Rep. Casey Snider (R-Cache Valley), has switched up House Bill 309. It previously proposed preventing counties and cities from banning hunting on public land.
Banning hunting is a condition of Summit County’s $55 million pending purchase of the 910 Cattle Ranch, behind Jeremy Ranch.
Snider said the part pertaining to the 8,600-acre property has been removed from the bill, which he’s revised twice.
“Just to clarify for the committee, first, the reason there was the first [substitute bill] is there were ongoing discussions on this bill, and I wanted to make sure that the public knew that we had made some movement to address some of those concerns,” he told the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee Feb. 20. “Second sub is the final.”
The proposed hunting restrictions had also concerned local officials and residents who thought it would lift the ban on hunting in Round Valley, which Park City owns.
Also cut from the bill was a provision that would ban feeding big game.
The final version of the legislation passed out of the committee 10-1.
Some committee members said they’d been contacted by constituents about parts of the bill requiring hunting licenses for people serving on regional advisory councils (RACs).
“In other states, we have seen a very sharp departure from science-based wildlife management to very political or extremist-based management,” Snider explained. “So Washington, Colorado, their wildlife board and other similar processes are now stacked with individuals that don't hunt and fish, who are making policy for those that do hunt and fish.”
Activists like Western Wildlife Conservancy Executive Director Kirk Robinson and residents like John Ziegler have told KPCW RACs should have both voices on them. Robinson was the only member of the public speaking against the bill in committee.
It now goes to the full House for a vote.
