For the last handful of years, Utah BHA’s Board has been involved with the Utah Sportsmen’s Caucus at the Capitol during the Legislative Session. In the past, the Caucus served as an opportunity for Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) with an interest in wildlife issues to come together multiple times during the Legislative Session to shake hands with legislators and hear directly from legislators running bills related to wildlife. While it was beneficial to have a forum to converse with members of the Legislature and raise questions, it wasn’t really a place to influence wildlife policy, but rather a place to build relationships and understand bills that were already in motion. This completely turned on its head in the 2025 Session.

Representative Casey Snider, the outgoing Chair of the Sportsmen’s Caucus, recognized this more “social” nature of the Caucus and had a vision for adding substance to it by placing the Sportsmen NGOs in a more influential position on wildlife bills. In advance of the 2025 Session, Rep. Snider convened the Sportsmen’s NGOs who had participated in the Caucus in the past to help develop a set of bylaws for the Caucus. The bylaws formalized how the Caucus would operate and included the adoption of a Sportsmen’s Caucus Advisory Council. Under the new bylaws, the Sportsmen’s Caucus would continue to meet throughout the Session and include any interested NGOs and legislators, while still giving those legislators running wildlife bills an opportunity to present their bill to the Caucus. However, following the Caucus meetings, the Advisory Council would then meet to discuss relevant wildlife bills in a closed meeting where these representatives could have candid, constructive discussions about legislation. The Advisory Council consists of only the appointed members representing varied relevant interests including big game hunting, upland hunting, hound hunting, angling, landowner programs, agriculture, livestock, the Wildlife Board and the Division of Wildlife Resources staff; and notably, no legislators. Utah BHA was appointed to one of the “big game” category seats on the inaugural Advisory Council and I had the honor of serving in this role for the 2025 Session. The Advisory Council has the authority to take official positions via vote on bills, which carries a lot of weight in Committee hearings, as it is essentially a coalition of parties from the sportsmen’s community, rather than just a single group. The Council can also provide feedback on bills as they make their way throughout the legislative process. This Session, the Council weighed in heavily on a number of bills and was able to improve them in the interest of sportsmen.

Working collectively with other organizations in the State such as Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Mule Deer Foundation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Utah Wool Growers Association, the CWMU Association and others not only produced a better outcome for sportsmen, but it was also a great way to build stronger connections amongst leaders within the sportsmen’s community. While we don’t agree on absolutely everything, constructive discussion with people who deeply value wildlife and have different perspectives generally results in the best product and fairest compromise. The addition of the Advisory Council made a noticeable difference in the dynamics of the Caucus. In the past, when attendance severely waned in the last few meetings, but it was hard to find a seat in these meetings throughout the entirety of the Session. Legislators engaged in robust, substantive debate and discussion during the meetings, and eagerly lined up to present their bills for consideration. Now, when a wildlife bill gets presented, the common question will be; “what does the Advisory Council think of this?”

Terms for appointed members of the Advisory Council are two years, with the intention of allowing the various NGOs throughout the State to have representation at various times. We will continue to work together in the interim Session to advance priorities on wildlife-related legislation for next Session. I look forward to continuing to represent the interests of sportsmen, and in particular the public land hunter, in the interim Session this year. I am immensely excited about this step forward for wildlife in the State of Utah. We thank Rep. Snider and current Sportsmen’s Caucus Chair, Representative Bridger Bolinder for their efforts in advancing this Caucus and including BHA. It will pay great dividends for wildlife down the road.

Check out our recent mid-legislative session update for a breakdown of bills that Utah BHA is engaging.