Utah Wildlife Board Grants 200 Expo Permits for 2024 Hunting Season

[Nomad]

The Utah Wildlife Board has approved 200 expo permits for the 2024 hunting season. The Board had also approved 200 expo permits for 2023, and there was a recording breaking 435,000 applications seeking permits.

The hunting permits are randomly selected through a draw every year during the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City. There is an application fee of $5. The money collected through the application fees funds wildlife conservations as well as conservation organizations overseeing the expo.

The expo permits cover various species like deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, bison, mountain goat, desert bighorn sheep, rocky mountain bighorn sheep, turkey, and black bear

You can read more here

 

[Heatman]

The application fee of $5 for the expo permits is very cheap, although when looked at the number of people who applied for it, then the summation shows they are cashing out big from all the application fees.

It's definitely going to be a very good hunting season in Utah. I can't wait to see what the hunters are going to come out with from their exercise.

 

[Henrywrites]

The application fee of $5 for the expo permits is very cheap, although when looked at the number of people who applied for it, then the summation shows they are cashing out big from all the application fees.

It's definitely going to be a very good hunting season in Utah. I can't wait to see what the hunters are going to come out with from their exercise.

It is not cheaper because of the number of people applying for it. It is that cheap because those in charge are trying to ensure that it is very easy to get the expo permit as low as that amount ($5) as it makes it very easy for persons interested in getting the expo permit in Utah.

 

[Debashis]

I find the Utah Wildlife Board's approach to allocating expo permits quite interesting. The fact that they use a random draw system during the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo, along with a nominal application fee, not only adds an element of fairness but also contributes to wildlife conservation efforts. It's encouraging to see a balance between hunting interests and conservation initiatives.

 

[Eric]

Agreed with all the comments above. I'll add that, in addition to application fees funding conservation efforts, conservation interests also appear to be promoted through the relatively limited offering of permits. If I'm reading this correctly, I understand that 200 total permits were allocated this year out of 435,000 total applicants. However, I'm wondering if that applicant count really represents the total number of individuals that applied or if it's it actually the total number of $5 entries submitted (i.e., there could be multiple entries per any one individual). Either way, that's a whole lot of demand to hunt these species relative to the number of permits that the Utah Wildlife Board allows to be issued.

Overall, the restrictiveness of this allocation system seems very responsible in terms of ensuring that none of the expo species are overhunted. Utah is clearly serious about prioritizing the long-term sustainability/viability of these species ahead of the record hunting demand we're seeing from the public.

 

[Heatman]

Agreed with all the comments above. I'll add that, in addition to application fees funding conservation efforts, conservation interests also appear to be promoted through the relatively limited offering of permits. If I'm reading this correctly, I understand that 200 total permits were allocated this year out of 435,000 total applicants. However, I'm wondering if that applicant count really represents the total number of individuals that applied or if it's it actually the total number of $5 entries submitted (i.e., there could be multiple entries per any one individual). Either way, that's a whole lot of demand to hunt these species relative to the number of permits that the Utah Wildlife Board allows to be issued.

Overall, the restrictiveness of this allocation system seems very responsible in terms of ensuring that none of the expo species are overhunted. Utah is clearly serious about prioritizing the long-term sustainability/viability of these species ahead of the record hunting demand we're seeing from the public.

Yeah, that's very correct. They would be silly to approve all the 435,000 total applications for the permit or even half of it. Should they do anything like this, they will definitely drive their wildlife into extinction. It will get to the point where there wouldn't even be a bird to hunt.

 

[riberet19]

Yeah, that's very correct. They would be silly to approve all the 435,000 total applications for the permit or even half of it. Should they do anything like this, they will definitely drive their wildlife into extinction. It will get to the point where there wouldn't even be a bird to hunt.

I see quite well that the permits are limited no matter how great the demand (requests) is because otherwise, as you say, they would annihilate the wildlife, in addition the money collected from all the requests helps preserve said wildlife and the ecosystem, if $5 is raised for each request, we can calculate that the money raised is no small thing.

 

[linux.poet]

I'm slightly confused. What is the difference between an expo permit and a standard hunting license, other than the fact that hunting licenses cost more?

Reference for hunting licenses in Utah: https://wildlife.utah.gov/licenses/fees.html

Usually an expo is an event. So is there some kind of hunting event that these permits are being issued for? That would make more sense - 200 organized hunting events for $5 apiece - where the participants in the expo are allowed to hunt. The state would likely profit big off of that - they get the $5 X 435,000 = $2,175,000 from the expo permits, plus the licensing for all of the hunters which is approximately $40 per hunter. With approximately 100 hunters per event, that's $4000 X 200 which is another cool $800,000.

It's kind of risky business putting about 20,000 hunters out there, but apparently the state thinks the money is worth it. There is a good deal of deer and antelope up there, some of which my uncle has killed. His house is full of taxidermy antelope heads.

 

[Eric]

I'm slightly confused. What is the difference between an expo permit and a standard hunting license, other than the fact that hunting licenses cost more?

The article linked above links to a YouTube video for the August 2023 Utah Wildlife Board Meeting. If you feel like taking the time to check this out like I just did (lol), then look around 31 minutes where they discuss audit results for the 2023 expo permit drawing. As part of reporting the audit results they also provide some additional background on expo permitting, including explaining that the 200 permits are issued during the Western Hunting and Conservation Expo held in February of each year. The state of Utah allows two non-profit hunting groups to distribute the permits at the expo and follows up with a compliance audit to verify that the state's requirements for conducting the lottery and handling the collected revenue were adequately followed. For each $5 ticket sold, $3.50 goes toward "contractor-approved conservation initiatives" and $1.50 goes toward "DWR-approved projects."

The state would likely profit big off of that - they get the $5 X 435,000 = $2,175,000 from the expo permits, plus the licensing for all of the hunters which is approximately $40 per hunter. With approximately 100 hunters per event, that's $4000 X 200 which is another cool $800,000.

Here's an excerpt from the Board Meeting presentation showing expo permit applicants and revenue collected over the years. Your math is correct in terms of revenue from the expo permits but as far as I can tell I don't think winners are changed the $40 standard license fee. I think the appeal of the lottery for entrants is the possibility of winning heavily discounted licenses.

The bottom line is that the expo permitting functions as a publicly sponsored fundraising event in which approx. $2 million per year is generated for wildlife and conservation initiatives.