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Show rr s Vernal Express Wednesday, March 7, 2007 02 flore Big Game permits recommended for 2007 I Utah's hunters might have more elk, pronghora and bison permits to draw for this year. The Division of Wildlife Resources is recommending raising permit numbers for all of Utah's big game animals. Permits for elk, pronghorn and bison would increase the most The DWR is also recommending adding an additional 1,000 general gen-eral season buck deer permits tdj the Northeastern Region. , You can learn more about the recommendations and share your suggestions at a series of upcoming meetings. Citizens representing Utah's public Regional Advisory Councils wil take the input received to tfie Utah Wildlife Board when it npeets April 5 in Salt Lake City tq approve big game hunting permits for this fall's hunts. I Meeting date, time and location for the Northeastern Region is March 15, 6:30 p.m. ai Western Park, Rm. 2, 302 E. 200S., Vernal nKh late vMsr- flsbing Mues By Row Stewart Guest Writer Late winterearly spring is a difficult time for avid anglers. Bitten by the "gotta-go-fish-ing" bug (sometimes known as the "fishing blues") they face a major dilemma, safety vs. fishing fish-ing opportunity. Ice and mud present the safety safe-ty problem. As winter moves into spring, the days lengthen, the weather gets warmer and the gotta-go-fishing bug gets stronger. Unfortunately the sun is also melting the ice and snow producing some really muddy roads and unsafe ice conditions. Since the ethical angler doesn't want to cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to the muddy roads, he can't access many of the higher elevation lakes where the ice conditions are better. In my office, I've got several anglers who are really struggling strug-gling to beat the gotta-go-fishing bug. Here's how four of them are dealing with the problem. prob-lem. Angler A: Angler A is a big fish fanat ic and his current interest is the big lake trout in Flaming Gorge. He reluctantly winterized win-terized his boat late last year when the boat ramps iced up. He's spent a few days ice fishing fish-ing but it's not quite the same as hunting for those big lakers. As he waits for the boat ramps to clear so he can get his boat back on the water, he's been doing another type of fishing. fish-ing. Fishing for bargains. Using the internet, magazines, catalogs cata-logs and the occasional visit to a retail outlet, he's been fishing fish-ing for equipment It's still not the same as actually fishing for the big lake trout, but maybe the fish finder he just found for over $300 off will make the difference when he can finally launch the boat. Angler B: Angler B just likes to catch fish, any size and any shape. He's spent most of the winter out on the ice corrupting several sever-al other young employees with his gotta-go-fishing bug. Rather than slowing down, he's been searching for ways to cheat the weather. His main tools are waders and boards. As ice is lighter than water, when the reservoirs fill, the incoming water lifts the center ice allowing water to well up along the banks. During the coldest winter weather, this welling happens slowly so the ice can reform along the edges. The center ice also gets thicker thick-er due to the cold weather. In spring, the welling happens faster and the nights are warmer warm-er so even though the center ice cap may be a foot or more thick, the ice along the edges is unsafe. Angler B gets around the problem of unsafe ice by using waders to walk through thin ice and water to the thicker ice cap or uses boards to bridge from the bank to the thick ice. His techniques should allow him to ice fish for a few weeks longer than most ice anglers. While he can get into some great fishing opportunities either ice fishing or fishing the edge of the ice cap, he does need to be aware of changing conditions. If the weather warms up too much or the winds move the ice cap, he could find himself having to cross unsafe ice or a wider gap between the cap and the shore. He won't be the first in this office who's had to make an incredible jump or face swimming swim-ming for it. Angler C: Angler C is making some lifestyle changes. He still likes to fish, any size-any shape, but recent successes have him looking look-ing toward larger, more exotic species. As his family was growing up, he'd fish local waters as often as he could, both summer and winter. To keep his young kids interested, he would often fish for smaller fish like blue-gill blue-gill because the catch rates were faster. As the kids grew older, other fish and fishing techniques were added to the mix. Owning his own boat helped him get his family out into some great areas for super fishing. One of the new techniques he tried was fishing from a kayak. He then made a decision to sell the boat and purchase specially modified kayaks for anglers. After experimenting and learning learn-ing some essential techniques on local waters, he's recently rediscovered the ocean. So how's Angler C dealing with the late winter gotta-go- fishing bug? It's a case of "haVe kayak, will travel." He's pi ning to go south. His first trio is to the Pacific Ocean where he hopes the stories of sunny California will come true for his week of fishing. Later we'll likely see him paddling around fishing and exploring the red rock canyons of Lake Powell Angler D: My last anlger, D, likes to fish rivers. Not surprisingly since the Green River is almost in his back yard, he's been spending his time fishing the Green River below Flaming Gorge Dam. In his case, the early