There is a proposal before the legislature to allow trophy hunting for two deer, two buffalo and two big-horn sheep.
"If they were hunted, they would (quickly) be gone," said Wilf Sommerkorn, the county's community and economic development director.
"All groups are very in favor of watchable wildlife," he said. "At $20 a head (to view the animals up-close through an expedition), that brings in a fair amount of revenue."
J. Spencer Kinard, president of Friends of Antelope Island, emphasized that group was "very opposed" to similar legislation proposed in 2000, and continues that stance.
"It (trophy hunting) would start Oct. 20, right in the middle of the roundup," he said. "It would also take control (and funding) out of the hands of State Parks. Any revenue generated would also not go to Antelope Island. "As a group, we think the bill is bad policy, a serious detriment. It would really provide an opportunity for a privileged few. It'd be there (trophy hunting) for three years, then it would be gone" as animals were killed off, he said.
"He wants Utah to be a rich man's preserve," said Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, of Sen. Bill Hickman, R-St. George, himself a hunter.
"There is not a single biological reason to hunt to cull the herds," said County Commis-sioner Dannie McConkie.
The buffalo population is strong enough that permits are provided to hunt two island bison a year.
Part of the reason behind current limited hunting is to build the big horn sheep population as a breeding ground. Some of those animals are then shipped to parks around the state, McConkie said.
In the meantime, the state's largest newspaper came out strongly against the proposal in an editorial published over the weekend.
tbusselberg@davisclipper.com
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