In what it called the "only fair and equitable way," the Utah Wildlife Board voted Wednesday to place the 2000 deer hunts under a statewide drawing.
Some hunters welcome the move; others are strongly opposed.The move, said one sportsman, would put an end to family hunting trips. A second, however, said it was the only way to eliminate the hassles of license buying "and make it fair for everyone."
Past problems center on the overselling of deer permits. In 1995, in an attempt control the number of hunters and pressure on deer herds, the board set an annual cap of 97,000 deer tags. Under the old system, which involved 265 license agents, permits were oversold by 9,000 in 1995, 12,200 in 1996, 18,900 in 1997 and 14,400 in 1998. In an attempt to control sales in the Southern Region, the most popular of the state's five hunting regions, the board initiated a voucher system for 1999. The system drew wide criticisms from sportsmen.
"It's where we had to go," said Mike Welch, big game coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, which recommended the drawing program to the board. "Of all the programs we looked at, this was the only one that was fair and equitable. Several groups came out in in support of the program."
The Utah Wildlife Federation, for example, supported to drawing. Welch said that in a vote by members of the Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, 75 percent approved drawing.
The cap of 97,000 was set after the Utah Legislature mandated the DWR to set up long-range management plans. During public meeting, a key element to the management plan involved buck/doe ratios.
"The only way we can meet those buck/doe ratios is to stay within the limits of the cap," said Welch.
The board also looked at printing 97,000 permits and then distributing those permits statewide, but consensus was that it would be hard to keep track of the permits and stop some agents from "preselling" permits. It also looked at a statewide point-of-sale computer systems but found the cost prohibitive.
Under the new program, applications will be available between May 1 and 22 at license agents statewide. Results of the drawing will be made available on July 3. Any permits not allocated in the drawing will be available through the mail and from DWR offices on a first-come, first-served basis.
The program would also fall under a "preference point system." Under the program, hunters who are not successful on the drawing for 2000 will have first chance at permits for 2001.
"What it means, for example, is that hunters who want to hunt the popular Southern Region, and don't want to mess around with waiting in line or not getting a voucher, would likely hunt two out of every three years," said Welch.
In order to maintain group or family hunting, up to 10 names can be submitted on a single application. This would mean all 10 would get a permit or none would, but would have first chance for 2001.
In other action:
Youths who are 18 or older on Aug. 19, 2000, will be able to get a permit in the drawing and hunt all three deer hunts -- archery, muzzleloader or general rifle. The hunt would end when the hunter tags a deer.
To try to improve buck/doe ratios on the LaSal, San Juan and Abajo or Blue mountains in the Southern Region, the general deer season will run five instead of nine days.
The Henry Mountains and the Vernon unit in west-central Utah will reopen for the 2000.