Utah Wildlife Board OKs hunting law changes

A recommendation to allow hunters to take small bull elk on four limited-entry units in southern Utah, restrictions on collecting shed antlers and a few minor changes in hunting laws were recently approved by the Utah Wildlife Board.

All of the big-game rules the board approved will be available in the 2007 Utah Big Game Proclamation. The proclamation should be available by early January.

Among the recommendations approved were:

• From Feb. 1 to April 30, antlers shed by big-game animals may not be gathered in the Northern Region. This closure affects all of the land in the Northern Region.

• Northern Region hunters can take both a buck deer and a bull elk during a new combination buck deer/bull elk hunt next fall.

A total of 2,000 Northern Region general season buck deer permits will be taken from the Northern Region allotment and made available for the new hunt. Hunters who draw one of the permits will also receive any bull elk permit.

Craig McLaughlin, big-game coordinator for the DWR, said closing the Northern Region to shed antler gathering should help deer herds across the region, including the herds in Cache and Rich counties.

"By the time winter ends, big-game animals, especially deer, are very stressed," McLaughlin noted. "Not allowing people to gather antlers during this time of the year should help more deer make it all the way through the winter. The does should also be in better condition, and that will help them produce bigger, healthier fawns next spring."

McLaughlin said the new buck deer/bull elk hunt in the region should help reduce hunting pressure on the Cache unit.

"The Cache unit does not have any bull elk unit on it," he added. "Hunters who draw a permit for the new hunt won't be hunting on the Cache unit during the regular rifle deer hunt that's held later in October."

The board also approved a recommendation that should help the elk herds on the Monroe, Pahvant, San Juan and Southwest Desert limited-entry units in southern Utah by reducing the number of smaller bull elk.

To reduce the number of smaller bulls, in the spring the board will approve additional rifle hunting permits for the Monroe, Pahvant and Southwest Desert units. These permits will be available for the hunt in late November.

On the San Juan unit, the additional permits will be available for the archery hunt that begins in August.