§ 23A-15-101. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Endangered Species Act” means the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.
(2) “Service” means the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(3) “Wolf” means the species Canis lupus.
Credits
Laws 2023, c. 103, § 236, eff. July 1, 2023.
§ 23A-15-102. Legislative findings and declarations
(1) Section 23A-2-201 appoints the division as trustee and custodian of protected wildlife in the state.
(2) The wolf has been listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act throughout the greater portion of the state.
(3) The service is the federal agency charged with responsibility to administer the Endangered Species Act.
(4) The service acknowledges that Utah is not critical to the recovery of wolves and that it does not intend to actively recover wolves in the state.
(5) The division prepared a wolf management plan outlining the division's management objectives for the wolf in Utah when the wolf was delisted and removed from federal control.
(6) The wolf management plan prepared by the division was formally submitted to the service in 2007 for approval.
(7) The service has neither approved, denied, nor otherwise commented on the plan since receiving it in 2007.
(8) The state formally requested, in writing on multiple occasions, that the service delist the wolf throughout Utah, and the service has failed to acknowledge or otherwise respond to the requests.
(9) The state cannot adequately or effectively manage wolves on a pack level in the small area of the state where the species is currently delisted without significantly harming other vital state interests, including livestock and big game populations.
(10) It is the policy of the state to legally advocate and facilitate the delisting of wolves in Utah under the Endangered Species Act and to return wolf management authority to the state.
Credits
Laws 2023, c. 103, § 237, eff. July 1, 2023.
Part 2. Wolf Management
§ 23A-15-201. Wolf management
(1) The division shall contact the service upon discovering a wolf in an area of the state where wolves are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act and request immediate removal of the animal from the state.
(2) The division shall manage wolves to prevent the establishment of a viable pack in all areas of the state where the wolf is not listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act until the wolf is completely delisted under the act and removed from federal control in the entire state.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to wolves lawfully held in captivity and restrained.
Credits
Laws 2023, c. 103, § 238, eff. July 1, 2023.
§ 23A-15-202. Rulemaking
The Wildlife Board may make administrative rules in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, to manage the wolf in accordance with this chapter.
Credits
Laws 2023, c. 103, § 239, eff. July 1, 2023.