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More land may be accessible for next year's turkey hunt
#1
Posted Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Turkey hunters may have access to more private property
Wild turkey hunters could find themselves hunting on private property that's been closed in the past under two programs the Division of Wildlife Resources would like to implement for Utah's 2006 spring turkey hunt.
The DWR will present its proposals at an upcoming series of public meetings.
Those who attend the meetings can learn more about the proposals and can provide their input and suggestions. Citizens representing Utah's five Regional Advisory Councils will take the public input received to the Utah Wildlife Board when it meets Oct. 6 in Salt Lake City to approve Utah's 2006 Wild Turkey Hunting Guide.
Meeting dates, times and locations are as follows: [ul][li]Southern Region
Sept. 13, 7 p.m.
Kanab High School
59 E. Red Shadow Ln.
Kanab[/li][/ul] [ul][li]Southeastern Region
Sept. 14, 6:30 p.m.
John Wesley Powell Museum
885 E. Main St.
Green River[/li][/ul] [ul][li]Northeastern Region
Sept. 15, 6:30 p.m.
Uintah Basin Applied Technology College
1100 E. Lagoon St.
Roosevelt[/li][/ul] [ul][li]Central Region<
Sept. 20, 6:30 p.m.
Department of Natural Resources
1594 W. North Temple
Salt Lake City[/li][/ul] [ul][li]Northern Region
Sept. 21, 6 p.m.
Brigham City Community Center
24 N. 300 W.
Brigham City[/li][/ul]
Walk-In Access and Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit programs
Wild turkey hunters could find themselves hunting on private property that's been closed in the past under Walk-In Access and Cooperative Wildlife Management Units (CWMU) programs the DWR is proposing for Utah's 2006 spring hunt.
The Walk-In Access program is a new program the DWR would like to begin on a three-year trial basis in northern Utah. If the program is implemented for the 2006 spring turkey hunt, hunters in the northern part of the state would have access to eight to 10 private property areas that have been closed in the past.
"The Walk-In Access program is a big deal in many of the mid-Western states," says Dean Mitchell, upland game coordinator for the DWR. "It's opened thousands of acres of private land to hunters and anglers. We hope it will do the same thing here."
Here's how the Walk-In Access program works:
Private lands that have good wild turkey populations and provide wild turkeys with good habitat are eligible for the program. Property becomes enrolled in the program two ways: by DWR biologists approaching landowners to see if they are willing to open their property to public hunters and by landowners approaching the DWR about enrolling their property in the program.
In return for enrollment, the DWR agrees to pay the landowner to allow hunters on his property. The landowner receives a payment from the DWR, and then the DWR places signs on his property indicating that the property is enrolled in the Walk-In Access program.
Maps showing lands enrolled in the Walk-In access program will be available from DWR offices. The maps will indicate whether hunters can hunt the property without contacting the landowner, or whether they need to call the landowner in advance to let him know when they plan on hunting.
Hunters using the property also must take good care of the property while hunting on it.
The CWMU program the DWR is proposing to implement for the spring 2006 turkey hunt has been in place in Utah for several years for big game and has opened thousands of acres of private land to public big game hunters. Here's how the CWMU program works:
Private lands are designated as a CWMU if the landowner works with the division to manage the land for wildlife. Private landowners who own land that qualifies as a CWMU are given permits they can sell to hunters. In return, the landowner agrees to allow an equal number of public hunters, who obtain a permit for his property through the state's drawing, onto his CWMU to hunt.
Mitchell says a CWMU program for wild turkeys would be a win-win situation for everyone: public hunters would gain access to private lands that were once closed to them and landowners would receive a financial incentive to manage their lands for wild turkeys.
If the CWMU program is implemented for wild turkeys, two ways would be available to obtain a CWMU permit. Hunters could apply for one in the wild turkey drawing or they could contact a CWMU operator directly to inquire about purchasing a permit from the operator.
"If this recommendation is approved, we anticipate having five CWMUs available for wild turkey hunters this spring," Mitchell said. "We believe additional CWMUs would be added to that number in the future."
Wild Turkey permits
In addition to the Walk-In Access and CWMU proposals, Mitchell says the DWR will recommend a five to 10 percent increase in wild turkey hunting permits for 2006.
"Utah's turkey populations are doing really well, but we need a couple more wet springs, like the spring we had this year, to help populations on units that are at lower elevations. Nesting conditions have been poor on these areas for years because of the drought," Mitchell said. "If the wet springs continue, nesting conditions will remain good and the number of turkeys on those units will continue to grow."
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