Utah board meeting

fullthrottle · Dec 3, 2014

Same old Utah ahe? Minor changes and our buck to doe goal ratio's are a joke. It's a comedy house to hear every speaker get up and say how many hours they have spent graphing, researching, and working on mule deer items, just to figure out they are going to keep things the way they are. Please... But thank you Mr. Commissioner.

ridgetops · Dec 4, 2014

fullthrottle,
How would you make things better?
Lets see your wish list.
Personally, I was pleased to see some of the new changes passed.

Stonefly · Dec 4, 2014

I think a good way to make it better for the public would be to get rid of all special interests, be it Sportsmen clubs , Landowners who have an interest, Like changing an entire area to up the anti on their private land. Get rid of the special interest and make amazing rule changes like for instance EQUAL numbers of Buck and Bull permits on CMWU's Like 30 tags= 15 public- 15 private, not 25 private 5 public. No special interest on the DAM mule Deer committee to propose " PEAY off" Idea's to the bought and Peayed for DWR.

Downrange · Dec 5, 2014

so what passed and what didn't anybody have an idea.

Amy · Dec 5, 2014

Here's a news release that summarizes the changes. You can also listen to the audio recording of the meeting.

Amy Canning
Communication Specialist
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

fullthrottle · Dec 5, 2014

Ridgetops thanks for asking. I have some and have heard a few ideas that I think would be a positive for most folks. It seemed to me that the main topic discussed was trying to make the hunter who wants to get out with their family and friends every year, and the hunter who wants more quality bucks that would be willing to give up drawing a tag every year happy. The Division made the possibility of having the best of both worlds sound impossible. I say B.S.! Let me say I am not pro rifle, muzz, or bow love em all. This makes me laugh cause it seems like a pretty easy fix to me. 1st, currently we have 20% of the tags going to muzzleloader, 20% of the tags going to archery, and 60% of the tags going to rifle. Well every Tom, #####, and Harry knows that the success rates are much higher on the rifle hunts. So lets start by changing these percentages to a 30/30/40 split, this would allow you to sell more permits giving more opportunity to those selfish sonsabitches that have to hunt every year, and maintain the so called quality 18/100 buck to doe ratio's that we are so proud of. I know this may be hard for some to swallow, God forbid they have to pick up a bow and not be able to shoot their 2 point from 600 yards away, but they will still have the opportunity to get out with the family and hunt, which I am all for, but realize times have changed. And if there are some that still are not happy and only know how to use a rifle Go Elk Hunting! 2nd, why not make the extended archery season it's own separate hunt? This too would allow for more permit numbers and make for a higher quality experience on the mountain. I personally would have no problem choosing either one of those seasons. Early bachelors, or rut fest.
3rd, open a premium limited entry high country rifle buck hunt in the archery only area of the Wasatch, maybe 10 or so tags. This would help point creep on the Henry's, puans, ect. Be a none issue with the hiker's, biker's and such with so minimal tags. We are hunting Goats and Moose up there with high powered rifles, why not a few deer. It would have minimal effect on the buck quality, probably improve, since you took my advice and instated the plan above, and now have a better managed archery extended hunt, and not as many guys will be out porcupining mature bucks with there X force and 100+ yard slider.
Just a few simple ideas... What do you think? Should we give her a go?
As far as being happy about the few minor changes... Really? They are going to make a premium limited entry deer hunt where you can hunt all 3 seasons, that's ganna effect a lot of people with all those tags.
3 more days to hunt limited entry muzzloader elk, wupdee freakin doo!
A longer Goat hunt...WOW now we are getting somewhere, cause most people won't ever hunt a goat in there lives.
Urban Cache County "MOSTLY PRIVATE" archery deer hunt. I have to say I am really getting excited!
But I knew it couldn't be all good news, after all this is Utah. A late season muzzleloader hunt, so we can finish off any of the mature bucks that slip through the cracks from August to November. Sweet Bro! For example they are having it in area 4/5/6 80% private land, have you heard of Deseret, Hardscabble, Jacobs creek, Skullcrack, Guildersleeve, Hells canyon, Ensign, just to name a few. No ##### the buck to doe ratio is over objective... you have got to be kidding me. You can't be that stupid!( Not you Ridgetops, the idiots ruining I mean running the show). So where are the bucks going to get hunted? you got it, that 20% slice of public. Awesome.
It's funny when you get checked by the fish and game in Colorado and the conversation quickly turns from lets see your tags, to no wonder you are hunting here, what the hell is Utah thinking? The climate has given the deer the green light to succeed the last few years and they keep mowing them down.
I am so thankful we live next to Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nevada so my kids can have a quality deer hunt every few years.

dillon · Dec 5, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Dec-05-14 AT 05:19PM (MST)[p]I am interested to see what caliber of bucks come off the six new late season muzzleloader limited entry hunts next fall. How many tags per unit? Mostly people with a lot of points are going to benefit from the all-three-seasons "premium" deer hunts.

Who needs more time to hunt mountain goats? Isn't the average hunter spending less than 3 days hunting mountain goats? I guess their white fur is a higher quality later in the fall. I have 11 mountain goat points now, so this change caught my eye. As a non-resident it makes the season longer so I can try this feat with my bow and still have time to pick up my rifle if I run out of time.

A few more days tacked on the muzzleloader elk hunt will be nice for muzzleloader elk hunters. This years dates are almost more of a rut hunt than the actual rifle hunt on many of Utah's units. I have 13 points as a non-resident and this change has me contemplating a muzzleloader elk tag in 2015.

I have friends who have access to private land in the Cache valley so maybe they can benefit from the urban deer hunt. The biggest buck I saw while I was living in Logan for three years was eating grass on Old Main hill on the last morning of archery season. I will admit I was tempted.

I have a bachelors degree in wildlife science and I am currently earning a master of natural resources degree from Utah State University. I understand the math and biology that goes into population statistics, but I don't believe in relying 100% on statistics when managing wildlife. Common sense can yield amazing results. That is probably why I am a park ranger and not a biologist. I like being a park ranger because I can get time off in the fall to hunt whenever I want (assuming I draw tags).

There is not a perfect answer to how to manage Utah's wildlife, but I believe reducing the percentage of rifle tags and allocating more tags to archery and muzzleloader hunts is a good start. Also, I disagree with having the rifle elk hunt during the rut, it should be archery season for elk during the rut.

Just my thoughts,

Dillon
www.dillonhoyt.com