Chances increase for nonresidents to draw Utah permits

A couple of weeks ago, I was visiting with a friend about tag applications and discussing whether we each would put in for nonresident deer tags in Utah again this year. During our conversation, he told me about a rumor he heard that caught me by surprise on one hand and sounded feasible on the other.

My friend heard Utah is going to let hunters apply for tags to hunt as many of the state's various available big-game species as they want. However, according to the rumor, if a hunter is successful in drawing tags for more than one species, he would have to select which of those tags he wanted and return the others to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The idea was that if each hunter was allowed only one tag per year, more hunters would get the opportunity to hunt.

Through the years, I have heard hunters discuss this idea as a means of increasing hunting opportunities in Nevada, so it didn't seem too far-fetched. But I shot an e-mail to Mark Hadley, a friend who works in the Salt Lake City office of the DWR, and asked if the rumor was true.

"As far as I know, this is a myth. If you aren't a resident of Utah, you can apply for all big-game species," Hadley wrote. He also said he thought he knew the rumor's origin.

"If you've ever tried to obtain a Utah big-game hunting permit -- and you don't live in Utah -- you know how difficult it can be to get one," he wrote.

So the Utah Wildlife Board recently made a change that could increase the chances for nonresidents to draw a big-game permit. In the past, nonresidents were allowed to apply for only one permit in the once-in-a-lifetime or limited entry tag classifications. That no longer is the case. Where nonresident hunters once had to choose between applying to hunt bull moose and bighorn sheep, for example, "In 2009, you can apply for both, along with any other limited entry and once-in-a-lifetime species you'd like to apply for," Hadley added.

You still can receive only one limited entry or once-in-a-lifetime permit a year, but you will receive bonus points for each species for which you don't obtain a tag. This wasn't possible in the past.

Utah's big-game tag draw is under way, with an application deadline of 11 p.m. MST on Feb. 26. The deadline for black bear applications is Feb. 25. You have until March 9 to apply for bonus or preference points. A nonresident Utah hunting or combination license is required to apply for either a hunting permit or a point. Apply online at www.wildlife.utah.gov.

Since I'm referring to neighboring states, permit me to mention something Arizona is doing to help provide hunting opportunities for youngsters. Legislators have made it possible for a parent, grandparent or legal guardian who has drawn a big-game tag to transfer that tag to a minor child or grandchild who is 10 to 17 years old when the tag is transferred. The recipient also must have a valid hunting or combination license on that date and, if younger than 14 years, must have graduated from an official hunter education course.

Once the tag is transferred, the original recipient no longer can use it -- but why would you want to? That would defeat the purpose for transferring the tag. If a parent or guardian has transferred his tag to a young hunter, he must accompany the youth in the field. If a grandparent allows a grandchild to use his tag, the youth must be accompanied in the field by the parent, legal guardian or grandparent.

Anyone can transfer his tag to a child with a life-threatening medical condition.

Nevada's tag draw is to begin in mid-March. The Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners will meet this weekend to approve big-game season dates. New for this year are recommendations for split seasons for the youth mule deer hunts and the addition of split seasons among the other hunts.

Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation editor for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His "In the Outdoors" column, published Thursday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, is not affiliated or endorsed by the NDOW. Any opinions he states in his column are his own. He can be reached at doug@takinitoutside.com.