Introducing our new Riverscape Restoration Project Manager!
It is our pleasure to welcome Shane Hill to the Sageland Collaborative team as our new Riverscape Restoration Project Manager! In this role, Shane will support the process and implementation of our Riverscape Restoration program, including working with our amazing volunteers on our hands-on restoration days!
Shane supporting at a Riverscape Restoration volunteer day at Red Pine Creek in 2023. Photo by Sierra Hastings.
If you’ve joined us on our Riverscape projects in the past, you may already know Shane as one of our partners with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Shane has been an incredible partner over the past several years, and we are excited to draw on his vast experience of working with restoration practitioners and community members as we continue to restore Utah’s waterways.
Get to know Shane in our interview with him below.
What interests you about Sageland Collaborative?
Shane leading members of Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative on a field trip near Preston, Idaho. Photo by Sierra Hastings.
I have always considered Sageland Collaborative's mission to provide science-based solutions for wildlife conservation issues in line with my own values. Having worked closely with Sageland Collaborative staff on a number of stream restoration projects in my previous job, I have been impressed by the higher standard and passion for the work so evident from those working here. I am honored to be a part of the team and look forward to having fun and learning so much from everyone here.
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
In his work with UDWR, Shane supported habitat restoration through beaver reintroduction.
My career in wildlife conservation started nearly 15 years ago. I received my bachelors in Wildlife Science at Utah State University, enjoying the culture surrounding wildlife conservation during classes and The Wildlife Society activities. Like most in this field, I moved nearly every summer between semesters to gain experience in wildlife surveys, ranging from night surveys for snakes and amphibians to radio telemetry for migrating mule deer. I then went back to USU to get my Master's degree where I studied frogs and small mammals in Hawaii. Most recently I was a habitat biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources where I worked with developers to minimize impact to wildlife and implemented habitat restoration projects in central and northern Utah.
What do you love about Western wildlife?
In my work I have always believed in the need for a land ethic which has fed my interests in mimicking natural processes to restore degraded habitats. I am most intrigued by the ways that wildlife shape their environment through their adaptations and ecosystem services they provide for humans and the rest of the community to which they belong. Beavers may be the most apparent example of this, which is why I love to work with them, but I love learning about how other species influence their surroundings benefitting other wildlife as well, such as wolves, bison, woodpeckers and more.
Drone footage giving an overhead look of a beaver release on a stream in northern Utah.
What are some successes you've seen in your previous work?
Shane facilitating a beaver release at a ranch near Logan, UT. Photo by Sierra Hastings.
My proudest moments revolve around successes I've had due to strong partnerships. For example, In 2019 I reached out to the leadership of Eagle Mountain City to present some wildlife migration data the state had been collecting via GPS collars. After a relatively short period of time of me attending city council meetings, the State, Eagle Mountain and private landowners had agreements in place to preserve a migration corridor through the city, going as far as to establish a new, first of its kind, zoning layer to minimize loss of migration routes as the city grew. Also, I am proud of the accomplishments I and partners have had growing a program to reintroduce beavers to watersheds in need of stream and riparian restoration. I ran into an angler once who told me he caught his first Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout out of a pond created by beavers I had released into the stream a couple years prior. I was so excited to hear a first hand account of how my work was improving the health of a native trout population and improving the experience of real people as they recreate in nature.
What do you wish people understood about riverscape restoration in the West?
I wish more people understood how much more riverscape restoration is needed and the direct benefits it gives to our communities. I believe many of our current and projected environmental problems could be avoided or minimized if society respected natural processes more.
There will always be some need for heavy handed approaches to fix problems but the principles of rewilding, preservation and respectfully working with the land will provide longer lasting and more economic solutions to those problems.
What else would you like people to know about you?
I am a dad to three great kids, who I love to see exploring and experiencing the world. I am most relaxed playing the guitar and singing to and with my family. Music is an important part of my everyday life. I am always looking for the right song for any given situation and for chances to go to concerts.
Shane joined the Sageland Collaborative team in March 2025. With nearly 15 years of experience in wildlife conservation, Shane's background includes a bachelor’s in Wildlife Science from Utah State University and a master’s degree focused on frogs and small mammals in Hawaii.
Interview by Sierra Hastings
Photos (unless otherwise noted) shared by Shane Hill