SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Wildlife Board, a panel of seven residents appointed by the governor, on Tuesday approved the creation of two duck hunting zones in Utah.
The board also approved a reduction in the number of pintail ducks hunters can take each day to one during the hunt. And they approved the creation of a new rest area for waterfowl at the Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area west of Hooper.
The new rules will be available in the 2017-18 Utah Waterfowl Guidebook, which should be available at wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks by mid-June.
During the 2017-18 season, the hunt in the north zone will run Oct. 7 to Jan. 20. The hunt in the south zone will run Oct. 14 to Jan. 27.
Blair Stringham, migratory game bird coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, said in a statement that having two zones will benefit hunters several ways.
Over the past few years, warm weather in northern Utah has kept birds from migrating to southern Utah during the early part of the season, Stringham said. Waiting until mid-October to start the duck hunt in the south zone, and then not ending it until the end of January, should provide hunters in southern Utah with better hunting, he said. In addition, if hunters in the north are willing to travel, they'll have an extra week to hunt.
Having two zones will also allow the division to offer two Youth Waterfowl Hunting Days, one in each zone, Stringham said. The youth hunt is set for Sept. 23 in the north zone and Sept. 30 in the south zone.