2023 Utah Surveyor Trainings

In coordination with partners, the Utah Ecological Services Field Office offers threatened and endangered species surveyor trainings each year. These trainings are mandatory for those who plan to conduct surveys in Utah for Mexican spotted owls, Utah prairie dogs, southwestern willow flycatchers, western yellow-billed cuckoo, Mojave desert tortoise, or listed plant species.

We are planning on hosting surveyor trainings in 2023 for the following species and will update this page as new information and trainings become available. For surveyor documents and more information, please go to our Surveyor Library and the species specific libraries, or reach out to the species lead. 

• The Uinta Basin and Central Utah Rare Plant Surveyor Training will be held virtually on February 21st, 2023 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm MST. Training is mandatory for surveyors and is valid for 3 years. Live attendance is strongly encouraged, though the webinar will be recorded and posted for viewing later. Please register for the webinar in advance by emailing your name and affiliation to Rita Reisor (rita_reisor@fws.gov).  A confirmation email with sign-in instructions and link will be sent 24 hours prior to the meeting.

• The Mexican spotted owl surveyor training will be offered as a hybrid course, with an asynchronous virtual classroom session and in person field visit March 21st and 22nd, 2023 in Moab, Utah. If you are interested in a refresher of the course materials, you may sign up for a "virtual only option" to receive access to the classroom videos. Please note, this option is not recommended for those seeking a 10(a)(1)(a) Recovery Permit for surveying. The field visit will consist of night calling March 21 and a morning habitat walk March 22nd. Please visit the Mexican spotted owl species page to learn more and register. For questions, please contact Danielle Costantini (danielle_costantini@fws.gov). 

• Registration is now open for the Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo Survey Protocol Training Workshop in western Colorado on June 13-14, 2023. The class and field session will be hosted in Hotchkiss, Colorado. This year's workshop leader will be Dr. Murrelet Halterman, avian ecologist and lead author of the current YBCU survey protocol. For details or to register online, please visit: https://www.westernbiology.com/ybcuworkshop. For questions, please contact Danielle Costantini (danielle_costantini@fws.gov). 

• The Utah prairie dog surveyor training will be hosted June 5 and 6, 2023 in Cedar City, Utah. For prairie dog related questions, please contact Kate Novak (kate_novak@fws.gov). Register for the training by emailing your full name, affiliation, and contact information (including phone number and email) to ritamay_reyna@fws.gov. Please include "Utah Prairie Dog Surveyor Training Registration" in the email subject line.

• The Desert Tortoise Council intends to offer a Mojave desert tortoise Lecture Course and a Field Workshop fall 2023. Details will be announced by late Spring. Please check for updated training information with the Desert Tortoise Council , or contact Danielle Costantini (danielle_costantini@fws.gov).