spring blues will likely pass him by because the Green River, like many other larger rivers and streams in Utah is fed from a reservoir so the water stays open all-year round. His main concerns are keeping warm and deciding which equipment to use. Does he try lures or practice his fly-fishing fly-fishing techniques and change from top or floating flies, which he used in the summer, to sinking flies like nymphs and streamers? I, ! Shed Antler Collectors: Obey the law and have fan ) With spring just around the corner, it's an exciting time for those who enjoy gathering the antlers and horns shed by big game animals each year. As you're having fun searching for antlers and horns this spring, please remember that there are regulations you must follow fol-low regarding their possession. Also, remember to give the big game animals you encounter plenty of space, and don't take off-highway vehicles off of designated des-ignated roads and trails. v Taking OHVs off of roads and trails can cause serious damage to the habitat that big game animals and other wildlife wild-life and fiskxely on. fijShed 4ggtler Gathering Season in Noroiern Utah .New this yeaFln Utah, there is a shed antler gathering season. sea-son. This season applies to Northern Utah only. , . You may not gather : ed antlers in the DWR's Northern Region from Feb. 1 through April 30. This closure was put in place to prevent big game animals from being harassed during the time of year when they're in their poorest health because of the stress of a long winter. In addition to the closure in the Northern Region, the Utah Wildlife Board has directed the Division of Wildlife Resources to study the effects antler gathering gath-ering is having on big game animals across Utah. Board members want to learn if a shed antler gathering season should be implemented statewide. state-wide. Possession of Antlers and Horns According to Utah law, a person may possess antlers or horns from legally taken animals, ani-mals, as well as 'shed' antlers and horns. A shed antler or horn is one that has dropped from a big game animal (a moose, elk, deer or prong-horn prong-horn antelope) as part of its life cycle. Shed antlers have a rounded base, commonly called a button or burr. The horns shed by prong-horn prong-horn antelope are a hollow sheath. (Pronghorn are the only big game animals that shed their horns.) A deer sheds its antlers during February and March. Elk shed later than deer and at higher elevations. Shed antlers and horns may be possessed at any time. There are no restrictions on their barter, trade or sale. In contrast, con-trast, antlers or horns that are attached to a skull plate must have been taken legally or purchased pur-chased from someone who took the animal legally. The person who buys antlers or horns attached to a skull plate must keep a transac tion record. The record must include the name and address of the hunter the antlers or horns were purchased from, the hunter's permit number and the date of purchase or sale. Antlers, horns and heads of legally taken animals may be purchased or sold only between Feb. 15 and July 31 annually. Give Big Game Animals Plenty of Space After a long winter, the energy reserves that big game animals have are already low. Those reserves are taxed even more when antler gatherers enter the picture. Careless shed antler and horn hunters can tip the delicate energy balance, and that can contribute to more big game animals dying this time of the year. The worst threat to big game animals usually comes from irresponsible OHV use. Off-road Off-road travel is illegal and should not be practiced at any time, especially when gathering antlers. ant-lers. The DWR has received reports of OHV riders chasing chas-ing deer and elk through trees to knock off their antlers. This practice is extremely damaging damag-ing and illegal. Anyone caught harassing wildlife will be prosecuted pros-ecuted to the fullest extent of the law. When you're collecting shed antlers and horns, please pay attention to the body language of the animals you see. If they appear to be nervous or begin to move away, give them more space by backing off or travel ing in another direction. Have Fun Shed gathering can be a great family, outing. Please remember the following as you gather shed antlers and horns this year: Avoid picking up antlers that are attached to a skull plate. Instead, mark the area and contact your local DWR conservation officer. Respect the space and needs of wintering big game. Give them lots of room. Don't take OHVs off designated desig-nated roads and trails. In addition addi-tion to causing animals to flee, taking OHVs off-road can cause serious damage to the animals' habitat. m4 v .n, ., , 1, , j $ ., i y Dinoland Triathlon June 23, 2007 Registration: $47 individuals, $81 relay teams. More details and registration on Active.com. Late registration will incur a higher fee after June 1". ! All levels of athletes will be participating in the triathlon. If you would like to learn how to train, mark your calendar for the following clinic: FREE Training Clinic March 9 at 5:00 p.m. at Uintah Basin Medical Center in Roosevelt March 10" at 9:00 a.m. at the Weston Plaza Hotel in Vernal Triathlon Panel Gray Augustus . AwaryWinngAthltt BJ Christensen Top Tii-Coach Don DeCamp Hawaii Iroiimaa Shane Powell, M.D., Ranked Cyclist Greg Staker, M.D., Top Tri-athlete David Danley Olympic Qualifier for additional information contact Drew at S01.J42.55I6 or Car; at 725-2036 ftyfc Mountain America C T I N oil BASIN CLINIC TRiCOUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATIONS |