- Utah enacted a law mandating a hunting or fishing license for access to wildlife/waterfowl management areas in certain counties.
- WMAs are funded by sales of hunting, fishing, or combination licenses, and this law is meant to help get more funding.
- Some people who use trails in management areas don’t understand why the new license requirement is necessary.
The Utah Legislature earlier this year passed legislation that requires anyone recreating within the state’s wildlife management areas to possess a hunting or a fishing license.
As the new law has been implemented this summer, many questions and concerns have popped up over how this restriction impacts the use of trails that pass through WMAs, especially the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.
This law impacts over 20 WMAs across Utah, but a recent agreement has made some exceptions to trail access within those management areas.
What are wildlife management areas?
Faith Heaton Jolley, a spokesperson for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, explained that Wildlife Management Areas and Waterfowl Management Areas are different than other multiuse public lands in Utah.
“They are wildlife properties specifically for wildlife, and they provide areas for wildlife to go eat, during the winter and critical months, they kind of serve as an area that will remain undeveloped to provide wildlife, you know, with a place for shelter, things like that,” Heaton Jolley said.
She said the areas aren’t funded by state and federal taxes like most public lands are in Utah, but are primarily funded by the sales of hunting, fishing and combination licenses.
A mountain biker rides past a sign alerting trail users that they need a hunting or fishing license to access part of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail that goes through the Timpanogos Wildlife Management Area in Orem on Monday, July 21, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
This funding is part of the reason for the law. If more people are purchasing hunting and fishing licenses, it stands to reason that more money will go back to the wildlife areas. Also the requirement prevents people from “freeloading” in the areas by not paying, per KSL.com.
Dave Larsen, who regularly uses the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in the Timpanogos WMA for trail running, said he thinks there are probably better ways to get additional money than restricting access to the areas.
Wildlife management areas are also set aside to provide a place for Utahns to fish and hunt.
“I think some of the misinformation and the confusion with this new law is people are thinking these are just like any other normal public lands recreational area where they are not,” Heaton Jolley said. “They are specifically for wildlife and for hunting and fishing, and they are funded by hunting, fishing license sales.”
What does this new law require?
Josh Griffin runs on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Orem on Monday, July 21, 2025. Part of the trail goes through the Timpanogos Wildlife Management Area, which requires a hunting or fishing license. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
HB309, sponsored by Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, requires anyone 18 years or older to possess a valid Utah hunting, fishing or combination license in order to access wildlife management areas in certain counties.
The law applies to management areas in counties designated as “class one” or “class two.” Currently this includes Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties.
Highways that cross through wildlife areas can be traveled without a license. Participation in educational programs within these areas also doesn’t require a license.
Heaton Jolley shared that this license requirement will be enforced by the Utah Division of Law Enforcement, which will be patrolling the areas.
“They’ve always gone and patrolled these properties,” Heaton Jolley said. “Typically, in the past, they’ve looked for maybe wildlife violations, but with this new law, they will also be looking to enforce if people have a hunting, fishing or combination license that are recreating on the specific WMA’s in these four counties.”
A Timpanogos Wildlife Management Area sign is posted near the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Orem on Monday, July 21, 2025. Part of the trail goes through the Timpanogos Wildlife Management Area, which requires a hunting or fishing license. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Richard Esplin trail runs on the portion of the Bonneville Shoreline that crosses through the Timpanogos WMA multiple times a week, and sometimes he bikes in the area as well.
He said he believes it will be hard to enforce this law because there are so many ways to enter the wildlife areas.
“I think the amount of money they’re going to make off of it is probably less than the amount they would have to spend on officers to enforce it in an equitable way,” Esplin said.
Heaton Jolley said that there has always been signage at main entry points to indicate when people are entering wildlife management areas. The division has also added additional signs informing people that they need licenses in order to access the area.
Esplin said that he hasn’t seen the sign for the Timpanogos WMA and doesn’t even know where it is. He added that he feels there hasn’t been enough education done to inform people of the new license requirements.
