Utah Code 23A-11-302. Big game protection — Director authority
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(1) It is the policy of the state that big game animals are of great importance to the citizens of the state, the citizen’s quality of life, and the long term sustainability of the herds for future generations.
Terms Used In Utah Code 23A-11-302
- Big game: includes deer, elk, big horn sheep, moose, mountain goats, pronghorn. See Utah Code 23A-11-101
- Department: means the Department of Natural Resources. See Utah Code 23A-1-101
- Director: means the director of the division appointed under Section
23A-2-202 . See Utah Code 23A-1-101 - Division: means the Division of Wildlife Resources. See Utah Code 23A-1-101
- Game: means wildlife normally pursued, caught, or taken by sporting means for human use. See Utah Code 23A-1-101
- Hunting: means to take or pursue a reptile, amphibian, bird, or mammal by any means. See Utah Code 23A-1-101
- Management unit: means a prescribed area of contiguous land designated by the division for the purpose of managing a species of big game animal. See Utah Code 23A-11-101
- Permit: means a paper-based or electronic document that grants authority to engage in specified activities under this title or a rule or proclamation of the Wildlife Board. See Utah Code 23A-1-101
- Predator: means a cougar, bear, or coyote. See Utah Code 23A-11-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Take: means to:(54)(a) hunt, pursue, harass, catch, capture, possess, gather, angle, seine, trap, or kill protected wildlife; or(54)(b) attempt an action referred to in Subsection (54)(a). See Utah Code 23A-1-101
- Trapping: means taking protected wildlife with a trapping device. See Utah Code 23A-1-101
- United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Wildlife: means :
(61)(a) crustaceans, including brine shrimp and crayfish;(61)(b) mollusks; and(61)(c) vertebrate animals living in nature, except feral animals. See Utah Code 23A-1-101(2)(2)(a) Unless the condition described in Subsection (2)(b) is determined, the director shall take immediate action to reduce the number of predators within a management unit when the big game population is under the established herd size objective for that management unit.(2)(b) Subsection (2)(a) does not apply if the division determines that predators are not significantly contributing to the big game population being under the herd size objective for the management unit.(3) Immediate action under Subsection (2) includes any of the following management tools:(3)(a) increasing take permits or tags for cougar and bear until the herd size objective is met;(3)(b) allowing big game hunters to harvest predators with the appropriate permit during a big game hunting season, including issuing over-the-counter predator permits;(3)(c) professional trapping and predator control by the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, private contracts, and the general public, including aerial control measures; and(3)(d) other management tools as determined by the director.(4) The director shall annually give a status report on predator control measures implemented pursuant to this chapter and Chapter 8, Part 4, Damage by Big Game, to the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee and Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee.