Every year in Q1, Utah state officials engage in the Utah Legislative Session to pass new laws or amend laws. Utah BHA follows and engages in the Session quite closely, as there are typically bills that impact public lands, waters, and wildlife. Read about some of the bills we have been following below and take action. Every citizen has the right to engage directly with their state representatives on these issues. Visit the BHA elected officials directory to find out who your state representatives are and reach out to them on issues that matter to you.

Bills that Utah BHA OPPOSES

H.B. 202 Private Landowner Big Game Revisions – Representative Carl Albrecht

BHA Position: Oppose

This bill allows landowner bull elk tags currently provided through an additional landowner-only draw to be sold (i.e. “transferable”). Additionally, it provides landowners with contiguous parcels between 4,000-8,999 acres on limited entry units two guaranteed bull elk permits which are taken from the public draw that can also be sold. These opportunities to monetize wildlife come with no tangible benefit in return to the public, such as additional public tag opportunities or access (which is the current precedent). BHA opposes this bill that leads Utah down a slippery slope of privatizing public wildlife.

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H.B. 386 Attempts to Block Stream Access – Representative Scott Chew

BHA Position: Oppose

Current law allows the public to touch the streambeds and banks on navigable waterways where the waterway flows through private lands, but not on non-navigable waterways. The problem: the current law does not authorize a process by which state agencies can define via a standard test which rivers fall under which category, and landowners have used that ambiguity to unfairly restrict access to streambeds and banks. H.B. 386 solidifies that the only way to prove navigability is through litigation and places the burden of proof on the public, which is not an adequate solution for the public. It also changes the definition of navigability to make it even harder to prove our stream access rights in court. BHA strongly opposes H.B 386 and we look forward to the Legislature including sportsmen in the conversation around stream access legislation in the future.

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Bills that Utah BHA SUPPORTS

H.B. 244 Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Amendments – Representative Casey Snider

BHA Position: Support

This bill provides additional protections for the Great Salt Lake wetlands ecosystem through the creation of the Bear River Bay WMA. The bill also removes restrictions on impoundments on the Willard Spur WMA and authorizes the DWR to be able construct structures only after forming and meeting with an advisory council consisting of affected stakeholders.

H.B. 378 DNR Funding Amendments – Representative Casey Snider

 BHA Position: Support

This bill creates a new revenue source to fund management of non-game species through reinstating royalties related to the brine shrimp industry and imposing a tax on wind electric generation facilities, solar electric generation facilities, and direct current transmission facilities. This new “Species Protection Account” will allow non-game species management to receive adequate funding support and ensure that revenues from hunting license and permit sales fund game species. 

Bills that Utah BHA is tracking

H.B. 153 Hunting Amendments – Representative Rex Shipp

BHA Position: Neutral

This bill moves the regulatory authority of guides and outfitters for hunting and fishing from the Division of Professional Licensing to the Division of Wildlife Resources. It also provides definitions for commercial guides, outfitters, and spotters and clarifies restrictions on the number of paid individuals a hunter hiring a guide service can use. While this bill is not directly related to BHA’s core focus, we do think that this is an important shift to highlight for our sportsmen in Utah.

H.B. 309 Wildlife Amendments – Representative Casey Snider

BHA Position: Neutral

This bill is essentially the annual amendment bill to laws around wildlife management. It currently contains a number of provisions including implementing more DWR regulatory authority over feeding, removing the ability to restrict hunting large parcels owned by political subdivisions, requiring a hunting license to serve on a Regional Advisory Council/Wildlife Board or to access a WMA, and clarifying definitions around night-vision/thermal technologies, among other items. The sponsor is actively working with sportsmen to refine this bill. BHA will stay neutral until we see final revisions.