Building & Grounds Director Shane Jenkins presented an estimate from Earls Fence Company for a 6-foot chainlink fence approximately 408 feet long. This is for the backyard of the new building and will include a 4-foot walking gate and a cantilever gate. The total estimate is $17,627.00. If approved, they can start installing this week. Commissioner Killian made a motion to approve the estimate from Earls Fence Company for $17,627.00. Commissioner Hansen seconded the motion. Commissioner Killian voted aye, and Commissioner Hansen voted aye. The motion passed.

Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) Outreach Manager Lori Haslem introduced herself and explained their collaboration with LSI. LSI are grant writers, and GOEO would pay for the service. They want to help rural Utah with high-value projects. Cities, counties, or businesses in rural Utah can utilize the service. The grant amount needs to be $600,000 or higher. The entity would find the grant they want to apply for, and then GOEO and LSI would assist them with the grant writing. The parties discuss the economic development projects in Duchesne County.

Utah Department of Natural Resources, Northeastern Region Supervisor Miles Hanberg presented the In-Lieu Tax Payment of $43,145.70. This is the 2023 contractual in-lieu tax payment on land the Division of Wildlife Resources owns in Duchesne County. The money used to pay the in-lieu tax is mainly provided by hunters and anglers in the county and across the state. In 2023, the Division of Wildlife Resources purchased a parcel of land incorporated into the Division’s Tabby Mountain Wildlife Management Area. The parcel will be managed for hunting access and big game winter range habitat. The Division’s purchase of this 160-acre parcel from private ownership has increased the in-lieu payment by $80.00.

Mr. Hanberg also presented a handout of Utah’s Watershed Restoration Initiative. For the fiscal year 2023, 101 projects were completed, 262 stream miles were improved, 148,883 total acres were restored, $37 million total funding was invested, 86+ funding partners, 644 estimated jobs were created, and $90 million total economic output. For more information and to get involved, visit https://watershed.utah.gov/.

Utah Department of Natural Resources Habitat Program Manager Pat Rainbolt presented the Tabby Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Seasonal Travel Restriction Program 2024 Progress Report. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) completed winter elk helicopter surveys on the Currant Creek sub-unit in February 2022. The survey is completed once every three years to help biologists track elk population trends and provide a relative estimate of elk abundance. The number of elk counted does not indicate the total population since not every elk is observed during the helicopter survey.

A total of 3,273 elk were observed on the Current Creek sub-unit. The sub-unit extends west from Duchesne to Strawberry Valley and south from the Duchesne River to the