DWR presents updates to Yankee Meadows and Perrin Valley wildlife management plans
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Summary
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources staff presented updated management plans for Yankee Meadows WMA and Perrin (Periwen) Valley WMA, reporting high recreational use at Yankee and outlining prairie dog conservation measures and a potential permanent visual barrier fence at Perrin Valley.
Division of Wildlife Resources staff briefed the Iron County Commission on updated habitat-management plans for Yankee Meadows Wildlife Management Area and Perrin (Periwen) Valley Wildlife Management Area.
"I'm the new regional supervisor for DWR here in Cedar City," Dax Mangus (speaker 11) said in an opening introduction. Aquatics biologist Mikayla (speaker 7) presented survey results showing heavy angler use at Yankee Meadows: roughly 8,000 angler hours and 3,500 non‑angler recreational hours during the sampled period, with catch rates averaging about half a fish per hour and annual stocking of roughly 6,000 rainbow trout, 2,000 brook trout and 4,000 cutthroat trout.
On Periwen Valley, Utah prairie dog recovery biologist Barbara Sugarman (speaker 12) explained the site is managed primarily for prairie dog conservation and is closed to public access. She described short‑term measures (silt-fence maintenance) and long-term goals such as a permanent visual‑barrier fence to prevent prairie dog dispersal to adjacent lands. Sugarman also outlined population management options, including coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on live-trapping and potential translocation if densities exceed management goals.
Commissioners were given instructions for submitting comments through the county or the Resource Development Coordinating Committee (RDCC). Staff said the plans will also go to the state wildlife board and director’s office for final action.
