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Court of Appeals hears constitutional challenge to Utah law that loosened cougar regulations
Summary
Two conservation organizations told the Utah Court of Appeals that 2023’s House Bill 469 conflicts with the 2020 constitutional amendment protecting the right to hunt and fish by stripping regulatory authority over cougars from the executive branch; the State urged dismissal on standing and political-question grounds.
The Utah Court of Appeals heard oral argument in a constitutional challenge brought by the Mountain Lion Foundation and Western Wildlife Conservancy against House Bill 469, a 2023 statute the plaintiffs say effectively removed most regulatory protections for cougars.
Appellants' counsel Jessica Bloom told the three-judge panel that the 2020 voter-approved amendment to the Utah Constitution — which recognizes a right to hunt and fish "forever preserved for the public good" — imposes a conservation and management obligation on the state. Bloom said HB 469 "abrogate[s] the executive's authority to regulate cougars," removing nearly all references to cougar from the wildlife code and prompting the Utah Wildlife Board to repeal related…
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