Close-up of bighorn sheep with curled horns

Desert Bighorn

Virgin River Program Overview

The Virgin River Program is a collaborative effort between local, state, and federal partners to balance human interests along the Virgin River while conserving this unique ecosystem for future generations. The Program ensures local compliance with the Endangered Species Act through various activities, including species recovery, water management, floodplain protection, restoration, and community outreach. The goals of the Program are to:

Implement actions to recover, conserve, enhance and protect native species in the Virgin River Basin.
Enhance the ability to provide adequate water supplies for sustaining human needs.

Virgin River Program activities include:

Enhancement and protection of floodplain and wildlife habitat
Guiding proactive water development strategies to allow continued economic growth and recovery of fish and wildlife habitat
Fish population monitoring and stocking
Non-native fish control
Providing water releases to enhance fish survival during low flow periods
Installing fish screens and providing fish passage on diversion structures
Education outreach in local schools and communities
Assisting with watershed planning measures and developing master plans for the basin to guide floodplain management, flood damage restoration, revegetation, and infrastructure protection

A diagram of the three circles that are used to describe people, wildlife and virgin river.

A graph of washington county population growth in 2 0 1 0 to 2 0 1 5.

The Virgin River Program pioneered cooperative conservation efforts that allow both humans and wildlife to thrive in one of the fastest growing communities in the U.S.

Virgin River Program Overview

Virgin River Program activities include:

The Virgin River Program pioneered cooperative conservation efforts that allow both humans and wildlife to thrive in one of the fastest growing communities in the U.S.

Program Signatories