Utah conservation officers have been hard at work protecting the public's wildlife.

With the 2012 general season hunts underway, conservation officers with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources are working tirelessly to protect the investment of Utah sportsmen by enforcing state wildlife law.

Utah's 47 district officers cover an average of more than 1,700 square miles, meaning that they are hard-pressed to keep up with calls for service and are always looking to the public for assistance.

For the time period of September 1 through October 31, 2012, Utah conservation officers and supervisory staff have:

• Logged 24,349 hours in service
• Contacted 33,045 individuals
• Checked 14,471 hunting/fishing licenses
• Responded to 436 public calls for service reported to the UTiP Hotline
• Documented violations 1,244 issued 987 citations and conducted 375 additional investigations
• Confirmed the illegal killing of 183 game animals/fish with an aggregate value of over $204,235

The Division's conservation officers would like to thank those members of the public that have taken the time to report a suspected violation and encourage everyone to remain vigilant.

"Wildlife enforcement is most effective when treated as a cooperative effort between conservation officers and the citizens they serve", says DWR Captain Tony Wood. "We rely heavily upon the recreating public to act as our eyes and ears. Without them, we could not effectively protect the public's wildlife resources."

• Captain Tony Wood
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  801-538-4889

• Additional contact:
  Captain Rick Olson
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  801-538-4886