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Utah wildlife managers propose winter seasonal closure, motorized ban for Swan Creek WMA
Summary
The Habitat Council reviewed an updated habitat management plan for Swan Creek Wildlife Management Area that seeks to protect wintering big game and cutthroat trout spawning habitat by restricting motorized access and establishing a seasonal closure from Dec. 1 to May 1.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) presented an updated habitat management plan for the 672‑acre Swan Creek Wildlife Management Area, recommending a motorized‑vehicle ban and a seasonal closure from Dec. 1 through May 1 to protect wintering mule deer, elk and moose and preserve spawning habitat for Bear Lake cutthroat trout.
The update was presented by Zach Oman, a habitat biologist in the DWR Northern Region, at the Habitat Council meeting. “The Swan Creek WMA Habitat Management Plan aligns with the goals and objectives and strategies of various plans, including the Utah wildlife action plan,” Oman said as he described the WMA’s vegetation, species and management needs. The WMA, acquired in 1988, lies about 3 miles north of Garden City on the west bench above Bear Lake and contains water rights the division says help ensure annual cutthroat trout spawning.
Council members pressed staff on trade‑offs between restricting public access and continuing predator control and hunting opportunities. One council member expressed concern that closing access could create “a predator pit” and limit predator harvest that helps protect deer. “I hate to see these WMA's close to walking in. Just becomes a predator pit for … our deer just can get slaughtered,” a council member said during the discussion.
Oman said staff observed substantial year‑round public use — user‑created trails, spur roads, trash dumping and dogs disturbing wildlife — and explained that the access plan is designed to reduce disturbance during key winter months. “The access management plan will require that the WMA is closed to all motorized vehicles and that there's a seasonal closure for all public access from December 1 to May 1,” Oman said.
Council members proposed compromises for retaining some limited hunting access while reducing recreational disturbance. Suggestions included allowing walk‑in hunters during closures, special‑use permits for targeted predator control, and division‑invitation harvests for predators or cow elk where warranted. Several council members said they favored limiting recreational use to avoid displacing wintering animals but asked staff to consider narrow exceptions or a permit process to preserve predator management and essential hunting opportunities.
The council did not take a formal vote on the Swan Creek plan during the portion of the meeting recorded in the transcript; members asked staff to consider options and to return with refined language that balances winter range protection with narrowly tailored access for hunting and predator control.
The Swan Creek plan update also identifies noxious‑weed control, fuel‑breaks to reduce wildland‑urban interface fire risk, and measures to maintain Bear Lake cutthroat trout spawning habitat as priorities. Oman said the WMA’s vegetation is dominated by curly mountain mahogany with an understory of bitterbrush, serviceberry and mountain big sagebrush and that one range trend site, established in 1990, is monitored every five years.
If the division moves forward with the recommended closure and motorized ban, it will write the access restrictions into the WMA management plan and continue to consult local stakeholders and the public as required by state code.
