MDF Applauds Land Exchange to Benefit Utah Wildlife
April 3, 2013
Mule Deer Foundation Applauds Land Exchange to Benefit Utah Wildlife
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) came out in strong support of a habitat deal recently struck between three Utah government agencies.
The land exchange, that benefits school children, motorists and wildlife, involved the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT).
SITLA will exchange a portion of school trust land property located in prime wildlife management areas to the DWR for land UDOT needs for the Mountain View Corridor. SITLA will then sell the land it receives from the exchange to UDOT. The money SITLA receives will go directly into Utah's Permanent School Fund.
Land the DWR is acquiring includes wetlands and marshes vital to several species of wildlife, river and riparian habitat important to birds and fish, and critical wintering areas for mule deer and other big game animals.
MDF’s President and CEO Miles Moretti concluded, “This is an historic land trade that will have immense benefits for mule deer and other wildlife.”
For more details about the land exchange, visit http://wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/news/.