Some trails can now be accessed without a license
A sign for hunters is posted near the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Orem on Monday, July 21, 2025. Part of the trail goes through the Timpanogos Wildlife Management Area, which requires a hunting or fishing license. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
As of July 17, people are now able to use the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and the Great Western Trail within the Timpanogos WMA without a license, as long as they stay on the trail.
This development is due to the DWR setting up a special use permit with the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation.
This special use permit only applies to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and the Great Western Trail. Anyone who is anywhere else in the wildlife management area will still need to have a hunting or fishing license.
The new license restriction’s impact on trail usage
When asked about how HB309 will impact trail usage, Heaton Jolley said, “We do have some established trails on some of these wildlife management areas, and historically, people have just used them as normal multiuse areas, like they would on any other public land, and that has been allowed.
“That will still continue to be allowed. Now, this law just requires that somebody needs to purchase a hunting or fishing or combination license in order to continue accessing these areas,” she said.
When asked about the new law and its impact on trail access, Larsen said “I think it’s kind of silly.”
Richard Esplin runs with Copper on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail in Orem on Monday, July 21, 2025. Part of the trail goes through the Timpanogos Wildlife Management Area, which requires a hunting or fishing license. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Larsen added that he thinks it’s unfair to require people to have a license to run or walk on these trails. Esplin echoed the same sentiment.
“When I’m running, I’ve got my dog on a leash. We’re not hurting anything. We’re not damaging the mountains. We’re not injuring, we’re not bothering any wildlife. I don’t understand why we would need to be regulated the way a hunter would,” he said.
Larsen shared concerns on how this will impact people who mountain bike on different trails in the Timpanogos WMA, specifically mountain biking teams who practice in the area.
“They’re all trails, and they’re all designated. They have markers on them saying that they’re trails, I don’t quite understand why they wouldn’t let everybody go on the marked trails,” he said.
Esplin said he thinks Utah’s lawmakers need to focus more on increasing access to public lands for Utahns rather than restricting access.
Which WMAs require a license?
The new law only applies to the wildlife management areas in Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties, which includes 25 areas.
Here’s a list of which management areas now require a hunting, fishing or combination license, per the Division of Wildlife Resources website:
- Birdseye WMA
- Blackhawk WMA
- Causey WMA
- Cinnamon Creek WMA
- Dairy Fork WMA
- Farmington Bay WMA
- Harold Crane WMA
- Hobble Creek WMA
- Howard Slough WMA
- Lake Fork WMA
- Lasson Draw WMA
- Lee Kay WMA
- Loafer Mountain WMA
- Lower Hobble Creek WMA
- Middle Fork WMA
- Ogden Bay WMA
- Provo Peak WMA
- Rock Island WMA
- Santaquin WMA
- Spencer Fork WMA
- Starvation WMA
- Timpanogos WMA
- Weber Face WMA
- West Hills WMA
- Willard Bay Upland Game Area
What other trail segments are impacted by the law?
A few different trail segments will be restricted due to the HB309 license requirement, and most are within the Timpanogos WMA.
Along with the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and the Great Western Trail, a number of other trails cross through or are within the Timpanogos WMA. According to the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation, here are the trails in that section which will require a license for people to access:
- Alta Ditch
- Aquila
- Beeline
- Blackbear
- Cliffrose
- Cottontail
- Curly Springs Trail
- Deer Mouse
- Dry Canyon Trail
- Elk Crossing
- Gopher Snake
- Lazuli
- Loop A
- Loop B
- Loop C
- Moose Back
- Rattlesnake
- Ruffy
- Swift Ridge
- Wild Turkey
Another impacted trail is the Baldy Ridge Trail. It crosses through the Causey WMA, and a license will be required to enter that section of the trail.
One exemption to the license requirement is the Wheatgrass Canyon Trail in the Causey WMA which is exempt because of a U.S. Forest Service easement.