Those of us who enjoy the traditions of hunting and fishing know that Utah has some of the finest fields, forests and waters in the nation. Whether hunting buck mule deer on the Book Cliffs, chasing elk in the Uintas or fishing for cutthroat trout in the Strawberry Reservoir, sportsmen can pursue a seemingly endless array of outdoor opportunities in the Beehive State.

Hunting in Utah wasn't always this exceptional. After a period of unregulated hunting of wildlife during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Utah Legislature placed a ban on doe hunting in 1913, because settlers had nearly wiped out the state's mule deer herd. The ban lasted 37 years. After the herd was rebuilt through careful management and a strong conservation ethic, hunters experienced the highest mule deer populations on record during the 1950s and '60s. While drought and other factors have affected Utah's mule deer populations over the past 40 years, opportunities for high-quality hunting experiences in Utah are still some of the best in the nation, thanks to responsible big game management.

Despite a century of hard work from conservation-minded Utah hunters and wildlife managers, a developing threat now exists that may have major implications for the future of the state's big game herd. Poorly planned oil and gas development may significantly impact wildlife habitat and, consequently, decrease the quality of hunting in Utah.

To date, 3.9 million acres of Utah's public lands have been leased for energy development — much of it in prime big game habitat and without adequate planning for the needs of wildlife. After buying a lease, a company has a contractual right to develop the land for at least 10 years. Most of the leased public land in Utah hasn't yet seen the drill bit, but this soon could change. Given that many of these sites contain some of the finest deer and elk habitat in the world, the potential impacts of such development on our outdoor heritage are alarming.

To see how developing natural gas the wrong way can impact hunting, look to Utah's neighbors. Outside of Pinedale, Wyo., unbalanced energy development on top of serious drought and habitat loss has resulted in shorter seasons, fewer available tags and a lot of outdoorsmen wondering what happened to the area's legendary mule deer hunting.