Emigration Canyon, Hunting Closure

LAST EDITED ON May-11-10 AT 11:47AM (MST) by Founder (admin)[p]Hunters,
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has brought together a committee to address a proposal of closing Rifle/Muzzleloader hunting in the entire township of Emigration Canyon. Currently it would only affect deer and elk hunters. The proposed affected area includes all private, state, and federal land within the township. Prior to last year, Salt Lake County had a law that a person could not discharge a rifle within one mile of a building east of I-15 within Salt Lake County. The Attorney General approached the County and told them that this law was in violation of State law. The County had to rescind their law. The current state law is: A person may not discharge any kind of dangerous weapon or firearm within 600 feet of a building. The residents have addressed several issues of hunters trespassing and using poor judgment while hunting in the area. Because of this, the DWR made the decision to close all of Salt Lake County east of I-15 to rifle and muzzleloaders. After an outpouring of complaints, the decision was rescinded. However, Emigration Canyon?s current proposal is to close the entire township of Emigration Canyon (ridgeline to ridgeline.)

I have been selected to represent sportsman?s interests in this decision. Once the committee can come to a decision, the DWR will notify the Regional Advisory Council. They will then make a final decision.

I am requesting your help in contacting other sportsmen within your organization who might be affected by this decision. My major concerns are:
How will this closure affect current hunters and future attempts to regulate hunting?
Safety of the residents. In order to prevent future incidents; we might need to give up some hunting areas within Emigration Canyon. We must face the fact that there are some people (who call themselves hunters), who do not play by the rules. This is the major reason why the proposal of closing Emigration Canyon came about.
Educating sportsmen and townspeople of a clearly definable hunting boundary.

The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 25, 2010.


Sincerely, Steve

so the way I read it now they want to close it down to all types of hunting? This inst good!

If they are going to get that drastic i would like to see it turned into archery only as a last resort like it was proposed a few months ago.

At least we could still hunt it!



Nets are for fish!!

"...a proposal of closing Rifle/Muzzleloader hunting in the entire township of Emigration Canyon. Currently it would only affect deer and elk hunters. The proposed affected area includes all private, state, and federal land within the township..."

Archery hunting would still be allowed...Or, that is the current proposal. Sorry for the confusion.

As a dedicated hunter I love hunting all three seasons. I especially love the extended archery hunt. My concern is that if that area is open to rifle and muzzle loader, the majority of the people that use that area for hiking and biking are going to be upset. I am worried that they will then complain and we may loose all of the extended hunt all together. I already know that law enforcement on the east side of the valley has to respond to complaints of archery hunters making hikers nervous. I am afraids those concerns would be compounded if the hunters are carrying rifles in those areas. Personally I would like to see all of Salt Lake County east of I 15 remain archery only. Just my two cents though.

LAST EDITED ON Mar-25-10 AT 09:06AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Mar-25-10 AT 09:05?AM (MST)

The problem with making the entire county east of I-15 archery only is Game Management. There are large elk and deer populations in the county and bow hunters alone cannot manage big game populations. I know that the DWR wants to keep rifles in the area for just that reason. I-80 has a lot of wildlife caused accidents every year. Without proper management the numbers of accidents would rise.
On the issue of the Hikers and Bikers that use the area, I would like to complain that they are Hiking and Biking through the area that I hunt and scaring away the Game. I'm joking but it has just as much merit as their complaints. The public land is to be used by the public. It doesn't matter if you are Hiking, Biking, Hunting (with rifle, bow, shotgun, or muzzleloader), Bird watching, Geo Caching, or whatever in the area; as long as you are doing so legally and ethically you should have the right to use the public land!
Also one of the big concerns that I have is what kind of precedence will this decision have on other areas with similar circumstances. Public land that is made not accessible for hunting now could become more public land made not accessible later. Hunting is something that I want to pass on to my Children, and they should be able to do likewise. Don?t get me wrong the residents of Emigration Canyon have the right to feel safe on their property as does any other American, but I think that can be accomplished safely and still give hunters (along with everyone else) use of the public land. Maybe not all of the public land but all parties need to give a little to get a little.