SALT LAKE CITY — A unique chance to introduce young people to waterfowl hunting awaits Sept. 27, as Utah holds its annual Youth Hunting Day.

"Holding this day is important to the future of waterfowl hunting and the future of Utah's wetlands," says Tom Aldrich, waterfowl coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. "The number of young people participating in all types of hunting has declined in recent years. If that trend continues, the funding hunters provide to conserve wetlands will also decline, and that will affect everyone who enjoys visiting these areas.

"Letting young people hunt waterfowl, without all the adult hunters out there and when waterfowl numbers are high, is a great way to get them interested in and excited about waterfowl hunting," Aldrich says. "And, since adults can't hunt that day, it gives them more time to teach young hunters good hunting skills, safety and ethics."

All of the state's waterfowl management areas, and the three federal migratory bird refuges in Utah, will be open to youth hunters on Sept. 27. To hunt that day, hunters must be 12 to 15 years old; a Hunter Education safety course graduate; possess a small game or combination license; and be accompanied by their parent or an adult who's at least 21 years old or older.

The adult may not hunt or possess a firearm and must supervise the young people they take. An adult may take as many young people as they'd like, provided the hunters are the proper age and possess the proper licenses.

Shooting on Sept. 27 begins at 8:00 a.m. Youth hunters may take ducks, geese, coots and mergansers and must stay within general season limits. The 2003 – 2004 daily duck bag limit is seven ducks, including not more than two hen mallards, one pintail, one canvasback, two redheads and four scaups.

The daily Canada goose bag limit is three.

Snipe and swans may not be taken on Youth Hunting Day.

For more information, contact the nearest Division of Wildlife Resources office or the DWR's Salt Lake City office at (801) 538-4700.

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2:28:24 PM    

Lieutenant Governor Olene Walker joined senior Mexican officials today to announce a historic agreement signed between the state of Utah and Mexico to track the educational competencies of Mexican children who attend schools in Utah. The agreement, which initiates a process to establish educational standards and a web-based record of student achievement, is a first step in improving educational services provided to the nearly 30,000 children of Mexican migrant workers who attend public schools in Utah each year.

"Far too many of these children are poorly served because teachers do not have adequate measures of their abilities or their educational history," said Lt. Gov. Olene Walker. "By defining and measuring the competencies of these children, we can improve their education and do it with less cost."

The agreement essentially aligns the two governments' education standards and then creates a web-based record of student achievement and progress. The system will help teachers track students who move in and out of the state and among school districts. Utah is the first state to enter into this kind of a landmark agreement with the Mexican government.

"Little if any information about the educational background of these students is available to Utah teachers," said John W. Bennion, the project director for the Oquirrh Institute, a Salt Lake City-based, non-profit organization that helped develop and broker this agreement, and former superintendent of the Salt Lake City School District. "Having such a record that is kept up to date will greatly reduce the likelihood of students falling through the cracks."

Work on the agreement commenced after Gov. Mike Leavitt visited with Mexican President Vicente Fox last February during a Utah trade mission. During the meeting, they spoke of the shared responsibility Utah and Mexico have to educate the thousands of children who migrate between Mexico and Utah each year. The conversation planted the seeds for today's announcement.

Senior Mexican officials in town this weekend to sign the agreement include: Jose Maria Fraustro Siller, Subsecretary for Planning and Coordination; Daniel Gonzalez Spencer, Director General for International Affairs; and Lorenzo Gomez-Morin Fuentes, Subsecretary for Basic Education and Teacher Training. The agreement was also signed by Gov. Mike Leavitt and Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven O. Laing.

This first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed by December. Phase II of the project, which will align high school standards in the core academic areas and graduation requirements, is projected to be completed in the summer of 2004.
11:08:36 AM    

The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) has been awarded $15 million in federal funding to further enhance public health’s ability to prepare for and respond to acts of bioterrorism in Utah.

The UDOH and Utah’s twelve local health departments submitted a grant proposal to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in June. On September 8, the UDOH received grant approval for $10.9 million. Of these funds, more than $4 million will be distributed to the local health departments based on population and need. This 2003-2004 grant is about $1 million more than last year’s funding. This additional funding is intended for laboratory preparedness, smallpox preparedness and plans for deployment of the Strategic National Stockpile in Utah.

In addition to the CDC funding, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has issued preliminary approval to the UDOH for a $4.4 million dollar grant aimed at helping hospitals and clinics develop their response capacity by increasing education, equipment and supplies. This grant is $3.3 million more than the previous year’s grant funding and will be administered by the UDOH’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services while working closely with Utah’s health care system.

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10:56:45 AM