New Leadership at Wild Utah Project
Our team and board are making some key transitions in leadership. We're excited to share these changes with you, our loyal supporters and friends.
"I'm excited to work with so many amazing people committed to conserving Utah's land and wildlife. The passion and expertise of Wild Utah Project's board, staff, and volunteers can lead to the kind of impact we need for our shared future." -Josh Wood, Wild Utah Project's New Executive Director
We're delighted to announce our new Executive Director, Joshua Wood. Born and raised in Utah, Josh has a passion for the outdoors and Utah’s diverse landscape. He has a master’s degree in political science and public administration and a bachelor’s degree in geography and anthropology from the University of Utah.
Josh will be bringing over 10 years of experience as a nonprofit executive director to our team. He has worked in global health and with rural Utah community health centers. Josh served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia focusing on education and community development. In his spare time, Josh explores the Utah outdoors with his family, paints landscapes, and writes.
We're glad to have Josh on our team. We look forward to working together to continue to conserve Utah's remarkable wildlife.
Our team is also deeply grateful for all the work Kim Howes, our Development Director, has done over the past six months as Interim Executive Director. As she has done throughout her time at Wild Utah Project, she implemented important, creative changes to strengthen and improve our organization. Thank you so much, Kim!
”The Magic of Pollination” Web Presentation
We're proud to say that this month's web presentation diving into the magical world of pollinators was a success. The stories and information presented highlighted the importance of the work you, our dedicated community scientists, are doing with pollinators.
If you missed it, you can watch the recording here. Thank you to Amy Sibul, Mindy Wheeler, and our own Mary Pendergast for your contributions.
Want to help conserve pollinators in Utah, but don't know where to start? Visit our project page for everything you need to begin.
Saying Goodbye to Mark and Welcoming Our New Board Chair
Mark Bailey, outgoing Board Chair
We're humbled by the impact Mark Bailey has had while serving on the board for the past seven years. He is an inspiring and passionate force for wildlife and wildlands conservation in the West. His contributions have informed our strategic direction that will ensure the work we do has long-lasting conservation outcomes. Simply put, he has helped make Wild Utah Project what it is today. We'll miss you, Mark! It's hard to imagine our team without you, but your next conservation endeavors are lucky to have you.
Joe Donaldson, MLA, PLA, new Board Chair
We're excited to welcome Joe Donaldson as our new Board Chair. Joe is a professional landscape architect and environmental planner. Throughout his career in public and private practice and university teaching, he has applied principles of ecological design and green infrastructure to protect and improve habitat and create sustainable environments for people. Joe loves birding, hiking, biking, skiing, rafting, kayaking, and backpacking whenever and wherever he can. Welcome to our team, Joe!
Our Current Projects
It's not too late to get outside while pursuing important conservation goals this summer. With social distancing and COVID guidelines a key consideration in our projects this year, you can get involved in an important cause while staying safe.
Thank you to those of you making our conservation projects possible, whether through volunteering or donating.
Stream & Riparian Restoration Project - We will soon be announcing late summer and fall dates for our project building beaver dam analogues to restore degraded streams. Please sign up for our Stream and Riparian Restoration email list to receive information on upcoming stream days.
#ShutDownStem: Anti-Racism Accountability
As part of the #ShutDownSTEM movement, our team met virtually to discuss our engagement with race. We each feel strongly that we must deepen our personal and organizational commitment to anti-racism, and we are holding ourselves accountable for taking action.
We're making plans to actively work with BIPOC and other marginalized groups to learn how to bring diverse voices into often-exclusive conservation spaces. To do this, we will seek relationships and partnerships with other organizations focused on and led by these communities.
As we expand our partnerships, we're committed to fostering reciprocity in relationships by identifying and contributing to shared causes.
We have also made plans to seek guidance from and collaboration with Indigenous and marginalized communities, implement further staff-wide inclusivity trainings, and begin monthly accountability meetings for our staff.
If you want to share your thoughts, ideas, or experiences with us, please email our Communications Coordinator at sarah@wildutahproject.org. We welcome and appreciate your voice.
June Volunteer Highlights
With our Wasatch Wildlife Watch project in full swing, we'd like to highlight some of our phenomenal community scientists on the project. Thank you to these volunteers and all of you who are volunteering or donating to make this project possible.
Lucas Choy is pre-med student using his environmental science degree to support the project while gaining important research experience. During the three years he's been involved in the project, he consistently takes on some of the most difficult sites. He says, "Community involvement is very important to me, and Wasatch Wildlife Watch presents a unique way to get involved in the community. I know the data we gather for this project is important, and I am excited to see where it goes in the future."
Brian and Sheri Perkes have been involved in Wasatch Wildlife Watch for three years, and have even continued monitoring sites during the winter. Both dedicated to the wildlife of the West, they say, "The most rewarding aspects are when a Mountain Lion, or Bobcat, or some of the more rare animals show up on the camera images. Also, learning which camera sites seem to work better than others and trying to better learn the habits of some of the animals has been deeply rewarding and just a lot of fun."
Though all our cameras are assigned for the season, you can sign up to analyze wildlife image data in the fall.
In the News
Listen to this recent story on Utah Public Radio to learn more about our Black Rosy-Finch project. Along with our partners, we're answering questions about these mysterious alpine birds to support their conservation.
Thanks to our partners at U.S. Forest Service, USU, UDWR, and Tracy Aviary.
Thank You
Now more than ever, our conservation projects are vital to the well-being of humans and wildlife. If you are in a position to give, please consider donating to ensure that this work continues.
Thank you so much for your dedication to Utah's unique wildlife. This work is only possible because of your generosity.
Visit the project page on our website to learn more about our conservation work, and please contact us with any questions.