February 23, 2016 | 4:00 PM
Mr. Alan Clark, Director, Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, Utah Department of Natural Resources will set the theme for the conference with a presentation entitled "Sagebrush Restoration: Thinking Like a Manager". Now entering its tenth year of completing landscape-scale projects in Utah, the purpose of WRI is to restore and improve watershed health in priority areas across the state. In 2014, with support of $3.95 million from the Utah Legislature, the WRI partnership (which included 91 partners) completed over 130 projects restoring 112,987 acres of uplands and 55 miles of stream and riparian areas. Since its inception, WRI partners have completed over 1,340 projects, treating over 1.15 million acres of habitat with an investment by all partners of over $130 million. Alan spent 23 years with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife with a one year break to obtain a Master's in Wildlife Management Degree from Virginia Tech. In 1996, Alan took on a new challenge and crossed the Rockies with his wife and three daughters to join the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources as the wildlife planning manager. Over the next 16 years he held other positions with UDWR including Wildlife Chief and Assistant Director. In December of 2012, Alan transferred to the Department of Natural Resources as Director of the Watershed Restoration Program