Though Utah’s big game hunts don’t occur until the fall, hunters need to start planning ahead now if they hope to get a permit.
Applications for the fall big game seasons will be accepted by the Division of Wildlife Resources starting Thursday. Hunters have until 11 p.m. on March 1 to be included in the draw.
Applications will be accepted for every big game hunt except the general-season bull elk. Those permits will go on sale on a first-come, first-served basis starting July 17.
For details, visit www.wildlife.utah.gov/guidebooks or the DWR’s big game web page at www.wildlife.utah.gov/biggame. Applications must be received through www.wildlife.utah.gov.
(Courtesy Utah Division of Wildlife Resources) A Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep forages outside the town of Sunnyside near Utah's Book Cliffs in 2012. Antelope Island's herd has provided many sheep to repopulate West Desert mountain ranges over the years, but a recent epidemic has wiped out that herd. The survivors are to be killed by aerial hunters this month and replaced with disease-free animals.
Tom Wharton has written high school sports and the outdoors for more than four decades. Though he retired in 2016 from his full-time position after working more than 45 years at The Tribune, the University of Utah graduate continues to write about prep sports, Utah history and the outdoors part-time.