maybe its just because the fish and game has mismanaged the deer herds in Utah. If they were cattle ranchers we would all starve.

Because the "fish and game" -- i.e., the Division of Wildlife Resources -- built all those houses up on the benches.

And there's a big difference between managing a natural resource and growing your own livestock.

Most Utah hunters seem to think that it's their constitutional right to get up at 7:00 AM on opening morning, drive up the canyon behind their house, shoot a big 4X4 buck just 50 feet off the road, and then make it back home in time to watch the football game on TV.

Thanks to the development along the Wasatch Front, those days (if they ever existed) are gone forever.

There are many factors which have contributed to the decline in mule deer populations in the Western US. Supposed government mismanagement of the herds is the least important of them.

The deer hunt is now a shadow of what it once was. The reasons are many but there can be blame thrown not just at Fish and Game but also at our own congress at the top of State Street in Salt Lake City. The hunt has become first and foremost a money making venture. Why lower the age to hunt big game to such a low level? Money. Why make the exclusive areas so expensive to draw out? Money. Fish and Game can not tell me why three people in the same house can not draw a big game tag for 3 years running. I know why. Money. The picture used in this article has sadly become the exception and is not representative, sadly. Soon all of Utah will be like the once-in-a-lifetime hunting areas, exclusive and over priced. Vey soon the average hunter will draw every 5 to 7 years all over the state for a premium price with negative dollar value. I am grateful to Wyoming for being far more hunter friendly. My children are having the same hunting experiences that I did growing up just in another state. Why? Utah doesn't care.

another state that is hunter friendly is idaho especially for the youth that are non residents an elk tag and deer tag in idaho are under 50 dollars and there is better hunting there then there is in utah because to find some really nice bull elk is to draw out for a limited tag and that can take ten plus years to accomplish if any parents read this and have kids between 14 and 18 i would recommend taking them to idaho its a much better state to work with and have some really nice animals to bring home

parts of wyoming have like a limited deer size that you can shoot in some areas and that is 4 point or better and they have that going for five years i think northern area of utah should do this for five years and i bet you will see many more bucks in the area and better size bucks as well

If there are less deer to hunt, why do the ones who are left keep jumping in front of cars and trucks?

i dont think utah cares about its hunters the buck to doe ration has doped significantly over the past 10 years and utah hasent done hardly anyting about it.

It is all about money and they do not care about the deer heards in Utah I am from Southern Utah and it is no longer a joke what has happened to the deer heards down here. I no longer hunt deer in Utah simply because I don't want to contibute to the extinction of the mule deer in utah. Wish it was when I was a kid growing up and there was heards in the hundreds. No longer been seeing close to 50-60 doe to buck ratio down here hope someone with any sense takes over this joke of management we have here.

it is a joke to hunt in utah