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Posted
Monday, April 21, 2003
The Utah Upland Game Advisory Committee Meeting minutes, March 27, 2003 Opening A meeting of the Utah Upland Game Advisory Committee was held on this date. Present:
Old business Pocatello Valley proposal Guzzler study update Upland game survey Chukar management plan Walk-in access Sharptail Grouse survey New Business Pheasants on WMAs For one thing, this would not be a cheap program to create and it would have to be self-sufficient given the realities of the Division's budget. Since pheasants cost the Division about $10 per rooster, fairly significant costs would need to be passed on to the hunters wishing to take advantage of the program. One possible way to cut costs would be to stock both hens and roosters, this would only be viable in WMAs that did not have established populations of pheasants to prevent the wild population from being decimated. Additionally, there is concern about thinning out the bloodline of wild birds by introducing pen-raised birds. This risk could be mitigated by only starting this program in those WMAs that do not have significant wild populations of pheasants. Finally, there is the question of what benefit this is providing to hunters that commercial hunting operations are not already providing. If the Division could offer this program for less per bird than commercial operations are offering, then it could be attractive. If, however, the Division would require as much or more per bird, then it seems unlikely that people would take advantage of the program. The upland game survey will include some questions regarding this program to determine what demand there is for it and what people would be willing to pay for it. The committee felt that this program should definitely be a lower priority for the Division than programs that it is uniquely capable of offering such as Walk-In Access, turkeys, etc. After discussing this in-depth, the committee recommended that the Division not attempt to start this program. Training on WMAs Among the types of information we wanted to include were: what areas were available and during what dates, what sort of amenities are available at each location, what types of training (e.g. retrievers, upland, falcons, etc) are appropriate at each location, and the presence of ponds in the area. The committee highlighted the following WMAs as ones that should be available for training:
The impact of training outside of the hunting season on the local populations of game birds is definitely something that needs to be considered when determining which areas should allow training and during what dates. The committee decided to ask the Habitat Council to preferentially spend upland money on those WMAs which allow training. Ernie is going to draft a letter to send to them. Predator control expenditures The committee feels that the decision for how to use the habitat funds should really be under the control of the Division and that this mandatory expenditure is unreasonable. The Division should not abandon predator control efforts, but they should be able to determine how much to spend on it. Upland game on the Internet You can get more Utah upland game information at http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/uplandgame/ including the past minutes for this committee, news, proclamations, and information about upcoming public meetings. Agenda for next meeting Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 23rd at 6:00 P.M. at the DWR State offices at 1594 West North Temple, Salt Lake City. Topics will be:
Everyone is invited to attend these meetings; it's an opportunity for you to get any issues you know about onto the table. Let us know of donations, projects, etc., made by your group - we want to publicize good activities! If you know of other interested parties who should get copies of the minutes, and who are involved in upland game organizations or programs, please get us their name. If you want to make an electronic mail input, please send it to one of the following:
Respectfully submitted Tony Perkins |