Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Big Game Rule Amendments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wildlife board approves several big‑game rule changes including new Feb. 15 harvest‑report cutoff and Alton antlerless allowance
Summary
The Rack approved Division‑recommended amendments to big‑game administrative rule R6‑57‑5: a Feb. 15 cutoff for harvest reporting to aid biologists’ fall recommendations, limited antlerless hunting in Alton, youth permit weapon‑use clarification, and loosening import restrictions on heads with brain material for CWD reasons.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’ Rack approved a set of amendments to the big‑game administrative rule R6‑57‑5 on a unanimous vote after staff summarized the changes and the public comment period produced few comments.
The changes include a standardized February 15 cutoff for hunters to submit mandatory harvest reports. Division staff said the later date gives biologists time to compile and analyze harvest data for late‑season hunts (for example late cow hunts that extend into January) before they finalize permit recommendations. "What we're proposing is just having kind of a catch‑all cutoff date of February 15," Division coordinator Dax (last name not specified in transcript) said during the presentation.
The rack also approved a narrower change to the long‑standing Alton town exclusion. The division recommended keeping the town exclusion from general buck hunts but allowing antlerless harvest inside the town exclusion fence to give managers a population‑control tool for resident does; local landowners and the Central Wildlife Management Unit (CWMU) agreed to work on fence repair and maintenance to reduce the problem in the future. "The change there is to allow antlerless hunting… It currently says no big game hunting inside this fence around the town of Alton. We're proposing to change that to only allow for antlerless hunting," Scott Jensen, public‑at‑large representative, confirmed during discussion.
Staff clarified youth permit language for restricted rifle units: under the proposed wording, youth hunters who draw a "restricted rifle" permit would be able to hunt the other seasons (archery, muzzleloader) associated with that unit, following the weapons restrictions placed on the unit. Dax told the Rack the proposal aligns restricted rifle language with the longstanding approach used for "any legal weapon" general‑season permits.
Another amendment loosens the division’s earlier blanket ban on importing skulls with brain or spinal material from jurisdictions with chronic wasting disease (CWD). Staff said compliance had been low and that most heads with brain material are taken to taxidermists rather than discarded in the field; the division proposed permitting such imports while acknowledging a small additional CWD risk.
Jason (division staff) reported seven public respondents on the rule package; the written feedback was generally supportive (weighted average 4.29 on the division’s scale) and included specific requests such as allowing phone photos for youth harvest verification. After discussion the Rack moved and seconded a motion to accept the rule package as presented and voted to approve it unanimously.
The Rack did not add ordinance or statutory changes; the vote approved the division’s proposed administrative‑rule language for referral to the formal rule‑making process.
The Division said it will post clarifying guidance on harvest reporting timelines and other changes to help hunters comply with the new rule language.
Votes and formal action on the rule were taken during the meeting; the motion to accept the recommendations was moved by Josh (full name not stated in transcript) and seconded by Bryce (last name not stated), and passed unanimously.
