Lots of changes proposed for deer, elk hunts

Up for review at this time are changes in both deer and elk hunting for 2007.

There is a proposal to change the Southern regions back to a nine-day deer hunt. This past year the hunt in the two Southern regions was five days.

There is also a proposal to allow younger hunters to hunt small bull on four of Utah's best limited entry elk units.

Another proposal for 2007 would allow hunters to take more small bull elk on four of Utah's best limited entry units. All of these hunters would be under 18 years of age.

Most of the proposals are from citizen groups, including Utah's Elk Management Plan Advisory Committee and the Cache (County) Deer Working Group.

Those proposals include:

— Lengthen the general rifle deer season to nine days in the Southern and Southeastern regions.

— Reduce the number of bull elk with smaller antlers on the Monroe, Pahvant, San Juan and Southwest Deseret limited entry units in southern Utah, where the ratio of bull elk to cow elk is almost equal. The proposal is recommending those permits go to hunters under 18 years of age. Youth hunters who took a bull with five or less antler points could keep their bonus points, and they would not incur a waiting period.

— Increase the age objective by one year on all of Utah's limited entry elk units. For example, the elk herds on most of the units are managed so the bulls hunters take average between four and five years of age. This proposal would increase that objective so the bulls taken by hunters average between 5 and 6 years of age. The proposal would also raise by one year the age objective on 3- to 4-year-old units, and 5- to 6-year-old units. This proposal reverses a change the Utah Wildlife Board approved in 2005, when the age objectives were reduced to provide more hunters with a chance to hunt limited entry bull elk.

— Establish a combination buck deer/bull elk hunt in the Northern Region. A total of 2,000 Northern Region general season buck deer permits would be taken from the Northern Region allotment and made available for the special hunt. Hunters who drew one of the permits would also receive an any-bull-elk permit. The hunt would take place on any bull elk units in northern Utah during the general rifle elk hunt in early October. Hunters who drew one of the permits could take one buck deer and one bull elk.