Utah folds predator control into Grazing Improvement Program; committee hears on wells, guzzlers and trapper equipment

Troy Forrest, deputy commissioner for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, told the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee that the department has moved its predator-control work under the Grazing Improvement Program and has used recent one-time legislative funding to buy equipment and build water infrastructure for grazing allotments.

The change combines predator control with grazing coordinators “to develop some synergy between our trappers” and grazing staff, Forrest said. The Legislature provided roughly $1 million in one-time funding to support predator control; Forrest said additional ongoing funding and one-time dollars — “$2,000,000 or $3,000,000” as described in the presentation — have supported drilling wells, extending pipelines, installing troughs and buying trapper trucks and related equipment.

Why it matters: committee members said the shift could improve coordination and on-the-ground response for livestock producers. Several legislators described past projects as season-saving during drought; the subcommittee asked technical questions about…