Many Utah deer in peril

PRICE — Utah's sagebrush is in trouble. And because of it, so are thousands of Utah's deer.

Upward of 400,000 acres of critical winter range sagebrush along the entire eastern third of the state — from the Uinta Basin south to Bluff — may already be lost to drought, grazing, disease or old age. If it is, the deer that normally feed on that sagebrush during the winter will also be lost.

"We won't know for sure if we've lost the sagebrush until next spring," said Chris Colt, habitat program manager/wildlife biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, as he looked over the gray and dying land. "The sagebrush looks dead. And, if you break one of the branches it's brittle, like it's dead.

"What we do know is that come winter, there will be no food for deer on critical winter range."

During the winter, sagebrush is a mule deer's staple diet.

Normally, the sagebrush-covered plateaus this time of year would be a sea of light-green leaves and a source of a tart, wild fragrance. But the only smell is the annoying presence of dust picked up by the wind.

Whatever happens to the sagebrush could be a death sentence for the deer in either case.

A severe winter, which could bring enough moisture to revive the sagebrush, could kill off the deer. Another mild winter could mean insufficient moisture and the certain loss of sagebrush, starvation for the deer and a possible invasion of noxious weeds.

Wildlife managers face this dilemma: Do they call for a higher harvest, in anticipation of a harsh winter — to lessen use on what limited food is available and save as many deer as possible from starvation. Or stay with the present program and let nature run her course, and if starvation is in the cards, so be it.

Alan Clark, wildlife section chief for the DWR, said management objectives are so low in the Southeastern Region that a higher harvest may not be necessary, but deer numbers are higher in the Northeastern Region, and issuing more permits for the fall hunt may be necessary.

And feeding deer is not possible in the two regions. The discovery of chronic wasting disease in both the Southeastern and Northeastern regions (so far one deer in each region) eliminates that option. Feeding would bring large numbers of deer together, increasing the risk of spreading the disease.

"No question," said Clark, "this is one of the toughest situations I've faced in the wildlife arena."

This is the first time wildlife officers have seen such huge losses of winter range.

The drought, obviously, has played a part in the current conditions of sagebrush. The plants have been under drought stress for five years. Also, some of the older sagebrush may have outlived its growing capabilities.