A big change awaits Utah’s deer hunters in 2012: Instead of hunting buck deer in five large regions, they’ll hunt deer in smaller areas called units.
But just how many units will Utah have in 2012? Biologists with the Division of Wildlife Resources are recommending 30.
Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the DWR, says the DWR split the state into management units decades ago to help biologists gather biological data about the wildlife in each area. “We think boundaries similar to the ones our biologists are already using would also be good boundaries for the new hunt units,” he says.
Maps that show the boundaries for each unit the DWR is recommending should be available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings by April 25.
After you’ve reviewed the boundaries at www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings, you can let your Regional Advisory Council members know your thoughts by attending your upcoming RAC meeting or by sending an email to them.
RAC chairmen will share the input they receive with members of the Utah Wildlife Board. The board will meet in Salt Lake City on June 9 to approve both the number of units and the boundaries.
Dates, times and locations for the RAC meetings are as follows:В В В
Southern Region
May 10
7 p.m.
Cedar Middle School
2215 W. Royal Hunte Dr.
Cedar City
Southeastern Region
May 11
6:30 p.m.
John Wesley Powell Museum
1765 E. Main St.
Green River
Northeastern Region
May 12
6 p.m.
Bingham Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center 320 N. 2000 W.
Vernal
Central Region
May 17
6:30 p.m.
110 S. Main St.
Springville
Northern Region
May 18
6 p.m.
Brigham City Community Center
24 N. 300 W.
Brigham City
You can also provide your comments to your RAC via email.В Email addresses for your RAC members are available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings.
The group each RAC member represents (sportsman, non-consumptive, etc.) is listed under each person’s email address. You should direct your email to the people on the RAC who represent your interest.