Posts
If you didn't obtain a limited-entry permit to hunt wild turkeys in Utah this spring, don't put your shotgun away yet. Permits to hunt during Utah's general statewide turkey hunt are now available.
Justin Dolling, upland game and migratory game bird coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, says he and other DWR biologists are excited that all of Utah's turkey hunters can hunt this year.
"Our biologists have worked hard to get Utah's turkey population to the point that all of the state's turkey hunters can hunt," Dolling says. "It's rewarding to see how well turkeys are doing in Utah."
Questions
Because the general hunt is fairly new, Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the DWR, says the agency has received lots of questions from hunters. She provides the following information:
The DWR won't run out of permits because the number of general turkey permits the agency can offer isn't limited.
Permits will be available until the season ends on May 31.
If you buy a general turkey permit, you can hunt anywhere in Utah that's open to turkey hunting.
Starting Feb. 24, you can buy a permit at wildlife.utah.gov. Permits will also be available at DWR offices and from more than 300 hunting license agents across Utah.
You can buy a general turkey permit and still keep all of your limited-entry turkey bonus points. You won't lose any of your bonus points if you buy a general turkey permit.
If you obtained a limited-entry turkey permit, you can't obtain a general turkey permit. (You can have only one turkey permit each year.)
Two general hunts:
The first hunt is a special youth hunt. Hunters who were 15 years of age or younger on Jan. 27 can participate in the hunt. The youth hunt runs April 29–May 1.
(Jan. 27 was the day results of the 2011 limited-entry turkey draw were posted.)
To participate in the youth hunt, young hunters must buy a general statewide hunting permit. Young hunters who drew a limited-entry permit can't participate in the youth hunt.
Youngsters who buy a permit for the youth hunt can also use the permit to hunt during Utah's general statewide hunt. That hunt opens May 2.
The second hunt—the general statewide hunt—is open to anyone who buys a general turkey permit.
The general hunt runs May 2–31.
For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR's Salt Lake City office at 801-538-4700.
