BOAT FEES INCREASE

Boat owners will need to take along a little extra money when they register their crafts this years.

Back on Oct. 1, registration fees went from $10 to $25. This was the first increase in 20 years.

Registration fees go toward building and maintaining boating facilities, educating youth and adult boaters, and developing public safety programs.

The Utah Division of Parks and Recreation manages 24 water-based state parks and other boating waters around the state.

The number of registered boaters has increased 40 percent over the past 20 years. Also, the Utah boating program receives no legislative general fund appropriation but relies on registration fees, gas taxes spent on boat fuel and funds from the U.S. Coast Guard for all program costs.

Current boating facility improvements are under way at Bear Lake, Piute, Utah Lake, Jordanelle, Yuba, Palisade and Willard Bay state parks.

SWANS ARE IN

A recent survey on Utah's marshes last week showed there were more than 30,000 swans along the eastern shores of the Great Salt Lake.

Tom Aldrich, migratory bird coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said a count a week earlier showed there were only 13,000 swans in the area.

Most of the swans counted last week — around 14,000 — were on Unit 1 at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge west of Brigham City

Another area where Aldrich saw large numbers of swans, roughly 10,300, was on the Bear River Duck Club east of the refuge.

Hunters can stay updated on where the swans are by logging onto the DWR site — www.wildlife.utah.gov/waterfowl/swan/swansurvey.php.

USU EDUCATOR HONORED

Utah State University educator Benjamin Baldwin has been named Outstanding Young Range Management Professional of the Year by the Utah Section of the Society for Range Management.

Baldwin is project leader for the Tehabi internship program in USU's department of environment and society. He received the award in a Nov. 1 ceremony at the organization's annual meeting in Price.