A new bill could change how Utah Wildlife Board members are selected. HB 309, sponsored by Utah state Rep. Casey Snider, would require “any board member to have held a hunting or combination license for at least three out of the last five years leading up to their appointment,” according to Outdoor Life.

The seven-member board, which are appointed by the governor, serve six-year terms, and make the final decisions on hunting, fishing and wildlife management regulations within the state. Snider believes that ensuring these members have a hunting license makes them “a more knowledgeable, safe and effective Wildlife Board member.” It would also likely hinder anti-hunters from serving, though they could still go through the training and obtain a hunter’s safety card in order to purchase a valid license.

“The thought process here being to obtain a hunting license, you have to take hunter safety, which means you have to fully understand all the rules related and laws related to hunting,” said Snider.

The law, if approved, does exempt the board member who solely represents agriculture and makes an exemption for board members appointed before May 2025, but any future or reappointed board member would have to meet this requirement.

“In other states — Colorado and Washington — we are seeing an effort to undermine wildlife policy through the appointment of these boards,” said Snider during the committee hearing. “And so, in Washington, you’re seeing predator hunts basically demolished because individuals who do not participate in the sport of hunting are gaining access to those and fundamentally rewriting the laws.”

To date, the bill has passed both the State Senate and the House of Representatives. If the governor approves it, it will go into effect on May 7. 

There are four positions open on the Utah Wildlife Board with a deadline to apply by March 31.