SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is recommending a few minor changes for bear hunting in Utah, along with other rule amendments, and is seeking the public’s feedback.
Bear hunt updates
The first year of the current three-year bear recommendation cycle recently ended. The DWR is recommending a few changes for the 2026 bear seasons, including:
- Creating a new bear hunt for the new Dolores Triangle hunting unit — and separating it from the La Sal hunting unit — in order to match the current boundaries of big game hunting units.
- Allocating 10 bear permits for the new Dolores Triangle unit, including two spring permits, six summer permits and two fall permits.
- Keeping the La Sal unit bear permit numbers the same.
Bear and cougar populations in Utah have declined over the last few years, but remain stable.
In addition, in 2026, the guidebooks for cougar, bear and furbearer species will be combined into one book and will only be digitally available. The new, combined guidebook will be available on the DWR website and on the DWR Hunting and Fishing app.
Updates to cooperative agreements for big game or turkey
The DWR is also proposing a new rule to update the cooperative agreements with private landowners in order to enhance big game and turkey populations that use private cultivated lands.
“This rule update shifts the management paradigm from addressing depredation conflicts after they occur to establishing a proactive, voluntary partnership with private landowners for managing big game and turkey populations that utilize private cultivated lands,” DWR Private Lands Public Wildlife Coordinator Darren DeBloois said. “This approach is rooted in the recognition that achieving population objectives and enhancing wildlife health often depends on the quality and availability of forage on private property.”
The recommendations in the new rule will provide benefits for both the wildlife and the private landowner through:
- Enhancing populations: The agreements are specifically designed to benefit below-objective big game or turkey populations by incentivizing landowners to manage their crops or livestock forage in a manner conducive to wildlife nutrition.
- Improving forage and nutrition for wildlife: Direct payments to landowners for forage or crops used by wildlife will then increase the forage availability and nutrition for wildlife during critical periods, thereby supporting healthier, more productive herds and flocks.
- Providing an alternative to depredation programs: The new agreement offers an alternative to the existing reactive depredation programs. By entering into an agreement, a landowner allows wildlife to use their crops in exchange for defined compensation and cooperation toward shared management goals. This will allow the DWR to move away from costly, reactionary depredation responses. The agreement would be implemented in lieu of participation in depredation programs.
- Meeting management goals: The agreements mandate that all participating lands must meet defined goals and objectives for wildlife management, ensuring that public funds are used effectively to achieve specific conservation outcomes.
- Hunter opportunity and herd management: By improving population health and ensuring adequate resources, the program can help reduce female harvest where necessary to promote growth, ultimately leading to sustained populations and an increase in hunter opportunities in the future.
Proposed predator control incentive amendments
In 2012, the Utah Legislature passed two predator-related bills. As a result of that, the Predator Control Program was created to control populations of predatory animals that endanger the health of Utah's nonpredatory wildlife. Under this program, the DWR provides incentives to hunters to help control coyote populations by offering $100 for documented coyote harvest in deer habitat and $50 for each documented harvested coyote outside of deer habitat. Coyotes primarily kill deer fawns and can produce more than six pups per year. They have high reproductive potential and can be difficult to hunt.
The DWR is proposing changes to the current rule to specify that the GPS data for predator harvest locations be classified as protected and therefore restricted from public disclosure.
Give feedback
The public meetings for the recommendations can either be viewed virtually or attended in person. You can view the biologists' presentations before the meetings and share your feedback about them on the DWR website. The presentations are also available on the DWR YouTube channel, but comments can only be submitted through the forms on the DWR website.
The public comment period opened Nov. 21 for each of the five regional advisory council meetings and for the Utah Wildlife Board meeting. Public comments submitted within the online-comment timeframes listed below will be shared with the RAC and wildlife board members at each respective meeting. Members of the public can choose to either watch the meetings online or attend them in person. If you wish to comment during the meeting, you must attend in person. Online comments will only be accepted until the deadlines listed below.
The meetings will be held on the following dates and times:
- Central Utah RAC meeting: Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. at the DWR Springville Office at 1115 N. Main St. in Springville. (Online comments must be submitted by Dec. 4 at 11:59 p.m.)
- Northern Utah RAC meeting: Dec. 10 at 6 p.m. at the Weber County Commission Chambers at 2380 Washington Blvd. #240 in Ogden. (Online comments must be submitted by Dec. 4 at 11:59 p.m.)
- Southern Utah RAC meeting: Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. at the DNR Richfield City Complex at 2031 Industrial Park Road in Richfield. (Online comments must be submitted by Dec. 11 at 11:59 p.m.)
- Southeastern Utah RAC meeting: Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. at the John Wesley Powell Museum at 1765 E. Main St. in Green River. (Online comments must be submitted by Dec. 11 at 11:59 p.m.)
- Northeastern Utah RAC meeting: Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. at the DWR Vernal Office at 318 N. Vernal Ave. (Online comments must be submitted by Dec. 11 at 11:59 p.m.)
- Utah Wildlife Board meeting: Jan. 8 at 9 a.m. at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center at 1157 South Waterfowl Way in Farmington. (Online comments must be submitted by Dec. 30 at 11:59 p.m.)
