There are all kinds of opportunity to consider.
Utah buck deer recommendation
Unit 7 (Kamas) will be used in the example.
- Utah has shown rapid human growth and the demand on buck Mule Deer tags in the state is increasing. There has been a divide in what hunters are looking for and can be simplified into 3 groups.
- Opportunity hunter: wants a tag every year and is willing to harvest any legal buck.
- Trophy hunter: wants to harvest mature bucks and is willing to wait for a tag if it will provide a quality hunt and a fair opportunity to harvest a mature buck. 3.5+ years old.
- Sportsman hunter: Doesn’t really care if they harvest a buck but would like an opportunity to just be outdoors and most likely only harvest a mature buck. They are usually okay waiting for a tag but they will find a tag in a leftover or 2nd choice hunt if they really want to hunt.
PROPOSAL:
Change season structure to accommodate all hunters
Option 1: Combine Limited Entry, CWMU and General Deer into one system. Moving away from Bonus Points and converting all bonus points into preference points. All units will keep the same management objectives as they are now according to the deer plan. Season restructuring will allow the opportunity hunter to most likely get a tag frequently while the trophy and sportsman hunter will have an opportunity at hunt that offers a quality experience and trophy potential in which more demand for that tag they may get a tag every 3-5 years which most of those hunters are ok with waiting.
Dedicated hunters would not be allowed to hunt in a “late” hunt designation in this case. A separate draw would be needed for dedicated hunters for a “Late” stamp Which would allow them to hunt in a late season and would be limited quota for a stamp.
Option 2: Keep the system we have now and add late hunts within the “limited Entry” designation on ALL deer units including the premium limited entry units and limited entry units. This will help with point creep and move hunters through the draw system. Waiting periods would need to be examined to determine if they will be needed for the general unit limited entry hunt or not. I would not recommend waiting periods for these hunts unless we are in a one deer system instead of three.
Season Structure and permit allocation: 2021 for example
2021 Kamas total Permits: 2800
General:
Archery: Aug 21 - Sept 17 (500 tags)
Muzzleloader: Sept 29 - Oct 7 (700 tags)
Early rifle: Oct 13 - 17 (500 tags)
Mid rifle: Oct 23 - 31 (1070 tags)
(LE) Late Muzzleloader: Nov 3 - 11 (10 tags)
(LE) Late Rifle: Nov 13 - 17 (5 tags)
(LE) Late Rifle youth only: Nov 20-30 (10 tags)
(LE) Late Archery Dec 4 - 12 (5 tags) - or a HAMS hunt
All Utah Deer units can handle this structure and tag allocation Biologically. It will also create a lot of opportunity for all hunters in all stages of hunting. Hunts with the late designation should only be offered to residents only.