Posted Wednesday, August 13, 2003
More cougars will probably be taken in Utah during 200304 season
Salt Lake City Deer and bighorn sheep in some of areas of Utah will receive help later this year after the Utah Wildlife Board approved recommendations to increase the number of cougars taken by hunters.
Board members made their decision after hearing recommendations from Division of Wildlife Resources biologists, citizens representing Utah's five Regional Advisory Councils and people attending the board's Aug. 12 meeting in Salt Lake City. The board consists of seven citizens appointed by Gov. Mike Leavitt.
Board members approved recommendations to increase the total number of cougars taken on 33 harvest objective hunt units in the state. Coupled with the number of cougars taken on 14 limited entry hunt units, and 6 hunt units that provide both limited entry and harvest objective hunts, the increase will likely result in 475 to 500 cougars being taken by hunters during the 2003 2004 season. That's a 20 percent increase from the 418 taken last season.
"Mule deer, especially in eastern Utah, are struggling because of deteriorating range conditions and drought," said Craig McLaughlin, mammals coordinator for the DWR. "Controlling the number of cougars that prey on them is one thing we can do to try and help the herds. We're also concerned about the impact cougars have on bighorn sheep, particularly small bands of sheep that have been transplanted into new areas."
Board members voted to decrease cougar permits in some areas of the state where mule deer and bighorn sheep are not facing these challenges.
Applications for limited entry cougar permits will be available by Sept. 30 from hunting license agents, DWR offices and hunter education centers and the DWR's Internet Web site (wildlife.utah.gov). Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Oct. 15 to be included in the draw for permits. Draw results will be posted by Nov. 19.
Harvest objective permits will be available from DWR offices only beginning Nov. 25.
Limited entry and harvest objective seasons on most of the state's units run from Dec. 13, 2003 to June 1, 2004. More details will be available in the 2003 2004 Cougar Proclamation. The proclamation will be available in early September.
Other items approved by the board include the following:
White-tailed Prairie Dog shooting closure
White-tailed prairie dogs may not be shot on public lands in Utah from April 1 to June 15, 2004. White-tailed prairie dogs are found throughout much of eastern Utah. This closure will protect them when they're raising their young and is in response to a petition filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to place white-tailed prairie dogs on the federal Endangered Species list.
McLaughlin reminds shooters that Coyote Basin southeast of Vernal remains closed to the shooting of prairie dogs year-round. This closure was put in place to protect a reintroduced population of endangered black-footed ferrets that live in the area.
Reduction in the number of bobcats that may be taken by hunters and trappers
The number of bobcat tags each trapper in Utah may purchase has been reduced from eight to six. Also, two weeks have been taken off the bobcat harvest season. The entire season runs from Nov. 19, 2003 to Feb. 15, 2004, but trappers may not trap the first two weeks of the season and hunters may not hunt during the last two weeks.
The changes are designed to decrease the number of bobcats taken in Utah, which has risen sharply over the past four years as the value of bobcat pelts has risen. "These changes should result in a harvest of about 1,700 bobcats, which is the average taken in recent seasons and a number we're much more comfortable with," McLaughlin said.
In addition to more bobcats being harvested, the number of bobcats produced in Utah appears to be declining because of the drought, which has reduced the number of cottontail rabbits and snowshoe hares that bobcats prey on.
"Very few juvenile bobcats were taken by trappers last year, which tells us that reproduction is down," he said. "We believe the measures we're recommending will ensure that Utah's bobcat populations remain healthy."
For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR's Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.
