Cougar Hunting Permits Set for the Next Three Years

Photos by Lynn Chamberlain, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Salt Lake City -- The number of cougar hunting permits in Utah has been locked in for the next three years.

On Aug. 19, members of the Utah Wildlife Board approved Utah’s first three-year cougar guidebook. The permit numbers and the rules in the guidebook will guide cougar hunting in Utah for the next three seasons.

”Keeping the hunting rules and the permit numbers consistent—instead of changing them from year to year—will give our efforts to manage cougars more time to work,” says Kevin Bunnell, mammals coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources.

“It will also help us better evaluate the effectiveness of the rules and the number of permits we’re offering,” he says. “That will lead to future recommendations that will be best for the cougars and for the animals the cougars prey on.”

You can see the rules and the permit numbers the board approved in the 2010 – 2011 Utah Cougar Guidebook.

The guidebook should be available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks  starting the week of Sept. 6.


Slight increase
At their Aug. 19 meeting, the board approved changes that should result in the number of cougars taken by hunters climbing by about six percent.

Biologists say the six percent increase should result in hunters taking an average of 325 cougars each season for the next three seasons.

Over the past three seasons, hunters took an average of 300 cougars each season.


New Plan
Utah’s cougar management plan was updated in 2009. This is the first season cougars will be managed under the new plan.

In addition to keeping the number of hunting permits consistent for three years, the plan provides more direction for managing cougars on units that have bighorn sheep. It also provides more direction to manage cougars on units where the number of mule deer—the main animal cougars prey on—is still under the goal specified in unit management plans.

You can read the state’s cougar management plan at www.wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/cmgtplan.pdf .

DWR Proposes Cougar Hunting Rules for the Next Three Years

If you’re interested in Utah’s cougars, pay attention to the Division of Wildlife Resource’s latest cougar hunting proposals—they’ll be in effect for the next three years.

”Keeping the hunting rules and permit numbers consistent will give our efforts to manage cougars more time to work,” says Kevin Bunnell, mammals coordinator for the DWR. “And that will result in future recommendations that will be best for the cougars and for the animals the cougars prey on.”

Utah’s cougar management plan was updated in 2009. This is the first season cougars will be managed under the new plan.

In addition to keeping the number of hunting permits consistent for three years, the plan gives biologists more direction on how to manage cougars on units that have bighorn sheep. It also provides more direction on how to manage cougars on units where the number of mule deer—the main animal cougars prey on—is still under the goal specified in unit management plans.

For the 2010 – 2011 season, biologists are recommending a slight increase in the number of cougars hunters can take. They estimate raising the number by about eight percent will result in hunters taking an average of about 325 cougars each season for the next three seasons.

Over the past three seasons, hunters took an average of 300 cougars each season.

(The state’s cougar management plan is available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/cmgtplan.pdf .)

Learn more, share your ideas
After you’ve reviewed the DWR’s cougar hunting proposals at www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings , you can let your Regional Advisory Council members know your thoughts by attending an  upcoming meeting or by sending an e-mail 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. 19 to approve cougar hunting rules for the next three seasons.

E-mail
You can also provide your comments to your RAC via e-mail. E-mail addresses for your RAC members are available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings .

The group each RAC member represents (sportsman, non-consumptive, etc.) is listed under each person’s e-mail address. You should direct your e-mail to the people on the RAC who represent your interest.

Cougar Hunting Season starts Nov. 18

Photo by Lynn Chamberlain

Permits to hunt on harvest-objective units are now available.

Another cougar hunting season starts in Utah on Nov. 18. And even if you didn't obtain a limited-entry permit for the hunt, you can still participate.

Permits are now available to hunt on cougar harvest-objective units. Utah's cougar hunt starts Nov. 18.


What's a harvest-objective unit?

Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, says there are three major differences between harvest-objective units and traditional limited-entry units.

"There is no limit on the number of permits we can sell for a harvest-objective unit. And you can buy harvest-objective permits on the Internet or over-the-counter," Tutorow says.

"The hunt on a harvest-objective unit can close before the season ends, however, if hunters take the number of cougars biologists want taken," she says. "For example, let's say the harvest objective on a unit is 10 cougars. The hunt on that unit will close when 10 cougars are taken, even if the date when the season is supposed to end hasn't arrived yet."

The chance a unit might close early shouldn't be a big challenge for you, though. Harvest-objective hunting is allowed on 38 units in Utah. If the unit you want to hunt closes, you can still hunt on any harvest-objective unit that's still open to hunting.

Reminders

Utah's 2009–2010 cougar harvest-objective season begins Nov. 18, 2009 on some units and March 6, 2010 on others. "The dates for each unit are available on pages 24, 25 and 26 of the 2009–2010 Utah Cougar Guidebook," Tutorow says.

The guidebook is available at wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks. You can also get a copy at hunting and fishing license agent locations and DWR offices statewide.

Tutorow reminds you that you may not buy a harvest-objective permit if you've already obtained a limited-entry cougar permit for the 2009–2010 season.

Before each hunting trip, you must call 1-888-668-LION (5466), or visit the DWR's Web site, to verify that the unit you'd like to hunt the next day is still open to hunting. The phone line and the Web site are updated by noon with information for the following day.

For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR's Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.

Apply for a 2010 Sportsman Permit

Applications for Utah’s most prized hunting permits accepted soon
Applications for next year’s most prized Utah hunting permits—2010 sportsman permits—will be available by Nov. 2.

Only Utah residents may apply for sportsman permits. One sportsman permit is offered for each of the following species: Desert bighorn ram, Rocky Mountain bighorn ram, buck deer, buck pronghorn, bull elk, bull moose, hunter’s choice bison, hunter’s choice Rocky Mountain goat, black bear, cougar, sandhill crane and wild turkey.

If you draw a sportsman permit, the dates you can hunt vary. But in most cases, they’re longer than the regular season dates. You can also hunt on almost any unit in Utah that’s open to hunting the species you drew a permit for.
Highly prized

“Sportsman permits are highly prized,” says Judi Tutorow, wildlife licensing coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. “If you’re one of the lucky hunters who draw one, you’ll have plenty of days—and plenty of areas—to hunt.”

You can apply for a sportsman permit starting Nov. 2 at http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/ . Applications must be submitted no later than 11 p.m. on Nov. 19 to be entered in the draw for permits.

Draw results will be posted by Dec. 10. If you draw a permit, you’ll also receive a letter in the mail. “Not many hunters draw these permits,” Tutorow says. “If you receive a letter in the mail, it wouldn’t surprise me if you frame it!”

For more information, see pages 23 and 24 of the 2009 Utah Big Game Guidebook (www.wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks ) or call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office. You can also call the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.