Watch or attend today's Wildlife Board meeting

Amy · Dec 2, 2021

The Utah Wildlife Board is meeting today at 9 a.m., and there's a mix of items on the agenda, including the 2022 big game hunting seasons and key dates.

If you're interested, you can watch the meeting online or attend in person. (It will be held at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center, located at 1157 South Waterfowl Way in Farmington.)

Amy Canning
Communications Specialist
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Nebsy · Dec 2, 2021

Anybody wondering why they don't simply separate trumpeter and tundra swan permits?
IMHO there will always be a few guys that will pursue trumpeter species to fill a spot on the wall in spite of hunt being shut down.
I'd suggest a mandatory check-in on harvest and a 99 year waiting period for anybody who takes a trumpeter.

elkassassin · Dec 2, 2021

Ya!

It Ain't Big Game Related!

But That 99 Year Waiting Period could Be Added To HELL-RIGHT!

Nebsy said:
Anybody wondering why they don't simply separate trumpeter and tundra swan permits?
IMHO there will always be a few guys that will pursue trumpeter species to fill a spot on the wall in spite of hunt being shut down.
I'd suggest a mandatory check-in on harvest and a 99 year waiting period for anybody who takes a trumpeter.

copple2 · Dec 2, 2021

Nebsy said:
Anybody wondering why they don't simply separate trumpeter and tundra swan permits?
IMHO there will always be a few guys that will pursue trumpeter species to fill a spot on the wall in spite of hunt being shut down.
I'd suggest a mandatory check-in on harvest and a 99 year waiting period for anybody who takes a trumpeter.

There are NO trumpeter permits. You aren't supposed to shoot them at all. As a result, when people drop too many of them, they close the hunt down entirely to stop from any more getting harvested.

lundellhunting7 · Dec 3, 2021

copple2 said:
There are NO trumpeter permits. You aren't supposed to shoot them at all. As a result, when people drop too many of them, they close the hunt down entirely to stop from any more getting harvested.

For some reason I they just have SWAN on them not Tundra or Trumpeter Swan….. plus I have never seen in the guide book where it said your not supposed to shoot trumpeters at all…. They just say to make an effort to kill a Tundra and not to kill a Trumpeter. We have seen them close it the last couple years then cry babies come out that they didn’t get to fill there tag even though the season was open long enough to go out…. Until the tag says TUNDRA SWAN I could care less about it being closed earlier or someone shooting a trumpeter.

hossblur · Dec 3, 2021

lundellhunting7 said:
For some reason I they just have SWAN on them not Tundra or Trumpeter Swan….. plus I have never seen in the guide book where it said your not supposed to shoot trumpeters at all…. They just say to make an effort to kill a Tundra and not to kill a Trumpeter. We have seen them close it the last couple years then cry babies come out that they didn’t get to fill there tag even though the season was open long enough to go out…. Until the tag says TUNDRA SWAN I could care less about it being closed earlier or someone shooting a trumpeter.

View attachment 61521

Enjoy your 5 year waiting period.

Guys like yourself are EXACTLY why the reg books are hundreds of pages long.

We are one of only a handful of states who get to hunt swans, so as a thank you for the opportunity, and a thank you for not lighting your azz up with FEDERAL poaching penalties, they created a grace slot. So of course in typical Utard fashion, it becomes a challenge to create an issue where one didn't exist.

Swan hunting in Utah started decades ago. Now somehow, we hit the quota yearly.

Just somemore of that "got er done" mentality.

Good on the WB for smacking back at idiots

elkassassin · Dec 4, 2021

Hey Hossy?

That Ain't a Law Or Rule!

"You Should Make Every Effort"

Maybe We Should Have This Written in the Big Game Rule Book:

You Should Make Every Effort To Not Kill a MOTL/PISSCUTTER Buck!

How Many TARDS You Figure Would Listen To That?

Oh!

And I Don't Even Hunt WATER-FOUL!

hossblur · Dec 4, 2021

elkassassin said:
Hey Hossy?

That Ain't a Law Or Rule!

"You Should Make Every Effort"

Maybe We Should Have This Written in the Big Game Rule Book:

You Should Make Every Effort To Not Kill a MOTL/PISSCUTTER Buck!

How Many TARDS You Figure Would Listen To That?

Oh!

And I Don't Even Hunt WATER-FOUL!

The reg is written that way because the contrary would make it illegal. Poaching.

