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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s newest outdoor technology tool is among the best in the nation.
The Department of Technology Services Thursday announced that the Utah Hunting and Fishing mobile app was chosen among the top 30 finalists for the 2015 Igniting Innovation Awards, presented by the American Council for Technology - Industry Advisory Council.
The program selected 30 finalists from a nationwide pool of government and industry solutions developed to address those entity’s top information technology challenges. The top agencies exhibited their apps and tech solutions to a panel of government, industry professionals, IT executives and media in Washington, D.C.
“We're honored that the tech community recognizes the impact of our robust yet simple app,” said Greg Sheehan, director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
The mobile hunting and fishing app was designed to provide outdoorsmen with the latest and most useful information and technology available to help them enjoy their activities throughout the state, explained DWR business analyst Phil Gray, who led the project to develop the mobile application.
More people are using smart mobile devices to interact with government and to carry vital information and records such as state issued licenses, he said.
The application is the first state mobile app to create a digital wallet that allows law enforcement officers to scan and verify official licenses and permits with the same equipment the Utah Division of Wildlife Resource officers are already using, he said. While several states are pursuing programs to allow electronic versions of an official state document, Utah is the first to put a statewide program in place, he said.
Official digital documents are a new concept for state governments. Providing access to digital copies of licenses is conceptually innovative and has tremendous potential for increasing government efficiency.
–David Fletcher, State Department of Technology Services chief technology officer
“Official digital documents are a new concept for state governments,” said David Fletcher, chief technology officer with the State Department of Technology Services. “Providing access to digital copies of licenses is conceptually innovative and has tremendous potential for increasing government efficiency.”
DWR designed the mobile app to match the outdoor activities available in the state, said Gray, who is an outdoor sportsman.
“You can store any number of people’s licenses on your mobile app for verification,” he said. The app also disseminates information on upcoming hunt dates, application periods, watchable wildlife events as well as public meetings, he added.
To date, the app has had 22,000 downloads, he noted, with a goal of reaching 50,000 users by year’s end, Gray said.
