DWR to release 4,000 chukar for hunting

During mid-September, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources will again release some 4,000 Chukar Partridge throughout the state. Adult pen-reared birds will be released as part of a continued effort to provide more hunting opportunity for Utah’s upland game sportsmen. Since the closing of DWR’s last game farm in 1993, many Utah upland game hunters have expressed an interest in seeing some of their license funds used to propagate game birds for release into the wild for hunting. Limited releases of Chukar Partridge began by DWR in 1997.

Birds for release are grown by a Utah game bird producer, and then purchased by DWR for release into the wild.

Chukars are an exotic bird, 15 inches in length and weighing 20 ounces. Chukars are native to places like India and Afghanistan in the Middle East. The Chukar Partridge inhabits some of the most inhospitable habitat Utah has to offer. Chukars are found in the barren desert areas of the state and prefer steep, rocky, arid slopes. Low growing shrubs such as sagebrush, saltbush and cheatgrass vegetative zones above and below the juniper tree belt seem to be preferred. Talus and rocky slopes provide chukars with concealment as well as escape cover. Their diet consists of grass seeds, weed seeds, buds, flowers, and new growth grass. Male and female chukars are mostly identical in appearance, except that male birds will often have a “button-like” spur on the back of the leg.

Pen-reared chukars will be released in five areas in Carbon and Emery counties. Locations are selected in suitable chukar habitat that will provide hunter opportunity. These areas include: Miller’s Canyon southeast of the town of Emery; on the south side of Cedar Mountain near Jim Wilson Reservoir or other livestock ponds; above Millsite reservoir near the town of Ferron; the Gordon Creek fields on the Consumer’s Road 8 miles west of Price; and the Farnum area southeast of the town of Wellington. Hunters are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity but hunt in a safe, responsible manner. Wing barrels may be placed at some of these locations so that biologists can monitor harvest rates.

The 2007 chukar season opens on Sept. 15 and runs through Jan. 31 in Southeastern Utah. Both males and females are hunted with the daily bag limit of five birds and a possession limit of 10 birds. If you have any questions, contact the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Office in Price at (435) 636-0260.

Wildlife festival offers glowing sights for anglers

Thousands of fluorescent red kokanee salmon should make an appearance at the annual Friends of Strawberry Valley Wildlife Festival.

The festival will be held Sept. 14 and 15 at the U.S. Forest Service visitor center at Strawberry Reservoir. The visitor center is along US-40, about 20 miles southeast of Heber City.
The festival is held annually to highlight the September spawn of the salmon and to celebrate the many other wildlife species that are found in the valley. A fish trap and egg-taking facility is located behind the visitor center.

Biologists from the Division of Wildlife Resources will be available at the facility to talk with you about the peculiar life cycle of these fish.

Festival activities will run from noon to 6 p.m. on Sept. 14, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 15. Activities include a chance to hook and land a ‘virtual’ fish on a fishing simulator; an animal tracks display; a fishing booth for the kids; and a replica of the Strawberry Reservoir state record cutthroat trout caught in 1930.

Smokey Bear will also be on hand, and several other booths and displays will be available.
The festival ends at 5 p.m. on Sept. 15 with an “Ice Fishing the ‘Berry” fishing clinic presented in the visitor center by angler Dan Potts.

For more information, call the Uinta National Forest at (435) 654-0470 or Scott Root with the Division of Wildlife Resources at (801) 491-5656.

The festival is sponsored by the Division of Wildlife Resources; the U.S. Forest Service/Uinta National Forest; the Strawberry Anglers Association, Wasatch County; American Land & Leisure; the Utah Snowmobile Association; the National Wild Turkey Federation; the Salt Lake County Fish & Game Association; and other organizations.

Turkey hunt goes from famine to feast

The chance of drawing a permit to hunt wild turkeys in Utah next spring just got a lot better.

At their Sept. 6 meeting in Salt Lake City, members of the Utah Wildlife Board approved the largest wild turkey permit increase in the state’s history.

Permits increased from 3,020 in 2007 to 7,706 for hunts in spring 2008.

“More and more hunters want to hunt turkeys in Utah, and we want to give as many of them a chance to hunt as we can,” says Dennis Southerland, upland game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. “There are enough turkeys in Utah that we believe we can do that without affecting the turkey populations.”

When it comes to reproducing, Southerland says upland game are different from big game and many other wildlife species.

“Turkeys and other upland game reproduce at a high rate,” he says. “It’s not unusual for a single male turkey to breed as many as 10 females. And female turkeys are very productive. They usually lay a clutch of between 10 to 12 eggs.

“Only male turkeys are hunted in Utah. We think an increase in permits—even as big as the one the board approved—will not have an impact on the state’s turkey populations. And it will give more hunters a chance to get out and enjoy turkey hunting this spring.”

The rules the board approved combine the type of turkey hunting Utah’s hunters are used to with a new way of hunting:

Three hunting seasons will be held on most units. The first season begins on April 12. The last season ends on May 31.

The first two seasons are very much like the seasons Utah hunters are used to: a limited number of permits are available for the first two seasons, and hunters must hunt in the unit they draw a permit for.

The third season is where most of the changes will occur. The third season is 27 days long. Twice as many permits are available for it than are available for the first two seasons. In three regions—the Northern, Central and parts of the Northeastern—hunters are not be required to hunt in a single unit. Instead, they can hunt in almost any unit in the region.

After the hunting seasons, DWR biologists will survey a sample of turkey hunters, including those who hunted during the third season. If the hunters liked the changes, and the harvest data shows turkey populations are not declining because of the changes, even more permits could be offered in 2009.

“More hunters will be in the field during the third season,” Southerland says. “But in two of the regions, and a part of a third, hunters can hunt across the entire region. Allowing hunters to hunt across the region should give everyone plenty of room to spread out.”
Giving more hunters a chance to hunt turkeys is one of the goals of Utah’s Wild Turkey Strategic Management Plan.

A committee that included DWR biologists and members of the National Wildlife Turkey Federation and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife drafted the turkey proposals that the board approved.
Applications for 2008 wild turkey hunting permits will be available starting Nov. 28 at www.wildlife.utah.gov. Turkey applications will be accepted only online this year.

For more information, call the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR’s Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.