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Show Wildlife Notes Governor Scott Matheson will fire the opening shot at the dedication of the Lee Kay Center for Hunter Education at 6000 West 2! 00 South on Monday, Sept. 28, 10 a.m. The public is invited to attend the opening ceremonies cere-monies of this facility, which will be capable of training 4,000 hunter education students stu-dents yearly and providing countless hours to the public for improving shooting and' hunting skills. for improving. The most complete hunter education facility in the nation, the Lee Kay Center has shooting ranges for every type of firearm, an archery range, hunter safety field test area, a dog training area, and a 200-seat auditorium. audito-rium. In addition to the practical aspects, students .will receive instruction in all phases of wildlife conservation. conserva-tion. The Lee Kay Center, named after the late Lee Kay, father of hunter education educa-tion in Utah, has been a long-time dream of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Resour-ces Hunter Education Coordinator Coor-dinator Lee Robertson. The dedication culminates seven years of planning and two years of construction. The Lee Kay Center for Hunter Education has been made possible by funds from the Pittman-Robertson Act, which designates one half of the manufacturers' excise tax on handguns and bows and arrows for the target range program. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officers are expecting expec-ting a few more hunters in the field for the 1981 elk hunt Sept. 30 through Oct. 13 than in 1980. Division Big Game Coor- -dinator Grant Jense also' predicts an increased harvest over 1980. He is hcpeful that a continued cooling trend and another storm may be helpful to elk hunters. During the last several years, hot dry conditions have hindered elk hunting in . Utah. I In 1980, 16,694 hunters J harvested 1,824 bull elk in I the open bull area. In the restricted areas, 1,921 hun-1 hun-1 ters harvested 156 bulls, 537 cows and 74 calves. "All of our elk herds in the state are stable or on an upward trend," comments Jense. Utahns will join sportsmen in all 49 other states in commemorating the 10th annual "National Hunting an Fishing Day" on Saturday, Sept. 26. Utah's "Fishing and Hunting Hun-ting Day" is being sponsored spon-sored by the Utah Wildlife Federation in cooperation with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Sheldon Eppich, President of the Utah Wildlife Federation, says local clubs throughout Utah will sponsor activities around the national theme "A Day For Years To Come." Nationally, hunters and fishermen pay $500 million a year for conservation programs. pro-grams. In Utah, several million dollars from the 600,000 hunting and fishing licenses sold each year go directly to help manage and conserve Utah's wildlife. Utah has one of the highest hunting and fishing participation ratios of any state in the nation. Each year, over 600,000 persons enjoy fishing in Utah, nearly 200,000 hunters participate in the deer hunt, over 20,000 go elk Vunting and over 100.000 hunt small game. |
