Uinta Basin and Central Utah Rare Plant Surveyor Training

Every year we work with our partners at the Bureau of Land Management and Utah Heritage Program to provide a training webinar geared towards botanists and surveyors conducting rare plant surveys in the Uinta Basin and Central Utah. The training includes an overview of USFWS protocols, survey qualifications, reporting and permitting requirements, species updates, and BLM's protocols and requirements for sensitive species. The webinar also provides any new information and updates on threatened/endangered/sensitive (T/E/S) species and includes some tips for identification of rare plants and an understanding of their habitats.  Objectives of the workshop are to:

• ensure consistency and quality of surveys, for purposes of Endangered Species Act consultation and compliance,
• ensure consistency and quality of data reporting, and
• increase the number of qualified surveyors to increase our knowledge of the distribution of rare and listed plant species. 

A live training will not be offered this year. Instead, we ask that you please watch a recorded webinar and attend a live Question and Answer session. You must register via this form to receive the invitation to the live Q&A and so we can track and verify everyone's completion of the training. The recording and invite will be provided after registration. The live Q&A session will be held March 29th at 11am MDT. EDIT 3/24: The live Q&A will now be hosted April 3rd at 11:00am MDT. If you have previously registered, there is no need to re-register for the new date. 

Please register for the annual rare plant surveyor training here: Registration. For questions please contact Matt Lewis at matthew_lewis@fws.gov.

Completion of the workshop is mandatory for all persons who plan to conduct T/E/S plant surveys in the Uinta Basin.  For those with previous survey or training experience, we strongly encourage participation annually because potential habitat polygons and survey protocols may be slightly modified from year to year, based on the best available information.

Reminder: The rare plant survey training is valid for three field seasons. If you took the training in 2022, you should retake this training in 2025. This year’s attendees should retake this training in March 2028.