Utah: Statewide Shed Antler Closure

By AmmoLand Editor Duncan Johnson

Utah –-(Ammoland.com)- Effective Feb. 3, you cannot gather shed deer, elk or moose antlers in Utah until April 1.

On Feb. 2, Division of Wildlife Resources Director Greg Sheehan signed an emergency order. The order supersedes a Jan. 31 order. The Jan. 31 order closed shed antler gathering only in 11 counties.

The Feb. 2 order closes shed antler gathering in all of Utah’s counties — on both public and private land — until April 1.

Why the change?

After the first closure was signed on Jan. 31, concerns were raised about shed antler gatherers moving to counties that were still open, putting additional pressure on deer and elk in those counties.

“Although winter conditions are generally less severe in the southern portions of the state,” Sheehan says, “snowpack is still above average, and deer and elk are stressed.”

Closing shed antler gathering statewide “will eliminate a major source of human-caused disturbance to deer and elk during the periods they are most exposed and vulnerable,” says the order signed by Sheehan.

In late winter and early …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand