Archives: Game Management & Legislation
SFW Instrumental in Mule Deer Transplant Project
51 doe deer along the Parowan Front (the wildlife management area by Summit, Utah just north of Cedar City, Utah) were captured January 7-8, 2013 and translocated to the Fillmore WMA east of Holden, Utah. 50 female deer at the Holden site were also collared as a control group for the 3 year study on this particular translocation. This historic project is a joint effort between the Utah Division of Wildlife, BYU, and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, and it’s one of the first studies of its kind to more closely gauge how the timing of the translocation of the deer affects the survival and strength of the herd.
These deer were selected due to concerns by the Utah Division of Wildlife biologists that the winter range along the Parowan Front was being overrun with too many deer and greatly negatively impacting the habitat and ability for winter range recovery.
The deer were captured, hobbled, blindfolded, and flown by helicopter to key staging areas north of Cedar City. The deer were then weighed, tested for disease, and measured for body fat and overall health by DWR, BYU and SFW volunteers. They were then collared and driven by trailer to the WMA east of Holden, where they were released.
Another translocation of 50 female deer from the Parowan Front to east of Holden will take place in March. The translocated deer will be monitored for 3 years. BYU researchers want to see if differences in transplanting times of the deer determine how effectively they will survive. SFW will donate over $240,000 over the next three years to help fund the study.
SFW would like to thank the teams from the Southern Region and Salt Lake City DWR offices, BYU and the local SFW committee for making all of this possible.
SFW Donates $1 Million Dollars to the DWR
On December 5 the Executive Board of the Utah Wildlife Conservation Group Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife presented the Utah DWR Director, Greg Sheehan, and the Utah Wildlife Board a check for $1,071,284.58. This check represents money raised by the Wildlife Conservation Group SFW. This money will be used by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to benefit Utah’s wildlife, including habitat work, translocations of species, and critical wildlife research.
Greg Sheehan Named New Utah DWR Director
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and the Utah Department of Natural Resources announced the selection of Greg Sheehan as the new director of the Division of Wildlife Resources. SFW supports Greg and the leadership he will bring along with his team at the Utah DWR. We face many challenges in Utah’s wildlife but are excited about the future and the progressive leadership Greg can bring to all sportsman. Utah DWR Press Release
RMEF Critique of “Special Permits” Draws Response from Utah DWR
RMEF Calls for Transparency on State Special Big Game Permits (read more …)
Utah Division of Wildlife letter to RMEF points out concerns about critical comments (read more…)
UPDATE: How SFW is helping fix Utah’s Mule Deer
Big Dollars for Predator Control in Utah
There has been a tremendous amount of interest in two bills from Utah’s legislature aimed at using sportsmen and public/private partnerships aimed to increase mule deer fawn survival. Theses two forward thinking bills, S.B. 87 and S.B. 245 provide more than $1 Million new dollars for funding predator control in the state of Utah. Last month, both bills were signed by Governor Gary Herbert in a historic ceremony at Hoyt archery’s worldwide headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah.
S.B. 87 entitled, “Predator Control Funding,” and sponsored by Senator Hinkins places a $5 dollar surcharge on big game tags to raise money for coyote removal by trappers and hunters. It is estimated that this S.B. 87 surcharge will raise an additional $500,000-600,000 for predator control. The other bill, S.B. 245, entitled “Mule Deer Protection Act” and sponsored by Senator Okerlund provides a $750,000 state general fund match to the sportsmens’ dollars provided by S.B. 87.
$500,000 of the S.B. 245 dollars will go to Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) and $250,000 will go to Wildlife Services to help fund a new helicopter for predator control work aimed at fixing Utah’s Mule Deer herds. Collectively, these two bills provide approximately $1 million dollars of ongoing funding to fix mule deer populations in Utah. Some of this funding will also be directed to USDA Wildlife Services to augment existing removal efforts on mule deer fawning grounds.
Bounties in Utah
Currently 12 of 29 Utah counties provide bounties to private individuals for coyote removal. These bounties are typically $20 or $25 dollars per coyote and are administered in various ways in the different counties. Our suggestion to Utah DWR was that coyote bounties be increased to $50 dollars and be implemented statewide in a consistent fashion to incentivize greater efforts by hunters and trappers to take more coyotes, particularly in areas where predator control can increase fawn survival and otherwise lead to mule deer population rebounds. Remember, these bills are directed at recovering Utah’s mule deer.
