Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced Wednesday that wildlife agencies from all 50 states and six territories have finalized similar plans to establish a national framework for species protection. The goals: to enhance habitats, and in doing so, keep at-risk wildlife off the federally managed Endangered Species List.

"We all recognize that the federal government can't do this alone; it can't conserve and protect everything that needs to be protected," Norton said during a morning news conference. "If we're going to succeed, it must be by working hand-in-hand with partners. Today, we're creating a new conservation legacy."

The action plans were required by the Interior Department for states to continue receiving funds from the State Wildlife Grant Program, which has doled out $400 million for state conservation efforts since 2001. Just over $63 million will be distributed next year.

Utah has received more than $5 million from the program and is scheduled to get an $849,000 allocation in 2006. All grant funds must be matched by state or local agencies.

Norton says that the grant program "is now our nation's primary conservation program for keeping species healthy and off the list of threatened and endangered species."

Dana Dolsen, planning manager for Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources, calls the federal money vital for a wide range of species and programs that fall short of endangered or threatened status, and aren't big-game species, which receive funding from their own dedicated sources.

"These are species that we know enough about to make wise decisions and keep them off the [endangered] list," Dolsen said, ticking off the least chub and Columbia toad as a pair of examples. "Then there's another tier of species we can work on if we have the money, and another group of about 50 species that we still don't know much about."

The question environmentalists pose is, now that the states have plans in place and access to these federal funds, will they prioritize and spend wisely?

"What we're afraid of is that this will end up being window dressing for vegetative treatments that might benefit the sage-grouse and might benefit deer and elk, but will surely benefit cattle," said Allison Jones, a biologist with the Western Wildlife Conservancy. "We're worried about the lesser-known species like the three-toed woodpecker and the pygmy rabbit. These are species that are currently falling through the cracks and need the most funds. So let's sit back and see where [DWR] really focuses its resources."

That may not take long. With plans and funding in place, state and local agencies can begin to move ahead quickly.

"These are action plans. They're not inventories or studies," said Dale Hall, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.