Outdoor notes

BIG-GAME PERMITS

Big-game hunters who don't have a permit to hunt buck deer in Utah this fall will get their next chance to get one on Thursday, June 11, when permits not taken in this year's big-game draw go on sale.

Most of Utah's buck deer permits were taken in the draw, but more than 6,200 Northern Region rifle and muzzleloader permits, and 2,300 statewide general archery permits, are still available.

Bull-elk permits to hunt during Utah's general season also go on sale June 11.

You can buy a permit that day starting at 7 a.m. at the Division of Wildlife Resource's Web site (www.wildlife.utah.gov) and from DWR offices and more than 300 hunting-license agents across Utah.

"The morning of June 11 will be a busy morning on our Web site," says Judi Tutorow, wildlife-licensing coordinator for the DWR. "If the site reaches the maximum number of people it can serve, a message will pop up indicating the site has reached its full capacity.

"If that happens, be patient," she says. "The planned downtime should last only a few short minutes."

In 2008, buck-deer permits to hunt during Utah's general archery hunt were the first permits to sell out last year. They sold out on June 19.

Northern Region rifle and muzzleloader permits were the next to go, selling out on June 29. General bull-elk permits sold out on Sept. 25.

For more information, call the nearest DWR office or the DWR's Salt Lake City office at 801-538-4700.

BOARD MEETS TODAY

The next meeting of the Utah Wildlife Board will be today at the State Capitol in Salt Lake City.

At the meeting, Division of Wildlife Resources biologists will share some of their early ideas about possible fishing-regulation changes for 2010. They'll also share fishing ideas they gathered from the public at a recent series of public meetings.

The board meeting begins at 9 a.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.

OPERATION DRY WATER

PAGE, Ariz. — Utah State Parks boating rangers, in partnership with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and U.S. Coast Guard, will sponsor a boating under the influence (BUI) checkpoint on Saturday, June 27, at Halls Crossing Marina area on Lake Powell.