Deseret News | Utah's deer population continues to struggle

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Utah's deer population continues to struggle

Did you say | 11:23 a.m. Oct. 14, 2009

HARSH winters? Come on DesNews haven't you heard of Al Gore and Global Warming. Hey in another 10 years or so Utah will be the tropics. Maybe that's the real problem; the crocs are eating the deer.

DWR | 11:25 a.m. Oct. 14, 2009

The DWR never seems to point out the fact that they are more concerned about making money than managing game herds. They have recieved pressure at RAC meetings over the last several years to keep the hunts short and sell less tags. Yet they continue to sell way to many deer tags, over hunt the deer and blame the ever changing feed and hard winters. Funny thing is our neighboring states have growing deer herds and they face the same problems.

Concerned Hunter | 11:29 a.m. Oct. 14, 2009

Can you believe the Utah DWR. They are all money hungry. 97,000 rifle general deer tags! Why in the world would they sell that many tags when the deer herds are suffering statewide. Its a no brainer that hunting and killing the buck in Utah's deer herds directly affects the number of fawns born the spring hereafter. Look at what growth happened in the Henry Mtn. Range when hunting was stopped for several years and properly maintained. If the Utah DWR really care about Utah's deer herds, they will manage the hunts in the state more intelligently. There are several options: 1) Stop hunting in certain regions for a couple of years and witness the growth(rotate the region every few years), 2)Make a statewide rule that 3 points or bigger can only be shot. If elk hunters in Spike only units could shoot any bulls, then there would be a huge hit on the population in general. Its not rocket science, however the Utah DWR doesn't care about Utah's Deer Herds in the future. We need to advocate for some change because things won't change as things are going today! CHANGE

Comments continue below

Wyoming Resident | 12:15 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

Harsh winters? Are you kidding me? I lived in Nephi, Utah for eleven years. There is no such thing as a harsh winter in Utah outside of Northern Utah, and there haven't been many of those over the past decade. Too many tags, too long of a season, and too many cougars and bears are the reason for the low number of deer. The reason the fawns aren't making it is because a large number of them are killed by cougars. Kill a lot more cougars and your herds will increase. In Wyoming we have a good herd. We don't have a great number of instate hunters, but we are even concerned about the cougar, wolf, and bear kills that are taking their toll on the deer and elk herds. Manage the predators, and you manage the herd.

neighboring state | 12:16 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

I was in a neighboring state the past 2 weekends and from 1 spot I could see 11 bucks and 9 doe - within 500 yds

Last weekend my sone joined me and the number was slightly fewer: 3 doe and 9 bucks, 1 of which my son harvested

This was on public land.

This was an area that has Winters at least as harsh as we have in Utah (generally).

The main differences are Wintering grounds and management strategies.

My first Utah buck - 35 years ago - is my 2nd biggest Utah buck.

RealistUt | 12:37 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

If deer are in such short supply how come so many are killed by cars every year? How does that factor into managing the game herds?

Anonymous | 12:44 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

But how many of those 97,000 tags actually shoot a deer? The biggest problem to our deer herd is the Cougars. I for one would rather see more deer and elk instead of "knowing" that there is a big population of cougars that we rarely ever see in the first place. Back when Utah had good deer herds, it wasn't because of the number of people hunting. It was because there were far less cougars back then.

re: DWR and Concerned Hunter | 12:49 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

Listen to all of you wildlife biologists out there. Get real, study the science. Based on your analysis we should go through boom and bust cycles. You don't realize that not every tag gets filled, what do you think the success rate is? How does removing some bucks reduce the number of fawns in spring? Is it statistically significant?

Dwr comments | 12:50 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

I read an article by the DWR in October of 2007 that said the reason for going back to the 9 day hunt was because statistics showed more bucks were killed on a 5 day hunt. If that is the case why are there 5 units going back to a 5 day hunt this year because the buck to doe ratio is not up to where it should be. They talk one way for a while and then when they make a change they talk the other way. If you kill more deer on a 5 day hunt, why would you go back to a 5 day hunt for units with low bucks. I think maybe they were having a hard time selling out of state tags because the hunt only lasted 5 days. My guess it is another money move just like selling everyone a spike elk permit. What do you think?

Wildlife | 12:55 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

You want to know why the Deer population is down go ask the big cats. Just the other day a runner was chased by a big cat. When you consider they take a Deer about every week and the number of cats in Utah why do you think the Deer are struggling?

Want to manage the Deer KILL the Cats.

My 2 Cents | 1:03 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

If I recall Des New ran a story a short time ago where it was pointed out that when cattle were more abundantly grazing they had a negative impact of Elk herds but a simbiotic relationship with deer. I suppose one should point out that DWR is a bureaucracy like any other government organization trying to be politically correct in all aspects of it charter. Good luck!! Maybe in a few years Utah can reintroduce deer like the wolf was reintroduced in Wyoming.

Concerned | 1:22 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

DWR claims that food supply is low. How many of you go out into your favorite hunting grounds and find the bitterbrush and other food supply short handed. Seems when I go out there is always plenty of food, still no homes, no cars and no deer. I would agree that over hunting is the problem. The Henry Mountains do not have a problem yet because they have not over hunted it. It has nothing to do with the Henry's having a milder winter or more feed.

Mikey | 2:07 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

DWR..........spend some of that money I've been giving you needlessly, on the deer herd istead of all the other hunts you consider more important. The deer hunt is horrible and our next move will be to quit hunting in UT, like so many others have. Then we'll see what happens next $$$$$$$$$$$

Show Me The Money$$$ | 3:28 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

We need someone to do a study on the DWR! That would help the deer heard! DWR DOES NOT GIVE A DARN about the deer herd its all money!!

AGNTSA | 4:34 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

Armchair biologists...gotta love 'em.

There are plenty of reasons Utah's deer herds are not doing well: Habitat loss, increased wildfires, predator populations, even competition from an expanding elk herd.

(Incidentally, why isn't the DWR getting credit for turning Utah into a world-class elk-hunting destination?)

The hard truth is that Utah's human population has increased 3-fold during the past 50 years, which in turn has caused the conversion of prime deer habitat along the Wasatch Front into subdivisions, which in turn has pushed the deer out and sent hunters to other parts of the state.

BADDWR | 9:14 a.m. Oct. 15, 2009

The problem is bad management by the DWR. I heard they are going to turn mosquito abatement over to the DWR, they manage to eliminate everything else.

HEED | 10:02 a.m. Oct. 31, 2009

AGNTSA just solidified the answer and didn't even realize it. We do have a world-class elk herd. You know why? They managed the herd. We didn't build too many houses and all the other excuses that have been given. If we would manage the herd it would grow.

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Utah's deer population continues to struggle