Gov. Spencer Cox on Friday signed a wide-ranging wildlife bill that includes controversial provisions that open a year-round quota-free hunting season on cougars in Utah and allow the use of traps to kill the stealthy predator.
, sponsored by Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, but were added on the legislative session’s 43rd day with no discussion or explanation other than the claim that cougar numbers are increasing despite significant increases in cougar deaths in recent years.
. “HB469 is bad for ranchers, and it’s bad for public safety. And that’s on top of it being bad for Utah’s wild lands and natural resources.”More importantly, from Snider’s perspective, his bill sets aside $1 million a year to acquire land to preserve it for wildlife habitat and hunter access under the direction of the Division of Wildlife Resources, or DWR. It creates the Wildlife Land and Water Acquisition Program, which will leverage federal grants to buy properties.
“Why do we need to purchase more land with tax dollars for wildlife with 75% of Utah being public land already,” Beaver County Commissioner Brandon Yardley told lawmakers. “The land purchase would most likely be grazing land. We should be protecting that land, not purchasing and taking it away.”“The worst thing you can ever do if you want ag or grazing is create an opportunity for the last crop planted to be houses,” Snider said.
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