SALT LAKE CITY — Several hunting seasons are in full swing, and Utah’s general-season rifle deer hunt — arguably the state’s most popular hunt — starts Oct. 18. Utah Department of Natural Resources conservation officers are hard at work patrolling the state to protect wildlife and to make sure hunters are obeying the laws.
While wildlife violations can happen any time of the year, there is typically an uptick during the fall hunting seasons. There are currently around 50 natural resources officers patrolling all of Utah, and they can’t be everywhere.
“Hunters need to take responsibility for knowing the laws, having a current hunting or combination license, and also knowing what species and areas their permits allow them to hunt before they go out into the field,” DNR Lt. Casey Mickelsen said. “We are requesting the public’s help in gathering information about wildlife violations. Please keep your eyes and ears open and report suspicious wildlife activity to us. With the information you share, we can enforce wildlife laws, which help with wildlife conservation and maintaining healthy populations and also keep our recreating public safe.”
Get a license plate number
If you see someone who is potentially breaking Utah’s wildlife laws, getting a license plate number is the most critical piece of information you can provide to conservation officers. If you’re not able to get a license plate number, provide the officer with as much information as you can.
“Having a license plate number will lead us to the individual, so we can interview the person and start investigating,” Mickelsen said. “Other helpful details include the type and color of the vehicle the person was driving, how many people were involved and a description of what you saw. And, if you can give us a GPS coordinate, that can guide us quickly to the area where the possible violation occurred.”
Report the information to the Division of Law Enforcement using one of their 4 channels
While reporting a wildlife violation in a Facebook message will eventually get to a conservation officer, it is much more efficient and effective to use the proper channels. Here are the various ways you can report illegal wildlife activities:
Text officers at 847411.
Call the Utah Turn-in-a-Poacher hotline at 800-662-3337. (The UTiP hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is the quickest way to report a wildlife violation.)
Use the UTDWR Law Enforcement app.
Report online through the DNR website or the DWR website. Note that contact with an officer may be limited with this option.
Another option for reporting wildlife violations is to call the nearest local police dispatch, and they will pass the information along to the closest conservation officer. Local police dispatch numbers can be found online. If you can’t locate those phone numbers, you could also call 911. However, you shouldn’t call the police unless you are absolutely sure you have witnessed a poaching violation, you can’t find the UTiP number, and you feel the incident must be reported immediately.
“If you have a license plate number but you can’t get cell reception, it’s totally fine to wait and report the incident when you get better cell service,” Mickelsen said. “A license plate number gives us a great starting point for our investigation.”
Don’t confront the individual
Don’t confront someone who might be committing a violation; just observe from a distance and take note of as many details as you can.
“We don’t want anyone to be put in harm’s way or to be in a situation that makes them uncomfortable,” Mickelsen said. “Report what you saw, and let us contact them.”
Don’t call UTiP for information
Please remember that the UTiP hotline is not an information line. Only call it to report possible poaching and other wildlife-related crimes.
“Every time our officers receive a UTiP call, even if it isn’t related to a wildlife crime, they have to file a follow-up report,” Mickelsen said. “Filing the report takes time away that could have been spent fighting wildlife crime in Utah. Please call the UTiP line only to report wildlife crimes. If you’re simply looking for hunting or fishing information, call the nearest DWR office.”