The Escalante Watershed Restoration Partnership (EWRP) is a coalition of private and public agencies, groups, and individuals working towards restoring native habitats and hydrology on the Escalante River and its tributaries in the Escalante Watershed in Southern Utah. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (PFW) in Utah is a member of this coalition, as is Grand Staircase Escalante Partners (GSEP).
Sue Fearon is the private lands coordinator for GSEP and a key partner assisting with habitat work done with the PFW program on private lands. Sue helps coordinate partnerships between private landowners, GSEP, PFW, and other organizations to fund and implement restoration projects. She was recently recognized for her exhaustive efforts in furthering this conservation mission. Projects have focused on removing non-native woody plants, primarily Russian olive, and restoration of riparian habitat.
The Escalante River is a tributary to the Colorado River and is one of the last free flowing rivers today 90 miles of riparian corridor support over 200 species of migratory birds, including endangered Southwestern willow flycatchers, threatened yellow-billed cuckoos, federally-listed Mexican spotted owls, and peregrine falcons. This habitat also supports rare fish, including remnant populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout, as well as bluehead sucker, roundtail chub, and flannelmouth sucker.
