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RAC supports division's elk permit increases under revised statewide elk plan
Summary
The council unanimously recommended the division's elk permit recommendations, which include modest increases on many limited-entry units reflecting a multi-year strategy under the statewide elk plan and new landowner/land-based voucher provisions.
The Northern Regional Advisory Council unanimously recommended the Division of Wildlife Resources's elk permit recommendations for 2025, endorsing modest permit increases on several limited-entry units that the division says are consistent with a multi-year objective under its revised statewide elk plan.
Division staff said the statewide elk plan, revised in recent years, altered age objectives for limited-entry elk units and the division has been increasing permits on some units to reach those objectives. Dax Mangus noted the division continues to set permit numbers for general-season elk hunts and specific special hunts such as the Uinta Basin bridal lands bull hunt and an early youth any-bull permit; the youth drawing has historically had higher success than general-season any-bull hunts.
Council discussion touched on locality-specific issues, including the Boulder unit, where the average age of bulls dropped about a year last season (from an 8.4 three-year average to 7.4 last year). Division staff said the unit's three-year average remains at 8.1 and the objective is 6.5 to 7; staff therefore recommended holding the permit level steady for now and monitoring another year before adjusting.
Members also discussed interstate coordination: Pilot Mountain management includes cooperation with Nevada, which uses main beam length as a proxy for age; the two jurisdictions use different metrics and have sometimes produced conflicting signals on quality. Biologists said they are tracking both measurement systems and relying on multi-year averages.
Public commenters were split: some groups supported the modest increases and the added hunter opportunity; others urged caution on units with population or age-class declines. The RAC approved the recommendations as presented by roll-call vote.
Sources: Division of Wildlife Resources presentations, RAC roll-call votes, public comments from Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and local sportsmen's organizations.
