(Business Wire)  Utah.gov and Department of Technology Services today announced its Utah Hunting and Fishing mobile application has been selected as a Top 30 finalist for the 2015 Igniting Innovation Awards, presented by the American Council for Technology - Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC). The awards program selected 30 finalists from a large pool of innovative government and industry solutions developed to address the government’s biggest IT challenges.

“We're honored that the tech community recognizes the impact of our robust yet simple app,” said Greg Sheehan, director of the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR). “We didn't set out to win any awards, we just designed and implemented an app we knew our citizens would love.”

The mobile hunting and fishing application was created to provide outdoorsmen the very best information and technology available to help them enjoy their adventures in the state of Utah. Increasingly individuals are looking to smart phones and other mobile devices to interact with government and to carry vital information and records such as state-issued licenses.

The Utah Hunting and Fishing mobile 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. 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.

“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,” said David Fletcher, Chief Technology Officer with the Utah Department of Technology Services. “In addition the mobile application allows the citizens of Utah to interact digitally with state government in a way that has never been available digitally in the field before.”

The DWR designed the application to match the outdoor adventures available in the state. Utah.gov is a leader in creating superior online solutions that improve the lives of its citizens and developed the application to improve hunters and anglers outdoor experience.

“We are proud to recognize the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and Utah.gov for its dedication to advancing the mission of ACT-IAC by enabling government to improve efficiency and effectiveness through the Utah Hunting and Fishing mobile app,” said Chris Smith, Igniting Innovation Program Chair. “Each of this year’s finalists have developed innovative and collaborative ways to creatively address government IT issues. Our Showcase highlights the best uses of these groundbreaking tools, services and solutions.”

The Top 30 finalists exhibited their solutions at the Igniting Innovation Showcase and Award event on February 5, 2015 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. to a judging panel of government and industry professionals, as well as the entire showcase audience comprised of IT executives, influencers and media.

You can download the app for free on iTunes and Google Play.

To find out more information about Utah.gov visit:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/UtahGov
Facebook: http://www.utah.gov/facebook/
RSS feeds: http://www.utah.gov/connect/feeds.html
Utah blogs: http://www.utah.gov/blogs/

About Utah.gov

Utah.gov is the entry point to over 1,000 online services and benefits over 2.7 million residents in the State of Utah. Utah.gov provides citizens and businesses with more convenient options for interacting with government. Through Utah.gov, citizens can find public meetings, renew their vehicle registration, buy a hunting and fishing license, register a business, find a transparent state budget, and much more. In 2014 alone, Utah.gov received 16 awards making it the nation’s most honored state website. Utah.gov is managed and operated through a public-private partnership between Utah’s Department of Technology Solutions (DTS) and Utah Interactive, the Salt Lake City-based official eGovernment partner for the state of Utah. Utah Interactive is part of eGovernment firm NIC’s family of companies.

About NIC

Founded in 1992, NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of official government websites, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company's innovative eGovernment services help make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” five times, most recently ranked at No. 11 (2013), and the company has been included four times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.