House Bill 295

[lukew]

What are your guys's thoughts on the House Bill 295? Dan Pickar just wrote a blog on the topic of your are not familiar with it.

Utah to Outlaw Baiting and Trail cams on Public Land – A look at House Bill 295 - Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals

House Bill 295 introduced by Representative Casey Snider has been a controversial one. It started ou

blog.eastmans.com

 

[buckbull]

First thoughts are to do the opposite of SFW says they want LOL.

There is alot of science to the negative effects of baiting. I'd probably be in the anti baiting camp for everything except predators.

I don't know where I fall with trail cameras. I can understand that people use the cameras for "staking out" their area and causing contention in the field. Are there laws in place about leaving items on public land for extended periods of time? Trail cameras provide just one more way to enjoy the outdoors and I must admit I enjoy putting out and checking my cameras (although mine are all on private land).

 

[JimP]

Over on a Utah forum this has been talked about in great length.

Sportsmen have brought this type of regulation on themselves. There have been fights, people have destroyed and stolen others trail cameras, owners are figuring that since their camera was the first one on a water hole then that is their water hole and that no others can post a camera on it.

But this law will not outlaw all uses of the cameras. The dates that they are allowed are outside of hunting seasons. Some like it some don't. The ones that like it only have one or two cameras out all year, the ones that don't have a hundred out all year.

As for baiting, it was long overdue. The trash that people leave at bait sights is ridiculous. Plastic bags and other trash is usually left when the bait is dumped. I know a spot where so called hunters will bust a pumpkin at a water hole that is across the road from a good camping sight. Then come opening morning when the deer come down to water they sit in their lawn chairs and shoot the bucks. The deer don't even bother eating the pumpkin. The hunters then pack up and go home leaving the trash at the water hole along with the pumpkin that just sits there until someone throws it off into the sagebrush.

 

[Hilltop]

I'm against baiting. I have used trail cameras in the past and I really think the only advantage I have gained is by knowing what bucks or bulls are around certain areas. If anything, that knowledge has lead to me, and some of my friends, to pass on lesser animals that we may have shot if we didn't know the bigger ones were in the area. Out of my group, none of us has shot one of those big bulls we had on camera. I have taken a couple of whitetail though based on the information I learned from the photos. I guess in general, I really don't care if trail cameras get banned.

I would be in favor of banning GPS though... different story for a different day.

 

[dan maule]

Baiting is legal in Michigan and some people take to extreme levels even though legally you can bait 2 gallons at a time. I'm not a fan of baiting, turns deer nocturnal and can totally change their patterns. Cameras are fun and we use them to see what is in the area, I know several guys that basically don't go hunting because they haven't seen anything good on their camera, I have shot several bucks over the years that we never had on camera even though we had multiple cameras out for months. For bear hunting I use them a lot, I actually enjoy looking at the pictures of bear more than killing them. I am not sure what to think of the camera systems that link to your phone. Feels too much like a video game to me. I used to get excited about new hunting technology but now days I find myself longing for simpler times.

 

[kidoggy]

have no skin in the game . I don't use trailcams . I don't bait . and I don't hunt utah.

so I guess I'll just say what happens in utah stays in utah.

 

[JimP]

Just remember that these trail camera laws are coming to your state.

 

[D_Dubya]

I had no idea baiting was allowed in Utah on public land but baiting on public land seems like a terrible idea to me. I’m from Texas and most of our deer hunting is done by baiting deer (on private land) and there is no doubt that baiting/feeding wildlife can drastically alter their behavior.
I use trail cameras at my hunting lease here and while they are a useful tool for our deer management program I think they take away a bit of the hunt by knowing what deer are there before they come out. Double edged sword and my view is a bit hypocritical, but I’d just as soon see them banned on public land as well.
In the end, the people of Utah don’t need or want the opinion of David from Texas. If the sportsmen and women of Utah think this bill is not good for them they need to get in the ears of thier representatives. The system usually works when folks participate. (Maybe not in presidential elections though)

 

[mallardsx2]

In GA where I hunt it was illegal to bait up until a few years ago. All of south GA was legal to bait in. Eventually the people in the northern portion got their way. The 20+ member club that surrounds us had been baiting the entire time.....so had almost everyone else in the northern part of the state. When it became legal we invested in a bunch of feeders and we currently put out about 4000 pounds of corn per year. It keeps the deer on the property but I rarely hunt over a feeder. I thought it would be a slam dunk but soon realized that the bucks didnt come to them much during daylight so I mostly hunt a bunch of transition areas between the feeders. I dont see many does but I see a LOT more bucks than the rest of the members in my club. If you do truly want to hunt over bait the best way to kill a buck over bait is to dump a bag of corn in the thickest part of the property directly on the ground....for some reason bucks come to this almost every time. If it all went away tomorrow I would just hunt the mast crops as I always had prior to the legalization of baiting.

