Guiding on waterfowl management areas

Beginning in 2021, permits are required

In June 2021, the Utah Wildlife Board required guides and outfitters to have a special-use permit before guiding or transporting hunters across a waterfowl management area (WMA). This change will be in effect for the 2021–22 waterfowl hunting season, and it applies to anyone who receives more than $100 in compensation for providing guiding services, as defined in Utah Code 58-79-102.

If you're a guide who plans to apply for a permit, you should review all of the following before applying:

• Applying for a special-use permit — requirements and process
• Permit holder responsibilities and commitments
• List of Utah WMAs where guiding is allowed

Applying for a special-use permit — requirements and process

To apply for the permit required to guide on Utah's WMAs, you must:

• Provide proof of insurance
• Obtain a Utah Carrying Passengers for Hire license if you plan to transport passengers in a boat (available from Utah State Parks)
• List all the WMAs you are applying to guide on (you will be charged a $500 permit fee plus a handling fee for each WMA requested on your application)
• List all of your organization's guides on the permit application (up to two guides per permit)
• Apply before the annual deadline of Aug. 25 (late applications will not be accepted)

Important: Your application may be denied if it is incomplete or you haven't met the required provisions. (See the requirements listed above.) You will not receive a permit if you are currently under any active hunting or fishing license suspension or revocation recognized by the Utah DWR.

Apply now for a special-use permit to guide on WMAs.

Permit holder responsibilities and commitments

If you obtain a special-use permit for WMA guiding, you are required to follow all of the laws, rules and regulations in the Utah Waterfowl Guidebook and to meet the following commitments:

• Only guide within the dates listed on your permit. The special-use WMA guiding permit for 2021 goes into effect on the date of the waterfowl season opener. That date is Oct. 2, 2021 for WMAs in the northern zone and Oct. 16, 2021 for WMAs in the southern zone. The permit expires on the last day of the dark goose season applicable to the WMA listed on the permit.
• Attend a mandatory meeting before the hunt. DWR personnel will explain the rules and regulations of the WMA at this required meeting. They will provide WMA information about season dates, bag limits, parking lot rules, shooting restrictions and more. If you don’t attend the meeting, you won’t be allowed to guide on the WMA until you meet with DWR personnel.
• Comply with parking requirements. Only two vehicles (belonging to the guide and client) are allowed in the WMA parking area at any given time. This is necessary to reduce the number of vehicles taking up space in parking areas.
• Complete the annual reporting requirement. You must submit your 2021–22 WMA guiding summary report to the DWR by March 1, 2022. (Important: If your report is not turned in by the March deadline, future permit applications could be denied.) This report must include the following detailed information from each of the guides listed on your permit:
  • The specific WMA where the guiding occurred
  • Activity each day on the WMA (hunting, scouting, etc.)
  • Number of hunters each day
  • Units hunted each day
  • Number and species of birds harvested each day
  • State of residency for each hunter

Utah WMAs where guiding is allowed

You can apply for a special-use permit to guide on the WMAs listed below. Please keep in mind that the fee for each WMA costs $500 plus an additional handling fee. The WMAs are as follows:

• Bicknell Bottoms
• Browns Park
• Clear Lake
• Desert Lake
• Farmington Bay
• Harold Crane
• Howard Slough
• James Walter Fitzgerald
• Locomotive Springs
• Manti Meadows
• Mills Meadows
• Ogden Bay
• Powell Slough
• Public Shooting Grounds
• Redmond Marsh
• Salt Creek
• Stewart Lake
• Timpie Springs
• Topaz Slough
• Willard Spur

You can find maps and boundaries for all of the above WMAs on the Utah Hunt Planner.

Learn more

If you have additional questions about the process of applying for a special-use permit to guide on a WMA, please contact Chelsea Duke at 801-538-4866 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or contact your nearest DWR office.