Relocation of wildlife a worthy effort

Last week, Antelope on the Parker Mountain were herded into a pen, singled out and sent off to start new lives at new addresses.

Today, California bighorn sheep on Antelope Island will be captured in nets, singled out and then sent to a new location.

Both projects, under the direction of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, are part of the overall plan to build Utah's wildlife population. Both are examples of the success of Utah's wildlife relocation program.

What few people realize is that without such help, Utah's big game population would be limited to a few animals in sparse locations. Seeing a moose or bighorn sheep or antelope would, in fact, be a rare experience.

Consider:

• Elk roamed freely in the mountainous areas of Utah prior to settlement. Over-hunting by early pioneers nearly wiped out Utah's elk. The last remaining stronghold was in the Uinta Mountains.

Elk from Yellowstone National Park were brought in to rebuild the population on Fishlake, the Oquirrh Mountains, Mount Nebo, Logan Canyon and on the Manti National Forest.

Today, Utah's elk are at or near management objectives on every unit.

• Utah's antelope population was nearly wiped out at the turn of the 20th century. Some suggest there were as few as 700 antelopes alive when Utah put a ban on hunting in 1898. Through management and relocation programs, Utah's antelope population has grown dramatically.

Over the past eight years, more than 5,000 antelopes have been trapped on the Parker Mountain unit and moved to other parts of the state in order to build populations.

• The first moose sighting in Utah is believed to be around 1906 or 1907 when one was killed in Spanish Fork Canyon. The next sighting wouldn't be until 1918. Eventually, under state protection, populations were established in the Uintas and Chalk Creek. In order to start populations in other areas, the DWR began a capture-and-move program in 1973. Today, moose are common attractions in places in the state, and even, on occasion, down among residential homes.

• Utah's parent herd of buffalo on the Henry Mountains came from Yellowstone and consisted of three bulls and 15 cows. Today, there are several hundred head on the unit. On Antelope Island, which also started with a transplant herd, there are more than 700 buffalo and are a common attraction.