Report on Utah’s Wildlife Action Plan and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: A Strategic Framework for SDG 15 (Life on Land)

The state of Utah has released its 10-year update of the Utah Wildlife Action Plan, a foundational strategy for statewide conservation efforts. This plan directly supports the objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 15 (Life on Land), which aims to protect, restore, and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss. The updated framework outlines protective measures for over 250 species of animals, insects, and plants under the jurisdiction of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Collaborative Implementation and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

The development of the 2025 action plan exemplifies the principles of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), which emphasizes the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration to achieve sustainable development. The plan’s creation was a significant long-term, cooperative effort involving numerous entities.

• Development Period: Over three years
• Contributing Partners: More than 35 partner agencies and organizations
• Individual Contributors: Over 150 individuals

This extensive partnership ensures a comprehensive and robust approach to wildlife conservation. The plan will be a central theme at the upcoming Utah Wildlife Summit, an event designed to foster public engagement and volunteerism.

Addressing Threats in the Context of SDG 13 (Climate Action)

The report identifies three primary threats to Utah’s wildlife, with two being direct consequences of climate change, linking conservation efforts directly to the urgency of SDG 13 (Climate Action).

1. Prolonged and Increasing Drought: A critical environmental stressor linked to changing climate patterns.
2. Increasing Frequency and Intensity of Wildfires: A direct impact of climate change that severely degrades natural habitats.
3. Development: The expansion of human settlement and infrastructure, which leads to habitat loss.

Financial Commitment and Future Outlook

Sustaining the plan’s objectives requires stable financial resources. While concerns have been raised regarding the impact of changing federal funding landscapes on conservation programs, Utah has demonstrated a firm commitment to its local initiatives.

• Federal Funding: Concerns exist regarding recent cuts in federal spending for conservation.
• State Commitment: The State of Utah currently dedicates approximately $5 million annually to implement the Utah Wildlife Action Plan.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 15: Life on Land: This is the most prominent SDG addressed. The article focuses on the “Utah Wildlife Action Plan,” a state-level conservation effort to protect terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity. It explicitly mentions protecting “more than 250 species of animals, insects and plants” and addresses threats to wildlife like habitat loss from development.
• SDG 13: Climate Action: The article directly connects climate change to the threats facing Utah’s wildlife. It identifies “prolonged and increasing drought” and “the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires” as major dangers, which are recognized consequences of climate change. The action plan, therefore, serves as a measure to build resilience against these climate-related hazards.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The article highlights the collaborative nature of the conservation effort. It states that “over 35 partner agencies and organizations” and “over 150 people” were involved in developing the plan. This multi-stakeholder approach, involving government bodies (Utah Division of Wildlife Resources) and civil society (Utah Wildlife Federation), is central to SDG 17.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 15: Life on Land
   • Target 15.5: “Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species.” The article’s focus on the “Utah Wildlife Action Plan,” which lists over 250 species for protection and aims to counter threats like development, directly aligns with this target. The mention of “saving endangered species” further reinforces this connection.
   • Target 15.9: “By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes…” The creation and 10-year update of a statewide Wildlife Action Plan demonstrates the integration of biodiversity values into state-level planning and conservation strategies, particularly in response to development pressures.
2. SDG 13: Climate Action
   • Target 13.1: “Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.” The plan addresses the impacts of climate-related hazards mentioned in the article, such as drought and wildfires. By creating a strategy to protect wildlife and habitats from these threats, the state is working to strengthen the ecosystem’s resilience and adaptive capacity.
3. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
   • Target 17.17: “Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships…” The article provides a clear example of this target in action. The plan is described as a “long-term team effort” involving the state’s Division of Wildlife Resources (public) and the Utah Wildlife Federation (civil society), along with numerous other partners.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article, being a news report, implies several qualitative and quantitative indicators that can be used to measure progress:

• For Target 15.5:
  • Number of species under protection: The article states the plan lists “more than 250 species of animals, insects and plants under the protection,” which serves as a direct quantitative indicator of the scope of conservation efforts.
  • Success in species recovery: The mention of featuring “success stories of saving endangered species” at the Utah Wildlife Summit implies that the recovery status of these species is a key qualitative indicator of the plan’s effectiveness.
• For Target 13.1 & 15.9:
  • Existence and implementation of a state-level action plan: The “Utah Wildlife Action Plan” itself is an indicator that the state has a formal strategy to integrate biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation into its planning.
• For Target 17.17:
  • Number of collaborating entities: The article specifies “over 35 partner agencies and organizations” and “over 150 people” contributed, which are quantitative indicators of the scale of the partnership.
  • Financial commitment: The state’s dedication of “about $5 million a year to the Utah Wildlife Action Plan” is a clear financial indicator of its commitment to the partnership and its goals.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: upr.org