New mural painted in Moab as part of ongoing project to celebrate Utah wildlife

MOAB, Utah (ABC4) — If you’re driving through Moab anytime soon, you might notice a brand new bright blue and purple mural of a razorback sucker.

This mural now sits on the back of the Moab Information Center on Main Street as part of an ongoing project titled “Utah Wildlife Walls” — a collaboration between Utah artist Chris Peterson and the Utah Wildlife Federation. Peterson said the goal is to install at least one wildlife mural in each of Utah’s 29 counties.

The razorback sucker is the fifth wall now completed in the series. Peterson started the work for the mural, which is sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, on Monday, May 13.

“The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to protect lands and waters to benefit people and nature. Through this collaboration, we hope to build strong community, raise awareness about Utah’s spectacular wildlife, and inspire people to explore the outdoors,” the organization said in a press release.

The mural was installed to bring awareness to the razorback sucker and highlight the work that The Nature Conservancy is doing for this endangered species. According to the Utah Wildlife Walls website, Moab is an ideal location to celebrate this species due to habitat conservation efforts at the Matheson Wetlands Preserve.

“A few years ago, TNC and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources built a native fish nursery at the Scott and Norma Matheson near Moab to support the razorback sucker. They face many threats including predators and warmer, drier weather. The nursery provides a haven for larvae to grow bigger to help them survive on their own in the Colorado River.  This past year, there was proof the nursery is working, yet the fishes have a long climb ahead of them,” they said.

Peterson, who’s painted dozens of murals across Utah, studied art in his twenties, then later left the arts to further his education and begin a career in conservation and community organizations. After 15 years, he began painting professionally again and is combining his creativity and conservation experience into Utah Wildlife Walls.

In 2023, Peterson painted four walls for the project and hopes to complete eight more this year. The other ones he’s installed are in Vernal, Salt Lake City, Heber and Midvale.

“The real magic of the landscape are those wildlife encounters that you can’t see from the road. But if you get out there, you will have them, and that’s the magical part that I started to focus on in my own work,” he said.

The project started in October 2022 with the installation of a 120-foot mural of the Bonneville cutthroat and the first annual Bonnie Ball Street Festival in Salt Lake City.

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