Rule change expands hunting opportunities in Utah State Parks

Salt Lake City — In an effort to increase consistency and to allow for multiple land use, the Utah State Parks Board recently passed a new rule that allows for expanded hunting opportunities within state parks.

The new rule was approved on Nov. 1, 2019, during the quarterly board meeting, and goes into effect Monday, Feb. 24. The rule previously stated that all state parks were closed to hunting unless it was specifically designated that hunting was allowed. The new rule expands hunting opportunities by denoting that all parks are open to hunting unless specifically designated as being closed.

"Our parks are legislated to provide multiple uses on these public lands, and one of those uses includes hunting," Utah State Parks Deputy Director Dave Harris said. "Many of our parks have been open to hunting since the agency was created in 1957. But when Echo became a state park last year, we realized that, despite hunting previously being allowed in that area, because of the restrictive way the rule was written, we couldn't allow hunting there until the rule was changed."

Previously, hunting was prohibited in 30 state parks and was limited to specific types of hunting in 13 other parks, with only one park open to all hunting. Under the new rule, hunting is prohibited in only 15 parks, with six parks limited to specific types of hunting. Now, 23 state parks are open to all hunting.

"For example, under our previous rule, East Canyon State Park was only open to hunting upland game, but now it is open to all hunting," Harris said. "However, it should be noted that in parks that are open to hunting, all state and federal laws, DWR rules and local county and city ordinances regulating hunting, weapons and shooting apply within the park boundaries."

Some bodies of water such as Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake are open to hunting; however, the actual state park area is closed to hunting. The state park property boundaries can be found on the Utah Hunt Planner on the DWR website.

State law prohibits the discharge of a firearm or weapon:

• From an automobile or other vehicle
• From, upon or across a highway
• Within a Utah State Park building
• In a designated camp or picnic site
• At overlooks, golf courses, boat ramps or developed beaches
• Within 600 feet of a house, dwelling or any other building, without the written permission of the owner

Here is a breakdown of what each of the 44 state parks allow in regards to hunting:

Park Name	Waterfowl Hunting Allowed	Big Game and Upland Game Hunting Allowed
Anasazi State Park Museum	No	No
Antelope Island State Park	No	Big game only: Special permit required
Bear Lake State Park	Yes	Yes
Camp Floyd State Park Museum	No	No
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park	Yes	Yes
Dead Horse Point State Park	Yes, below the canyon rim	Yes, below the canyon rim
Deer Creek State Park	Yes	Yes
East Canyon State Park	Yes	Yes
Echo State Park	Yes	Yes
Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum	No	No
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park	Yes	Yes
Flight Park State Recreation Area	No	No
Fred Hayes State Park at Starvation	Yes	Yes
Fremont Indian State Park and Museum	Yes	Yes
Frontier Homestead State Park Museum	No	No
Goblin Valley State Park	Yes, except south of East Wildhorse Road	Yes, except south of East Wildhorse Road
Goosenecks State Park	No	No
Great Salt Lake State Park	No	No
Green River State Park and Golf Course	No	No
Gunlock State Park	Yes	Yes
Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail State Park	No	No
Huntington State Park	Yes	No
Hyrum Lake State Park	Yes	Yes
Jordanelle State Park	Yes	Yes
Jordan River Off-Highway Vehicle State Park	No	No
Kodachrome Basin State Park	Yes	Yes
Millsite State Park	Yes	No
Otter Creek State Park	Yes	No
Palisade State Park	Yes	Yes, but archery only for big game
Piute State Park	Yes	No
Quail Creek State Park	Yes	Yes
Red Fleet State Park	Yes	Yes
Rockport State Park	Yes	Yes
Sand Hollow State Park	Yes	No
Scofield State Park	Yes	Yes
Snow Canyon State Park	No	No
Steinaker State Park	Yes	Yes
Territorial Statehouse State Park Museum	No	No
This is the Place Heritage Park	No	No
Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum	No	No
Utah Lake State Park	No	No
Wasatch Mountain State Park	Yes	Yes
Willard Bay State Park	Yes	Yes
Yuba State Park	Yes	Yes

“Hunting is a great way for people to get outdoors and to obtain locally sourced meat, so we are excited about this rule change that allows for those expanded opportunities on public lands,” Justin Shannon, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources wildlife section chief, said.