Over the years, I've shared my most memorable hunting stories with my son. With excitement, my son looked forward to the day he could hunt alongside me.
Utah law requires a hunting safety course, and I felt that I would share this experience with him and also enrolled. My son's memories of the hunter safety course will be everlasting due to the many disruptions and rowdiness of many of the "kids." It was evident they were dropped off by parents looking for a baby sitter rather than seeking to develop a safe hunter.With the completion of the test, we stood in line, and when our turn came, we handed our tests to the instructor. Without even looking at the test, the instructor handed us our blue card and sent us on our way. No discussion, no review, no nothing. It's not very comforting knowing that the mischiefmakers of the class were also given their cards in this manner.
For the Utah pheasant hunt, we bought our hunting licenses ($6 for my son and $24 for myself) and bought the required bird stamp . We needed to buy permits for the Benson area, so we called the Utah Fish and Game Office to find where to obtain one. We were told that information could not be provided as they had no idea where to call or go.
After numerous calls, generating a large phone bill, we finally located an individual who would hold two permits for us. We made the trip to Benson the night before the hunt and bought the hunting permits (two at $5 each). I inquired of several Benson residents as to the best hunting locations and was directed where to go. When we arrived, we found the area to be posted no-hunting. For several hours we drove around looking for a possible hunting site. After locating a site, we set up camp.
The next morning we went on our way with our dogs in the lead. Hour after hour we walked through the fields. The day ended with no success, which made us even more determined. We decided to move on to another location.
Off we went to Tremonton, and the same basic scenario as described earlier was played out once again. Trying to locate the permits was as formidable as finding the birds. Locating a hunting site not posted was even more difficult. After another discouraging day of hunting, we gave up.
I've hunted over most of the state and have never seen the lack of game any worse.
The management of wildlife means more than trying to extract the most dollars out of the public as possible. After the amount of money I spent ($80 in license fees and permits alone), only to bag a lot of frustration, I won't be so eager to do it again. Maybe next year we'll go to Idaho or Wyoming instead.
Fred J. Sorensen
West Valley City