safari Club International, National Wild Turkey Federation, Utah Bowman for Habitat). Finally, many private landowners provide funding and/or in-kind services to complete projects on their own land or grazing allotments.
