Thousands of deer hunters will be applying for their 2017 Utah deer hunting permit next week and the Division of Wildlife Resources has a major change these hunters will want to know regarding preference points. When hunters apply for a general season deer hunting permit, but don’t draw one, they receive a preference point. Preference points increase the odds of the hunter drawing a general-season deer hunting permit in the near future. A panel of 7 citizens appointed by the Governor made some changes, however, in the preference point system that had been in place since 2009. Now, if a hunter draws their general season deer hunt choices, their preference points are lost. In the past, hunters only lost preference points if they drew their first choice. Now, they lose their points if they draw their first through fifth choice. To learn more about changes in the preference point system, visit
www.wildlife.utah.gov
.
