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Votes at a glance: Southern RAC actions on rule amendments, variances and program updates
Summary
The Southern Regional RAC recorded votes on multiple agenda items May 20, 2025: adoption of several rule amendments, CWMU public-land variances, sage-grouse translocation and officer/exemption language for WMAs. Most motions passed unanimously; the outfitters/guides/spotters rule passed 8–0 with one abstention.
This is a concise listing of formal actions recorded by the Southern Regional RAC at the May 20, 2025 meeting in Richfield. All outcomes below were announced in public session.
Votes and outcomes - Approval of agenda and minutes — motion passed unanimously (in-room and online votes combined reported as unanimous).
- Dedicated Hunter rule amendments (banking hours/term window) — motion to accept as presented passed unanimously. The amendment expands the window for banking service hours and follows a recent change that lowered required service hours from eight to six.
- Conservation permit program rule amendments — motion to approve as presented passed unanimously. The rule clarifies conservation-permit allocations and permits for special island conservation cases such as Antelope Island.
- Outfitters/guides/spotters rule (implementation of recent statute) — motion passed with edits: the RAC approved implementing the statutory transfer to DWR law enforcement, adopted Northern Region language clarifying that federal special-use permits are obtained from land managers (federal permits are not required with the initial state application), and struck a prescriptive insurance/workers’-comp clause (section 3.2.e). Vote recorded: 8 yes, 0 no, 1 abstention.
- CWMU public-land variance requests — four variances brought before the RAC were approved as presented by unanimous vote.
- WMA exemptions from license requirement (House Bill 309 implementation) — the RAC approved the proposed rules and added an explicit exemption to cover federal land-management employees conducting official duties; motion passed unanimously.
- Sage-grouse translocation (support for moving birds to bolster populations) — motion to approve the translocation program as presented passed unanimously.
- Possession and release of pen-reared game birds (disease-testing clarification and rule tweaks) — motion approved unanimously as presented.
- Sevier-Paiute big-game winter-range WMA habitat plan — informational presentation; no formal vote required.
- RAC leadership election — Austin Atkinson re-elected chair; Bryant nominated and confirmed as vice chair by unanimous consent.
Notes and next steps - Several rule items require DWR implementation steps: application forms, IT registration workflows and coordination with federal special-use permit offices. The RAC asked for follow-up reports and recommended a working group for the outfitters/guides/spotters implementation. - The outfitters/guides/spotters item generated the most public comment and requests for legal clarification (contractor status, insurance, fee structure); DWR and Division of Law Enforcement said early enforcement would emphasize education and planned outreach.
