Fishing reports - available at http://wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots
See hunting dogs in action, learn how to shoot
DWR shooting range hosts free open house
Salt Lake City -- If learning how to shoot a bow and arrow or a shotgun sounds like fun—but you don’t have much experience shooting—come to the Lee Kay Public Shooting Range on Aug. 4.
August is National Shooting Sports Month. The Division of Wildlife Resources is kicking the month off by holding an open house at the range from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Aug. 4. You can shoot on the archery, handgun and rifle ranges for free. And, on the trap and skeet shotgun ranges, you can shoot one round of trap or skeet for half off the regular price.
The Lee Kay Public Shooting Range is at 6000 W. 2100 S. in Salt Lake City.
Learn how to shoot
Blanche Smith, the range’s manager, says the open house is a perfect way to learn about recreational shooting. “DWR staff, range safety volunteers and partners from the shooting sports community will be available to teach you how to shoot,” she says.
If you don’t have your own equipment, bows and arrows and .22 rifles will be available to use. “Thanks to a generous donation from Scheel’s, free .22 and shotgun ammunition will also be available to shoot,” Smith says.
The free ammunition supply is limited, though, and per person limits apply. “If you don’t bring ammunition with you,” she says, “you’ll want to arrive early to give yourself the best chance to shoot.”
Smith says basic instruction will be offered at each of the shooting ranges. “You can learn a variety of skills,” she says, “including how to shoot a bow and arrow accurately, how to hit flying targets with a shotgun and how to pattern a shotgun and sight in a rifle. If you have your own bow and arrows, a shotgun, handgun, rifle or muzzleloader, make sure to bring them with you.”
Classes
In conjunction with the open house, the DWR will host a Handgun Basics and an Archery Turkey Hunting class at the range on Aug. 4. Space is limited, and registration is required:
· The Handgun Basics class will be taught from 10 – 11 a.m. Register at https://bit.ly/2NsXkbb.
· The Archery Hunting for Turkey class runs from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Register at https://bit.ly/2uNSaiB.
Dog demos, booths
When you’re not participating in the shooting activities, visit the dog demonstration area. You can watch trained hunting dogs leap into a pond to retrieve decoys. They’ll also perform impressive feats on land. You can also visit several booths staffed by members from local shooting sports clubs and various wildlife conservation organizations.
If you have questions about the open house, call the range at 801-972-1326.
DWR recommends slight increase in cougar hunting permits
Cougars are doing well in Utah. So well, in fact, that a few more hunters might be allowed to hunt them this fall.
This past season, hunters were given the opportunity to take 581 cougars in the state. For the upcoming season, biologists with the Division of Wildlife Resources are recommending that hunters be allowed to take 653.
The number of cougars that are taken will actually be lower than 653, though. For example, 456 cougars were taken this past season, even though hunters were allowed to take 581.
“Cougars are tough to hunt,” says Darren DeBloois, game mammals coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. “Not every hunter who gets a permit will take one.”
Bobcat recommendations, for Utah’s upcoming season, will also be discussed at an upcoming series of public meetings.
Learn more, share your ideas
Starting July 16, all of the biologists’ cougar and bobcat hunting recommendations should be available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings. After you’ve reviewed the ideas, 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 Aug. 30 to approve cougar and bobcat hunting recommendations for Utah’s 2018 - 2019 seasons.
Dates, times and locations for the RAC meetings are as follows:
Northern Region
July 25
6 p.m.
Brigham City Community Center
24 N. 300 W.
Brigham City
Central Region
July 26
6:30 p.m.
Springville Library
45 S. Main St.
Springville
Southern Region
July 31
7 p.m.
Sevier School District Office, Training Lab
180 E. 600 N.
Richfield
Southeastern Region
Aug. 1
6:30 p.m.
John Wesley Powell Museum
1765 E. Main St.
Green River
Northeastern Region
Aug. 2
6:30 p.m.
DWR Northeastern Region Office
318 N. Vernal Ave.
Vernal
You can also provide your comments to your RAC via email. Email addresses for your RAC members are available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/rac-members.html.
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.
Cougar population
DeBloois says Utah’s cougar population is doing well, with lots of the big cats found across the state. He appreciates the role cougar hunters play, both in helping protect deer, bighorn sheep and livestock from cougars and providing wildlife biologists with valuable information that helps them manage the population.
DeBloois says those who take a cougar must bring the animal to a DWR biologist or a conservation officer. “The first thing we do is examine the animal to see if it’s a male or a female,” he says. “Next, we determine the animal’s age by removing and analyzing one of its teeth.”
DeBloois says the number of females and the number of adults in a cougar population are the key factors in keeping the population healthy and strong.
“A male cougar will breed with several females,” he says, “so keeping plenty of females in the population is important. The number of adults is also important. A healthy population will have plenty of adults. If the number of adults starts to decline, we know the overall number of cougars in the population is declining too.”
Utah’s Cougar Management Plan provides guidelines that help ensure the state has a healthy and stable cougar population. The two major guidelines are the number of female cougars hunters take—compared to the number of males—and the number of cougars taken that are five years of age or older.
The plan says not more than 40 percent of the cougars hunters take can be females. And at least 15 percent of the cougars taken must be five years of age or older.
During the 2017 – 2018 season, only 32 percent of the cougars taken were females. And 16 percent of the cougars taken were five years of age or older.
“Utah’s cougar population has plenty of females in it,” DeBloois says, “and plenty of adults too. For those reasons, we’re recommending a slight permit increase for the 2018 – 2019 season.”
If you have questions about the upcoming meetings, call the nearest DWR office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at 801-538-4700.
