In 1995, a group of 31 botanists, zoologists, and ecologists presented to Utah's governor a series of biological guidelines for designating Bureau of Land Management wilderness areas in the state. The scientists' recommended conservation strategy, later published in the Great Basin Naturalist , advocates the protection of large contiguous wilderness areas to preserve Utah's plant and wildlife species in their native habitats. Moreover, wilderness areas offer natural ecosystems some protection from the biological invasions that have devastated many communities, especially plant communities, across Utah. Adding wilderness adjacent to existing protected areas like national parks should be given priority.
Biodiversity is greatest where distinct habitat types come into contact.
The large majority of life in this arid region is concentrated around, or depends heavily upon, water sources. Human habitation and development is concentrated around water sources as well, so the few intact areas that remain are extremely important. The lands proposed for wilderness in Utah are home to at least two dozen endangered or sensitive wildlife species that require specialized desert habitats. These include the Gila monster, chuckwalla, and desert tortoise in the hot southwestern corner of Utah, and the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, and endangered native fishes of the Colorado and Green rivers. This is due to the region's great diversity of habitats which range from rivers, rocky cliffs, and isolated mesas to sand dunes, upland forests, and alpine tundra.