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Central Region RAC hears proposed big-game rule amendments including harvest-reporting cutoff and Alton antlerless change
Summary
Division staff proposed a February 15 harvest‑reporting cutoff, a limited allowance for antlerless hunting near Alton and clarifications on restricted‑weapons permits and head importation rules.
Division staff presented several proposed amendments to big-game administrative rules, including a new fixed cutoff date for mandatory harvest reporting, a change to allowed hunting around the town of Alton and clarifications on restricted‑weapons hunts and importation of skulls from states with chronic wasting disease (CWD).
Dax, the Division’s big‑game coordinator, told the council the division has moved to mandatory harvest reporting for limited‑entry and general‑season hunts and needs a consistent deadline to compile data. “What we’re proposing is just having kind of a catch‑all cutoff date of February 15,” he said, adding that early hunts would still have the usual 30 days to report but very late season hunts would have a shorter window so biologists have harvest data available when they make recommendations.
Dax also described a proposal for the town of Alton, where a wildlife exclusion fence has fallen into disrepair and animals have been frequenting hay fields and yards. The current rule prohibits all big‑game hunting within the fenced area; the division proposed allowing antlerless hunting there to address resident animals that concentrate on private agricultural lands. Dax said the town and local Conservation and Wildlife Management Unit (CWMU) landowners have committed to repair the fence and assist with seasonal management.
The division proposed a wording clarification for restricted‑rifle (restricted any‑legal‑weapon) hunts so that a youth who draws a restricted rifle permit may hunt other seasons on that unit subject to weapons restrictions, consistent with how “any‑legal‑weapon” permits are already treated. Finally, the proposal would ease a prohibition that had blocked importation of skulls and spines with brain material from states with detected CWD; division staff said enforcement and compliance had been uneven and that allowing head importation (with the expectation most heads go to taxidermists) would be a practical change while acknowledging some CWD risk.
Council members asked for clarifications on several points, including how antlerless harvest around Alton could affect long‑term population goals and whether fawn survival or female condition could make antlerless hunting on agricultural lands counterproductive. Dax said the division tries to target resident animals unavailable to public hunters and pays for mitigation where animals come into private fields later in the year.
After public feedback (no comment cards were submitted on this item) the council moved to accept the rule amendments as presented. The motion, moved by Josh and seconded by Bryce, passed unanimously.