Honestly I killed more deer and better deer before baiting and before trail cameras. I didn't even own a trail camera until about 8 years ago. I do like to look at deer pictures though!

 

[kidoggy]

it will all be a mute point when the election stealing dictator decides to take our guns.

 

[CrimsonArrow]

Sounds like the first step to eliminate bear hunting. Give them an inch, they’ll take a mile

 

[Hilltop]

Sounds like the first step to eliminate bear hunting. Give them an inch, they’ll take a mile

I understand your position but I think the only sustainable approach for hunters is to remain 100% fair chase unless management dictates its necessity.

I think baiting has it's place as a management tool- especially in places where it's necessary to harvest over populations of whitetail. However, I can't see any management reason to allow baiting of mule deer and elk in the west. Bears? I would prefer to see decisions made based on population structures. There are so many areas where there is a low quota that gets met fairly quickly over baits and then the season is closed. If those areas didn't allow baiting, they would provide more opportunity for the average guy to hunt.

Unfortunately different state agencies have not used baiting as a tool, but rather an all or nothing approach to game laws.

 

[HuskyMusky]

What can you bait in Utah?
Anything on public land? deer elk sheep??

 

[Slugz]

I understand your position but I think the only sustainable approach for hunters is to remain 100% fair chase unless management dictates its necessity.

I would prefer to see decisions made based on population structures.

This is the drum we should all beat in my opinion. We as sportsman waste too much time, energy and money going down rabbit holes that produce no soup meat.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

This is the drum we should all beat in my opinion. We as sportsman waste too much time, energy and money going down rabbit holes that produce no soup meat.

Yep...I agree 100%

 

[JimP]

What can you bait in Utah?
Anything on public land? deer elk sheep??

Right now you can bait everything except for birds. On bears you need to get a permit to bait them which I don't believe that this law will change. For the permit you need to submit a application to the USFS or BLM to be approved or disapproved one way or the other.

This law is pointing more towards big game such as deer, elk, sheep, goats and such as far as baiting. I am not sure how it will pertain to a camera set on a bear bait station but there may be something in the bear baiting that this will address.

Also on baiting, I know that there was a study done on wasting disease and they thought that one of the problems was with feeding areas during the winter that had a lot of animals around it. I can't remember just what they concluded on that one.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Jim mentioned about birds. It is against federal law to bait any migratory bird. Many years ago my Dad's duck club had a feeding permit for waterfowl. But the feds stopped it back in the late 70's or 80's. I know lots of friends that hunt doves near recently harvested grain fields, which is legal. You just can't scatter grain yourself.

 

[ScottR]

The benefit in my mind to this bill is getting rid of the live action option for in season. With cell phone technology and the rise of 5G we are going to see this happening more. Having to pull them by August 1 will help keep deer and elk populations stable and with a higher number of tag allocations in Utah this might be the sacrifice that comes with more opportunity.

 

[CrimsonArrow]

I understand your position but I think the only sustainable approach for hunters is to remain 100% fair chase unless management dictates its necessity.

I think baiting has it's place as a management tool- especially in places where it's necessary to harvest over populations of whitetail. However, I can't see any management reason to allow baiting of mule deer and elk in the west. Bears? I would prefer to see decisions made based on population structures. There are so many areas where there is a low quota that gets met fairly quickly over baits and then the season is closed. If those areas didn't allow baiting, they would provide more opportunity for the average guy to hunt.

Unfortunately different state agencies have not used baiting as a tool, but rather an all or nothing approach to game laws.

Here in Minnesota, Bear are the only game animal we can bait. I’m not particularly fond of baiting, but it is the only way to manage bear numbers

 

[kidoggy]

Just remember that these trail camera laws are coming to your state.

when it comes to my state I am against anti -baiting laws for predators even though I no longer practice such. have no issue with trail cameras being pulled before seasons start. I see them as a usefull scouting tool that I won't use and also a bit of an unfair advantage for hunting. don't particularly care if folks use them but never would myself.
I just don't believe states I don't frequent deserve my input, so I reserve such for IDAHO and desire non residents who never visit my state would show the same courtesy. I welcome input from those who spend their money here same as I welcome my states right to ignore that input.

that is the great thing about this nation. states get to set such laws , according to what works for that state . and other states get to look to others for examples of what works and what doesn't.
only disapointment is that man is so incapable of learning from others mistakes.