The Utah Wildlife Board recently approved 205 additional cow elk permits. The permits go on sale Sept. 20.В But don’t wait to buy one—they’re going fast.
The permits include 205 extra cow elk permits that the Utah Wildlife Board approved on Sept. 12.The 205 permits will go on sale at 8 a.m. on Sept. 20. Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, says the permits could sell out within minutes.
“If you want one of these cow elk permits,” she says, “be at a DWR office or at the nearest hunting license agent location early enough so you’re one of the first people in line. The permits will sell fast.”
The DWR’s website—wildlife.utah.gov—is also an option. But if too many people visit the site at once, the site could slow to the point that the permits might be gone before you can get one.
On Sept. 12, the board approved the following permits for the following hunts. The hunts will happen in southeastern and northern Utah:
Hunt name Number of permits
Central Mountains, Gordon Creek-Price Canyon 75
Central Mountains, Mohrland-Stump Flat 100
Morgan-South Rich, Henefer-Echo WMA 30
The permits were approved to try to protect deer and elk habitat in each of the three areas.В In the two areas in southeastern Utah, removing more elk will speed the recovery of an area that was burned by a wildfire this past summer. The area provides important habitat for deer and elk in the winter.
In northern Utah, dry conditions have affected habitat on the Henefer-Echo Wildlife Management Area. Taking extra elk will reduce the chance that elk damage plants on the WMA.Tutorow reminds you that you can have up to two cow elk permits each year. “If you already have a permit,” she says, “this is a great chance to get a second one.”
If you already have a cow elk permit, or two cow elk permits—but you’d rather hunt on one of the units that has additional permits—you can surrender your current cow elk permit for a chance to get one of the additional permits.
You must surrender your current cow elk permit before the season the permit was issued for begins. You won’t receive a refund for the permit you surrender.
In addition to the cow elk permits the board approved on Sept. 12, a total of 379 cow elk permits that were offered earlier were also available. And bull elk permits are available too. On Sept. 12, more than 4,500 permits to hunt on spike-only units, and more than 4,400 permits to hunt on any-bull units, were still available.
If you want a permit, Tutorow says you should buy it now. “As the hunts get closer,” she says, “the permits will sell faster. They’ll likely sell out before the hunts start.”
In 2011, permits to hunt on spike-only units sold out on Oct. 5. Permits to hunt on any-bull units sold out on Oct. 17.This year, bull elk permits went on sale 10 days earlier than they did last year. “Because the permits went on sale earlier,” Tutorow says, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they sell out earlier.”
For more information call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at 801-538-4700.