Gambel’s quail hunt starts soon
Colorful quail found mostly in Washington County
If you own a good pair of running shoes—or better yet, a trained hunting dog—hunting Gambel’s quail in southwestern Utah might be a fun adventure this fall.
The number of Gambel’s quail has dipped a bit this year, but decent numbers of birds should still be available when Utah’s quail hunt opens Nov. 3. You can hunt both Gambel’s and California quail until Dec. 31. (Utah is also home to a small population of scaled quail, but hunting for them is not allowed.)
Jason Robinson, upland game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, says opportunities to hunt California quail in Utah are limited: most California quail are found in Duchesne and Uintah counties on land that’s either privately owned or part of the Ute Indian Reservation. (If you decide to hunt California quail, look for them in river bottoms that have Buffalo berry and Russian olive trees in them.)
Hunting Gambel’s quail is different: they’re found mostly on public land in the western part of Washington County.
“Gambel’s quail are colorful birds that live in areas filled with Joshua trees,” Robinson says. “Hunting them is a unique experience many in Utah have never tried.”
Robinson provides tips to help you locate quail and take some birds this fall:
Tip 1 – Look for Joshua trees
To find Gambel’s quail, look for Joshua trees. “If you’re seeing Joshua trees,” he says, “you’re likely in the right area. It’s a good place to start.”
Tip 2 – Focus your efforts in dry washes and draws
Once you’ve found a landscape with Joshua trees on it, focus your efforts in dry washes and draws. Gambel’s quail zero in on these areas, especially washes and draws that have desert almond or black brush in them.
Tip 3 – Use a trained hunting dog
Gambel’s quail are excellent runners. Because they’d rather run than fly, hunting with a trained dog is a huge advantage. “A dog can often cause a quail to freeze in place,” Robinson says. “Once it’s caused a bird to hold, you can walk to the spot and cause the bird to flush.”
Even if your dog flushes an entire covey of quail before you get there, that’s not a bad thing. “When a covey flushes,” he says, “individual birds often get separated from the group. Birds that are separated typically hold tighter than birds that are still with the group. If your dog breaks up a covey, it’ll have an easier time finding and pointing individual birds.”
Tip 4 – Get ready to run
If you don’t have a dog, you can still hunt Gambel’s quail and find success. But you need to be in good physical condition and ready to run.
Robinson encourages you to walk through dry washes and draws, staying alert and watching the area ahead of you. “If you see quail running,” he says, “don’t be afraid to go after them. If you close the gap fast enough, you might cause the birds to flush close enough for a good shot.”
###
DWR proposes new big game hunts in 2019
Waterfowl hunting rules will also be discussed
You might have more chances to hunt bison and pronghorn in Utah in 2019. Biologists with the Division of Wildlife Resources are also recommending new archery hunts that might reduce the number of deer coming into cities and towns in Utah County.
Plans that will guide the management of bighorn sheep and mountain goats across Utah—as well as rules that will guide waterfowl hunting in Utah for the next three years—are also among items that will be discussed at an upcoming series of public meetings.
You can review all of the biologists’ recommendations at www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings.
Learn more, share your ideas
After you’ve reviewed the ideas and plans, you can let your Regional Advisory Council members know your thoughts by attending your upcoming RAC meeting or by sending an email to them.
RAC chairmen will share the input they receive with members of the Utah Wildlife Board. The board will meet in Salt Lake City on Nov. 29 to approve the plans and rules for Utah’s 2019 big game and waterfowl hunts.
Dates, times and locations for the RAC meetings are as follows:
Central Region
Nov. 6
6:30 p.m.
Monte L. Bean Museum
Brigham Young University
645 E. 1430 N.
Provo
Northern Region
Nov. 7
6 p.m.
Brigham City Community Center
24 N. 300 W.
Brigham City
Southern Region
Nov. 13
5 p.m.
Cedar Middle School
2215 W. Royal Hunte Dr.
Cedar City
Southeastern Region
Nov. 14
6:30 p.m.
John Wesley Powell Museum
1765 E. Main St.
Green River
Northeastern Region
Nov. 15
5:30 p.m.
