Originally a broad wildlife omnibus bill, a last-minute provision was added that removed many previous restrictions on cougar hunting. Opposition to the billUtah reports the state’s cougar populations to have increased from 2004 levels, but below a 2016 peak, and are now decreasing. Cougar populations are notoriously difficult to measure. HB 469 also expanded trapping rules and reduced some previous restrictions governing cougar hunting and guiding. Green says cougar populations are estimated by using habitat models rather than direct counts because the animals are elusive and “wide-ranging.”