Former Utah Wildlife Commissioner under investigation for deer baiting

Few people thought much about it when a member of the Utah Wildlife Board resigned in October, citing a lack of free time to continue in his role. Now new information has been obtained by a reporter from the Utah investigative journalism project sheds new light on Wade Heaton’s resignation. This includes a 62-page report from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources naming Heaton as a suspect in the state’s investigation into alleged solicitation violations at the Heaton Ranch in Kane County — the same property where he operates. Color Country Outfitters.

According to the Salt Lake Grandstandthat broke news of the report on Tuesday, Heaton submitted his resignation email within a week of that report being completed. Living outside was unable to obtain a copy of the report in time for publication, but a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Natural Resources confirmed in an email that that report lists Wade Heaton as a suspect. She also said the report was turned over to the Utah County Attorney’s Office for screening. Neither Heaton nor the State Attorney’s Office immediately responded to requests for comment.

Heaton operates a team that offers high-dollar mule deer hunting at Heaton Ranch, a working cattle ranch on the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The ranch is part of the Alton Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit, and the DWR confirmed this with the Salt Lake Grandstand that Heaton is the operator of that unit. (The CWMU program is a unique type of public-private land partnership in Utah that provides landowners with vouchers for big game permits, which they can then sell to hunters; as part of that exchange, the DWR requires landowners to provide the public with hunting opportunities that are “comparable to private hunting.”)

The 62-page report highlighted by theStand names Heaton as one of seven suspects in the DWR investigation into unlawful baiting of big game, unlawful taking/possession of protected wildlife, and “a pattern of unlawful activity” at the Alton CWMU. The Stand also spoke with a local hunter who was listed in the report as one of 11 witnesses or “involved/others,” and who drew a public tag to hunt with his father at the Alton CWMU last fall. The hunter said they asked an outfitter employee about the salt licks and water troughs they had seen on the ranch, and the person deferred his questions to Heaton, saying the DWR already knew about those things .

“As far as we’re concerned, Mr. Heaton is the division,” the fighter told the news station.

Read next: Wildlife Commissioner Cited for Hunting Turkeys for Bait Says He Didn’t Know the Crickets Were There

Baiting big game is illegal in Utah since 2021. The DWR defines ace as “the deliberate placement of food or nutrients to manipulate the behavior of wildlife for the purpose of capturing or attempting to capture game.” The agency can issue special permits to landowners who have deer or other wildlife that raid their crops or cause property damage. An exception is also made for salt licks and other mineral blocks used for “normal agricultural purposes”.

The DWR’s report did not specify what type of bait the suspects allegedly used, the DWR said Stand.

Heaton, a fifth-generation rancher in Kane County, has been a county commissioner there since 2019, the same year he was appointed to the The Utah Wildlife Board by Governor Gary Herbert. Like wildlife commissions in other states, the board makes general policy decisions regarding hunting, fishing and trapping, and helps guide DWR’s wildlife management agenda. During a meeting in NovemberDWR Director Justin Shirley thanked Heaton for his service and noted that the vacancy will not be filled until the end of Heaton’s six-year term in 2025. However, Heaton is still running for re-election as Kane County Commissioner this fall, according to a Facebook group promote his campaign.

It’s unclear what will happen next with the state investigation, but the Stand reports that no charges have been filed yet. The operators and users of CWMUs are subject to additional hunting rules established by the DWR, and the State Wildlife Board has the power to remove landowners from the program if they violate these rules or any other part of the Utah Wildlife Code.