But, for a long time it was 10 trump's. I believe the hunt started in 67'. I've been doing it since 88'. Somehow we managed to identify trumps. My 10yr old was picking them out this year.

50,000 tundras pass through here on average. The guys that aren't sure, can let one pass, thousands more are behind them.

Mistaking a grown Trump for a tundra is like mistaking a bull elk, with a mulie. Size, and sound are both different.

But recently, TARGETING trumps has become a thing. They arent mistaking a juvenile trump for a tundra, they are seeking out trumps to kill, using the loophole as the justification ...
.
Then, going on social media to brag about it. So it wasn't real hard for DWR to see there was an issue.

It's no different than your thoughts on ATV. There is ALWAYS that group of people who believe themselves to be extra special. Guys for whom they are the center of the universe.

Proof being the previous poster who "doesn't care if the hunt gets shut down". I guarantee you not one of these guys who talk so loud, when they got their swan checked told the DWR they were targeting trumps. Every one of them uses the "mistake" line.

We have those guys in our sport. The guys who push every boundary, exploit every loophole. And for what? A Boone and Crocket swan? Because they are feeding their family with swan? No. It's because they are asses.

Now, these guys can eat a 5 year wait.

hossblur · Dec 4, 2021

hossblur · Dec 4, 2021

Notice the last guy. That's how this became an issue

elkassassin · Dec 4, 2021

Again!

I Don't Water-FOUL!

lundellhunting7 · Dec 4, 2021

hossblur said:
Enjoy your 5 year waiting period.

Guys like yourself are EXACTLY why the reg books are hundreds of pages long.

We are one of only a handful of states who get to hunt swans, so as a thank you for the opportunity, and a thank you for not lighting your azz up with FEDERAL poaching penalties, they created a grace slot. So of course in typical Utard fashion, it becomes a challenge to create an issue where one didn't exist.

Swan hunting in Utah started decades ago. Now somehow, we hit the quota yearly.

Just somemore of that "got er done" mentality.

Good on the WB for smacking back at idiots

Now that there is going to be something in the rule book about it I definitely would not shoot one.

They had a problem with how they did it and they now have fixed it!

Now let’s see if they can fix the mule deer problem.

Utahlefty · Dec 4, 2021

This isn't a semantic argument -- if we keep hitting quota the USFWS will shut down our swan hunt altogether.

Hopefully the feather isotope data collected will show these trumpeters are coming from Alaska rather than Yellowstone and if so, there's a good chance the flyway committee will remove the quota altogether. If the data comes back that they're Yellowstone birds we're in trouble.

The earliest this decision will come is the 2023-2024 season so an interim action was necessary.

If the full extent of the targeting was known at the time of the RAC cycle the changes likely would have been more severe.

50% of the targeted trumpeters are coming from PSG and by a small group of people with airboats and "dressed from head to toe in Sitka gear". And they're not lying about it either, they're bragging about it.

If the waiting periods aren't successful as a deterrent, expect PSG to close to swan hunting next year.

This really is a "10% of hunters ruining it for everyone else" issue.

hossblur · Dec 4, 2021

Utahlefty said:
This isn't a semantic argument -- if we keep hitting quota the USFWS will shut down our swan hunt altogether.

Hopefully the feather isotope data collected will show these trumpeters are coming from Alaska rather than Yellowstone and if so, there's a good chance the flyway committee will remove the quota altogether. If the data comes back that they're Yellowstone birds we're in trouble.

The earliest this decision will come is the 2023-2024 season so an interim action was necessary.

If the full extent of the targeting was known at the time of the RAC cycle the changes likely would have been more severe.

50% of the targeted trumpeters are coming from PSG and by a small group of people with airboats and "dressed from head to toe in Sitka gear". And they're not lying about it either, they're bragging about it.

If the waiting periods aren't successful as a deterrent, expect PSG to close to swan hunting next year.

This really is a "10% of hunters ruining it for everyone else" issue.

EXACTLY. 200% correct

hossblur · Dec 4, 2021

lundellhunting7 said:
Now that there is going to be something in the rule book about it I definitely would not shoot one.

They had a problem with how they did it and they now have fixed it!

Now let’s see if they can fix the mule deer problem.

The problem is the jackwagons who recently decided to target them.

There's a reason we went nearly 40 years without an issue. Then, the instafamous hunters joined.