The Utah Wildlife Board has rejected a new elk proposal that the Utah DWR had proposed earlier. Back on Nov. 2nd, the Utah DWR proposed that all open bull permits in Utah be moved to a draw-only process. This proposal looked to take pressure off of the DWR’s website as well as vendors during the days that the elk permits went on sale. In 2020, the 15,000 permits sold out in just eight hours the first day they were available for purchase. Then this year 17,500 elk permits sold out in just over 10 hours.
As a result of the increased demand for the elk permits, the DWR felt that moving the permits to a draw-only process would limit the strain on the permit system. However, the Utah Wildlife Board did not agree with the DWR and instead decided to reject the draw-only elk proposal. You can read more about this rejected proposal by clicking here.
New Hunts Added
Despite rejecting the draw-only elk proposal, the Wildlife Board did approve three new hunts. Below we will list each of the new hunts that were approved.
- The Board approved an extended archery deer hunt in the Box Elder, West Bear River Unit from Sept. 17 to Nov. 30. This hunt will primarily be held on private lands to help alleviate depredation issues.
- Likewise, they approved a new late-season, limited-entry muzzleloader deer hunt in the South Slope, Myton Unit from Nov. 12–27. This hunt will primarily be held on private property to help control the prevalence of chronic wasting disease in this area by targeting mature bucks. Older bucks are twice as likely to contract and spread chronic wasting disease.
- Lastly, the Board approved a pronghorn muzzleloader hunt in the South Slope, Vernal Unit from Sept. 28 to Oct. 6. This area has a growing population of pronghorn and already offers an archery and rifle hunt — a muzzleloader hunt would expand the weapon-type opportunities.
The Wildlife Board also approved several other changes. You can read more about these changes by clicking here.
