Utah Wildlife Board approves interim rules to implement new guides and outfitters law amid stakeholder concerns

The Utah Wildlife Board on June 12 approved administrative rules to implement a newly enacted state law that moves regulation of commercial guides and outfitters from the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing to the Division of Wildlife Resources and establishes a certificate‑of‑registration program for guides, outfitters and spotters.

Chad Betridge of DNR law enforcement and Kyle Maynard, assistant attorney general, briefed the board. Maynard said the legislation originated as House Bill 153 and moved through the session as Senate Bill 149; it requires the division to operate a licensing program beginning this fall. “This is a new program for the division of wildlife,” Maynard said. He described the adopted rule as a “living rule” that provides the mechanism to collect fees and issue certificates this season while stakeholders continue to refine specifics.

Board and RAC discussion focused on fee levels, the role of outfitters in certifying guides, complication with federal special‑use permits for operating on U.S. Forest Service or BLM lands, and worker‑compensation and liability insurance for hired helpers. Chad Betridge explained two edits adopted during the RAC process: requiring an attestation that applicants seeking to operate on federal land have the relevant federal permits rather than conditioning state registration on having the federal permit in hand, and removing prescriptive insurance language so applicants follow state and federal insurance law.

The board also discussed stakeholder calls for additional training or certification for guides, concerns about the jump from a $40‑every‑other‑year fee under the former program to the statutory fee in the current law (the AG’s office said the fee is set in statute), and whether a graduated fee schedule for low‑volume guides should be considered in future code changes. Several RACs recommended the division convene a stakeholder committee to refine implementation; the Southeast RAC passed a motion requesting that committee, which the board and staff said could be formed by the division.

The board approved the rule package as presented; two members recused themselves from the vote because of family or business involvement with outfitting. Staff said the rule will be revisited after interim legislative discussions and stakeholder input. Kyle Maynard advised that issues requiring statutory change will need to move through the Legislature; he and division staff encouraged affected parties to participate in next week’s interim discussions.