Expect more bucks this deer season

Those hunters headed out for the general rifle deer hunt in October can expect to find just about the same thing archery hunters found in August — more bucks.

According to Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, "The buck-to-doe ratio has been right around the minimum objective of 15 bucks per 100 does since 1998. We've had a couple of years where it's peaked at 17 bucks per 100 does though 2000 and now again this year."

DWR biologists determine the ratio by conducting on-the-ground surveys after the hunting seasons in the fall. This past winter was mild in Utah, so most of the bucks biologists saw last fall, and many of the buck fawns, should be available to hunters this fall.

According to the DWR survey:

In the Northern Region, the ratio was 16 per 100 in 2005 and went up to 18 bucks per 100 does in 2006.

In the Central and Northeastern regions, numbers remain stable at 15 per 100 does and 16 per 100 does, respectively.

The Southeastern Region jumped from 17 to 20 bucks per 100 does from 2005 to 2006.

The only drop was in the Southern Region where it went from 17 to 16 per 100 does from 2005 to 2006.

Aoude said it is estimated there were roughly 320,000 adult mule deer in Utah this past spring, which is up from 296,000 counted in the spring of 2006.

"Conditions for deer in Utah started improving in about 2003," he said. "We've had fair moisture over the past few years, and the winters have been mild."

While deer were affected by some of the wildfires in Utah this summer, the biggest fire — the Milford Flat fire in south-central Utah — burned an area that few deer use during the hunting season.

Early reports show:

— In the Northern Region, deer populations have increased. One exception is the Cache unit. The deer population on this unit is well below the management objective. The current population on the unit is stable to slightly increasing in number.

More than 85 percent of the fawns born in spring 2006 made it through this past winter, and deer populations have increased in nearly all of the region's units.

In the Central Region, hunters should notice a few more young bucks.

"Because of plentiful habitat and favorable weather conditions, 2006 was a good year for fawns in the region," said Craig Clyde, wildlife manager. "Hunters should see many young buck deer in the region this fall."

He added that about 45 percent of the deer biologists checked last year were 2 1/2 or older.

The western half of the region has fewer deer because of the drier desert conditions.