DWR Northeastern Region Office
318 N. Vernal Ave.
Vernal
You can also provide your comments to your RAC via email. Email addresses for your RAC members are available at www.wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/rac-members.html.
The group each RAC member represents (sportsman, non-consumptive, etc.) is listed under each person’s email address. You should direct your email to the people on the RAC who represent your interest.
More chances to hunt
Big game animals are doing well in Utah. And, in certain pockets of the state, they’re doing extremely well. To help manage the populations, and give hunters more chances to hunt, DWR biologists are recommending some new hunts in 2019. Here’s a sample:
· New bison hunts on the Henry Mountains in southeastern Utah and the Book Cliffs in eastern Utah
· New muzzleloader and archery pronghorn hunts in eastern Utah
· A Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep hunt on the Oquirrh-Stansbury unit in north-central Utah. The hunt would be the first bighorn hunt held on the unit since 2015.
Controlling deer in cities and towns
Deer are thriving along the Wasatch Front. And the number of people along the front is growing. In some cases, more deer and more people mean more conflicts between the two.
To try and reduce the number of deer that are making their way into cities and towns in Salt Lake and Utah counties, biologists are recommending more extended archery hunts. (The season dates for extended archery hunts are longer than most hunts. For example, in 2018, deer in the Wasatch Front extended archery area can be hunted from Sept. 15 – Nov. 30. Archery hunters can take one buck deer or one doe deer. Four extended archery deer hunts are currently held in Utah. )
“The extended archery hunts have worked,” says Covy Jones, big game coordinator for the DWR. “They’ve helped reduce the number of deer that make their way into cities and towns. They’re a great management tool.”
Along the west slope of the Wasatch Mountains, biologists would like to make four changes. Three of those changes would occur in Utah County:
· Establish a new extended archery hunt in the mountains near Herriman in Salt Lake County.
· Establish a new extended archery hunt in areas around Utah Lake in Utah County.
· Extend the boundary of the Wasatch Front extended archery area all the way to American Fork Canyon in Utah County. Currently, the boundary starts at the Weber/Davis County line and then runs south before ending at the Salt Lake/Utah County line.
· Establish a new South Wasatch extended archery area. The area’s boundary would start at American Fork Canyon and extend south to Hobble Creek Canyon.
“Extending the Wasatch Front boundary to American Fork Canyon,” Jones says, “and creating two new extended archery areas in Utah County should help reduce the number of deer that are coming into urban areas in the county.”
###
Editor’s note: November is the perfect time to watch mule deer at the Nash Wash Wildlife Management Area. Information about an annual DWR viewing event is available in the news release below!
See mule deer up close in east-central Utah
Register now for a free wildlife viewing event on Nov. 17
Green River -- November is the perfect time for wildlife watchers and photographers to get close to mule deer without spooking them. Instead of worrying about people, mule deer bucks spend their energy breeding does or fighting other males.
To take advantage of the opportunity, the Division of Wildlife Resources is hosting a free Mule Deer Watch on Nov. 17 at the Nash Wash Wildlife Management Area. The WMA is east of Green River in southeastern Utah.
Because deer hunting is restricted in the Book Cliffs just north of Nash Wash, the WMA is one of the best places to see deer, especially bucks. Viewers can watch deer from their vehicles as they drive along the WMA’s network of maintained roads.
As many as 100 deer can be seen in a relatively small area. The number of deer you see on Nov. 17, however, will depend on the weather, food supply and other variables. “Unlike visiting a zoo,” says Morgan Jacobsen, regional conservation outreach manager for the DWR, “we can’t guarantee that 100 deer will be readily visible. But your chances of seeing deer during the rut at Nash Wash are good.”
The Nov. 17 trip is limited to the first 25 people who register. To sign up online, visit https://goo.gl/Nhw1y4.
Once you register, the meeting location and other details will be sent to you via email. The meeting location is about four hours from Salt Lake City, one hour from Moab and two hours from Price. Participants should bring binoculars or a spotting scope, a camera, water, warm clothes and snacks.
###
Fishing reports - available at http://wildlife.utah.gov/hotspots .
