A young doe freezes in an Aspen grove after having been startled by hunters near South Hughes Canyon outside of Scofield. The DWR has come up with proposals to give big game hunters more hunting options and reduce crowding in the field. (Scott Sommerdorf / Salt Lake Tribune)

Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources is asking Utahns for feedback on proposed changes for the 2011 hunting season.

The Utah Wildlife Board recently directed the DWR to give big-game hunters more hunting options and reduce crowding in the field. Here are the DWR proposals:

Two general rifle deer hunts » The number of general rifle buck deer permits would remain the same (no more than 97,000), but the general rifle deer hunt would be split to reduce by half the number of hunters in the field at any one time. Each hunt would be nine days long, as is the case now, but hunters could choose to participate in an early or a late hunt. The early hunt would be at the start of October. The late hunt would happen at the end of the month.

"You'd still be able to hunt the same number of days you can hunt now, but you'd have fewer hunters in the field with you," said Anis Aoude, big-game coordinator for the DWR,

Hunting deer and elk at the same time » This would be optional for hunters, Aoude says. "If you wanted, you could obtain a deer permit to hunt during either the early or the late season, and also obtain an elk permit to hunt during the season when you're not hunting deer."

Hold muzzleloader deer and elk hunts at the same time » Under this proposal, the general muzzleloader deer and elk season would be held in the middle of October, between the two rifle hunts. The DWR is also considering

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adding a second muzzleloader elk hunt -- a general any-bull elk hunt -- in mid-November.

Same start dates every year » If Aug. 21 were chosen as the day to start the general archery elk hunt, the season would start on Aug. 21 every year, even if that date didn't fall on a Saturday. The only exception would be if a start date fell on a Sunday. Then the season would probably begin on the preceding Saturday.

Limited-entry deer and elk hunts » One proposal would change the dates of the limited-entry elk hunts. It would also give archers first chance at the elk.

Starting in 2011, biologists would like to start the limited-entry archery elk hunt in early September and end it in mid-September. That's when the elk are at the peak of their rut. After the limited-entry archery hunt ended, the limited-entry muzzleloader elk hunt would start the next day.

Muzzleloader elk hunters would have the elk to themselves for four days. Then the limited-entry rifle hunt would also begin. The muzzleloader hunt and the rifle hunt would end on the same day in early October.

"Even if we move limited-entry rifle hunters to the latter part of the rut, they're still going to be successful," Aoude says. "But allowing archery hunters to hunt during the rut would really increase their success. And their success rate would probably still be lower than the success rate rifle hunters find during the rut."

Hold general and limited-entry rifle deer hunts at the same time » The hunt on some limited-entry deer units would happen at the start of October. The hunt on other units would happen at the end of October.

"Holding the hunts at the same time shouldn't create any conflicts between limited-entry hunters and general-season hunters. They'd be hunting on separate units," Aoude says.

Once-in-a-lifetime hunts » Utah's bull moose season is currently split into two hunts. The DWR is considering combining them into one hunt, held from late September to mid-October. This is the only once-in-a-lifetime species change the DWR is considering for 2011.