Cougar Quota Upped in Utah
An emergency quota increase added 117 additional cougar harvests to the 2019-2020 cougar season in Utah. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) issued the change on Jan. 16 to manage specific areas with high mule deer population decline. The 11 different units showed a population decline greater than 15 percent due to the drought and harsh winter conditions of the last two years. The DWR also increased bear permits this year to allow the deer population time to recover.
Source: KSL Broadcasting Salt Lake City
New Rules Passed in Idaho
A new rule passed by the House Resources & Conservation Committee could give tag priority to Idaho citizens. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission now has the option to limit the number of deer and elk tags for nonresidents after the Commission received several hundred comments to “even the playing field.” Another rule allows the commission to enact a five-day waiting period for hunters who have purchased a tag for the same animal the previous year. Several other rules passed including expanding turkey hunts to youths eight and older and banning the importation of deer, moose and elk into Idaho. For more, read the Committee Rules Review book.
Source: House Resources & Conservation Committee and MVMagicValley
Florida County Approves Hog Hunting Program
The Sarasota County commissioners have approved a pilot feral hog archery hunting program on a county-owned reserve. Many hunters from the area have had to leave their local area for hunting opportunities in the past. There are so no set dates as the Sarasota Sportsmen’s Association debates the best methods to implement the program. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, public landowners and hunters continue to work together to establish hog hunts across Florida, which has the most feral hogs per square mile in the U.S.
Source: Herald-Tribune
