While out of state visitors are certainly welcome in Utah and the Uintah Basin, they will see a jump in fees if they are coming to enjoy hunting and fishing. While all resident fees will remain the same, SB8 allows the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to increase nonresident license fees up to double the previous cost in order to purchase large blocks of land for hunting and fishing. “We’re reviewing the intended goals of the legislation and are evaluating each fee based on the relevant market values of neighboring states and the opportunities we offer,” shares DWR Director Riley Peck. “This legislation is intended to increase revenue to allow us to purchase public land for the specific use of protecting wintering wildlife populations. The legislature also allocated $50M to the DWR, specifically for the purchase of large land parcels to secure hunting and fishing on these properties into the future.” SB8 does not mandate that those fees will automatically increase by double.
