Utah Makes Hunting and Fishing a Constitutional Right

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Benjamin Burgholzer

Managing Editor at Harvesting Nature

Benjamin Burgholzer is an enthusiast of wild foods and wild places, a part-time professor, small business owner, freelance writer, and the Managing Editor of Harvesting Nature. A novice backpack hunter and seasoned fly fisherman, when he is not working or writing, he spends as much time as possible in the mountains of Oregon, where he has recently moved to from upstate New York.

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Utahns recently amended their state’s constitution to protect the right to hunt and fish, with nearly three out of four of every Utahns voting in favor of the amendment. This makes Utah the 19^th state to do so, the first being Vermont in 1777.

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Utah House Rep. Casey Snider (R.), pictured above, who sponsored the amendment said, “Hunting and fishing has always been a critical component of our state. … It’s a part of who we are. This bill is not only about protecting who we are, but preserving who we are going forward. … It is not unforeseeable, and history bares this out, that 30 or 40 or 50 years from now, those participating in [hunting and fishing] will be a very significant minority, more so than they already are. It is not a foregone conclusion that these sort of activities will be eliminated from the public sphere and from conservation generally and at large.”

This bill guarantees citizens of Utah a right to fish, hunt, and trap indefinitely and also provides a useful framework for fighting anti-hunting legislature that has emerged throughout the country. We over at Harvesting Nature hope more states will follow suit to help ensure our way of life isn’t going anywhere.