Hunting Regulations in Utah Denise Anderson Mrs. McNees Period: 7

Utah’s division of wildlife resources… Utah’s Division of Wildlife resources has placed rules, regulations, and restrictions for hunters in Utah. Utah’s Division of Wildlife resources also issues hunting permits and licenses. In a way Utah’s Division of Wildlife resources controls the animals on Earth’s biosphere. The following slides are some of the regulations and restrictions that Utah’s Division of Wildlife resources has placed…

Hunting Permits and Licenses… If you plan to hunt game animals in Utah, you must have a hunting license... There are two main types of hunting licenses: Basic hunting license — This license allows you to hunt small game, including most species of waterfowl and upland game. It also allows you to apply for the separate hunting permits you need in order to hunt certain species (for example, big game, bear, cougar and other animals). Combination license — This license includes all the benefits of the basic license, and it allows you to fish. You need a separate hunting permit for the following species: bear, bighorn sheep, bison, bobcat, cougar, deer, elk, moose, pronghorn, Rocky Mountain goat, sage-grouse, Sandhill crane, sharp-tailed grouse, swan and turkey.

Age Restrictions… Utah has some age restrictions for hunting, some of these age restrictions are; To hunt big game in Utah a hunter must be at least 12 years old. Youth hunters under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or other responsible person 21 years old or older, whose is approved by parent/legal guardian. If you’re 11 years old, but you’ll turn 12 during 2017, you can apply for a permit to hunt bears in 2017. If you were born after 1965, you are required to complete an online or in person hunter education safety course before obtaining a hunting permit in Utah.

Hunting Hours… The majority of Shooting hours begin 30 minutes before official sunrise. Shooting hours end at official sunset.

Hunting in Salt Lake County In Salt Lake County, you may not do any of the following: •Hunt big game within one-half mile of Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon •Hunt on the Red Butte Research Natural Area, which is closed to public access •Hunt in Emigration Township with a rifle or muzzleloader. This area is restricted to archery tackle only. •Hunt within the portion of Alta that is closed to hunting. •Hunt buck deer or bull elk with a rifle or muzzleloader south of I-80 and east of I-15 Also, before hunting in the Salt Lake County area, you have to check the Salt Lake County and local municipality ordinances regarding firearm and other hunting restrictions

If You Commit a Wildlife Violation….. Don’t lose your hunting and fishing privileges If you commit a wildlife violation, you could lose the privilege of hunting and fishing in Utah. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources can suspend the license of anyone who knowingly, intentionally or recklessly violates wildlife laws. Your license can be suspended for a wildlife violation if: • You are convicted. • You plead guilty or no contest. • You enter a plea in abeyance or diversion agreement. Suspension proceedings are separate and independent from criminal prosecution. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources may suspend your license privileges whether or not the court considers suspension in your criminal case. You will be notified of any action against your privilege after criminal proceedings conclude. And remember, if your license is suspended in Utah, you may not be permitted to hunt or fish in most other states.

As you can see Utah’s Division of Wildlife resources has already placed many restrictions and regulations on things like obtaining hunting permits and licenses, age restrictions, Hunting hours and areas where hunting is or isn’t allowed. But even with these restrictions and regulations the population of many hunted animals are decreasing at an alarming rate and aren’t being balanced out. Hunters claim that hunting balances out the populations, but in reality that isn’t true. For example the West African Black Rhinoceros has gone extinct due to over-hunting. FUN FACT: There are now 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List, and 16,306 of them are endangered species threatened with extinction.

problems that come from Hunting… Hunting causes a loss of biological diversity, it also causes a loss in ecological balance. With hunting causing a loss in ecological balance it could possibly disrupt the food chain. For example, if hunters drove a predatory species to extinction then that predator’s prey would overpopulate. It could also be that the prey is over hunted and the predator wouldn’t have enough food and would die off, and eventually become extinct. Too many hunting licenses and permits are being issued as well. With more hunters getting licenses and permits to hunt the more animal populations decrease. FUN FACT: More than 200 million animals are killed every year from hunting.

My Call to Action…. My call to action is, that Utah’s division of Wildlife resources should limit the amount of licenses issued each year, Utah’s Division of Wildlife resources should also increase the age children can start hunting because the age now is too young and could cause serious injury do to gun misuse. FUN FACT: There are 13.7 million hunters in the United States over age 16

Bibliography… https://wildlife.Utah.gov/hunting-in-Utah.html https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talks-hunting/ https://wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks/2017_pdfs/2017_field_regs.pdf