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Wildlife board hears proposal to let prospective dedicated hunters bank service hours
Summary
Division staff told the Utah Wildlife Board the department can allow applicants to bank service hours done earlier in the calendar year toward a newly awarded dedicated-hunter permit, if the board adopts a rule change and staff implement tracking inside the division’s registration system.
The Utah Wildlife Board heard a presentation on Jan. 9 from Division of Wildlife Resources program staff about a proposed change that would let applicants for the dedicated-hunter program use service hours they performed earlier in the calendar year toward the permit they draw.
Brian Christiansen, the division’s dedicated-hunter program coordinator, told the board the idea is to allow someone who applies, then draws a dedicated-hunter permit, to count service done back to Jan. 1 of that application year toward the service-hours requirement for their first year in the program. “If a person applies for Dedicated Hunter and then draws, what we could do is go back to January 1 of that year and see if they’ve done service within our system. And if they have, we would be able to apply that service to their new dedicated hunter program,” Christiansen said.
Why it matters: dedicated-hunter applicants currently have a short window—roughly three months after drawing and before archery hunts begin—to complete required service hours. Staff said expanding the look-back period to January 1 would give applicants more opportunity to complete service projects in spring and winter months and could spread participation across the year.
How it would work: Christiansen emphasized the change would only count service recorded inside the division’s project-management/registration system; outside volunteer hours would not be accepted. He also said the system would not allow service to be “banked” across multiple years (for example, accumulating hours in 2024 to use in 2026). The division would need a rule change and some management-system work; staff said the change could be implemented for the 2026 application year if the public process and board direction support it.
Questions from board members and public commenters focused on logistics and fairness. A board member and a livestock volunteer who organizes work parties said the change would help get more people working on habitat and WMA projects in cooler weather. Christiansen noted challenges including a smaller number of projects available in winter and the need to avoid double-crediting people who already are in the program.
What’s next: Christiansen asked the board for direction; the division said it can prepare rule language and management-system changes if the board requests the formal rulemaking and public-notice process. No formal board action on this item was recorded in the transcript; staff indicated they would accept board direction to pursue the change.
