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Public raises safety concerns over baited snares as DWR reviews cougar trends
Summary
At the Northern RAC meeting DWR presented cougar-trend information and faced public concerns about baited lethal snares in six study units; DWR said cougar trends are tracked with consistent methods and that trapping reports of dogs caught have been limited but are being monitored.
Division of Wildlife Resources biologist Chad Wilson briefed the Northern Regional Advisory Council on cougar population trends and answered public questions Dec. 10, while members of the public pressed DWR on safety and funding for state‑paid trappers using baited snares.
Kirk Robinson of the Western Wildlife Conservancy asked whether the lower population estimates shown online represent real declines or changes in methodology. Chad Wilson replied, "Cougars are very difficult to count, so we do trends," and said DWR has used consistent methods since 2016. He added that "2016 is when we're at peak cougars" and that current estimates are roughly where they were in 2006; he also said the legislature intended reductions in cougar numbers when it passed the recent law affecting take.
Public commenters raised concerns that lethal snares baited with meat expose hunting hounds and pets to risk. Shay Downs (Utah Houndsman Association) recounted a hound caught in a snare and asked, "Is there gonna be any safety measures put into place where there's lethal traps using bait from here on out?" Chad Wilson said DWR committed to monitoring and requested incident reports; he said in his five months on the job he had received one such report and that DWR had tracked about nine similar reports the prior year.
DWR also provided harvest figures discussed at the meeting: spot-and-stock cougar harvest last year was cited as 58; trapping returns were reported as 47 last year and 72 the year before. Sierra Nelson (Utah Wool Growers Association/Utah Waters Association) voiced support for active cougar management, saying the division's removals help reduce depredation.
Phil Crowther, deputy director over the predator program, said the lion-study MOU had not been fully signed and that funding for hired trappers was "coming from the DWR, SFW, and Wild Sheep Foundation." DWR said it would continue to track reports of pets and non-target captures and consider communication or adjustments in the six study units.