A quick reminder of an obvious, but important, aspect of this program: for this effort to be effective, these dollars must be spent on Utah coyotes. If you harvest a coyote in Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Wyoming or elsewhere, do not bring it to Utah for incentive dollars. Not only is this unethical and probably illegal, it will undermine the goal of increasing fawn survival in Utah. This type of behavior could even put future funding for this effort at risk by over reporting coyote harvest while doing nothing to increase fawn survival in Utah. Payment for out-of-state coyotes would also deplete money for much needed increases in harvest of Utah coyotes. It will be the responsibility of concerned sportsmen in Utah to not only make sure these dollars are utilized, but to ensure that these dollars are used to fix Utah’s mule deer problem.
Progress on Program Development
Since the signing of these bills, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife and Big Game Forever have been working with Utah DWR on the best way to use these dollars to fix Mule Deer. DWR is the statutory designee of finalizing and implementing these programs consistent with the legislative intent of these bills. At this point, we still do not have any finalized proposals by DWR, but a tremendous amount of progress has been made regarding various aspects of these programs. While it appears that some of the likely proposals from DWR may be a bit different from what we originally expected, the conversations with DWR remain focused on improving fawn survival and overall mule deer populations.
Predator Control Coordination
Utah DWR is also exploring the possibility of employing two full-time coyote removal specialists to help administer these programs and dollars for maximum impact for mule deer. These individuals would be tasked with focusing full-time on finding ways to use predator control to increase mule deer fawn survival and overall population growth. Additionally, the specialists would be tasked with helping direct the effort of sportsmen to provide the greatest value to mule deer recovery. These specialists would also work to ensure that trouble areas are being targeted every year and to minimize overlap with the efforts of federal wildlife services. It should be noted that in some instances, collaborative efforts with federal wildlife services may prove to provide the most dramatic increases in fawn survival.
Mission Accomplishment
We strongly feel that the focus should remain on the goal of Mule Deer Recovery by utilizing the new and existing coyote removal dollars to: (1) ensure maximum benefit for Utah’s Mule Deer; and (2) incentivize sportsmen to spend more time removing coyotes in key areas across Utah to fix Utah’s deer herd. After several meetings with the Division of Wildlife Resources, it appears that there are several ways in which this program could be implemented to allow sportsmen to participate in the incentives to remove Utah coyotes. The total incentive program dollars may also be broken down into different categories to provide some flexibility to accomplish the goal of recovering mule deer.
We are open to some of these ideas, such as targeted bounties, but are concerned about other ideas. We should also note that Utah DWR is leaning away from providing a $50 bounty in areas that hold few mule deer, such as, but not limited to, the west desert. There will likely be some costs and overhead to implement these incentive efforts. We feel strongly that it is important that most of the new and existing dollars be utilized for coyote removal by sportsmen and USDA wildlife services, rather than being used for program or other non-incentive costs. To do otherwise would be a departure from the legislative justification for providing these new dollars for coyote removal.
The first of the new coyote control incentive money will be appropriated in July of 2012. The remainder will be available in 2013. Although the money will be appropriated, it is still unclear when coyote removal dollars will be available for sportsmen. As Utah DWR works to develop the recommendations of how this incentive money will be utilized, we ask each of you to watch for developments as they occur over the next few months. We are encouraging significant sportsmen input and involvement before any recommendations are finalized. The good news is that these dollars are available every year so long as no further changes are made by the Utah legislature. We can expect that this program will be modified and refined over time as lessons are learned in order to maximize mule deer population recovery efforts in Utah.
Conclusion
We are not ready to give up on Utah’s mule deer. It is time to once again have over 400,000 mule deer in the state of Utah. Not only is this a sustainable minimum population goal, but 400,000 mule deer will allow for more real hunting opportunity for families and more big bucks, even in general season areas. We owe it to Utah’s mule deer. We owe it to our children, grandchildren and the future of wildlife conservation in Utah.
Watch SFW’s Mule Deer Video
Sign the SFW Mule Deer Petition
Millions to Pour Into Mule Deer Recovery
Salt Lake City, Utah – March 18, 2012 – Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed two pieces of legislation into law that will bring millions to the rescue of struggling mule deer herds in the Beehive state.
Gov. Herbert’s official support means that Utah coyote control funding will increase by $1.25 million a year. $500,000 comes from a $5 license fee increase, and $750,000 comes from general sales tax revenue from the state of Utah. In total, now nearly $2 million annually will be invested to control coyotes and rebuild deer herds. The governor has studied the issues surrounding why Utah’s mule deer herds are struggling at near all-time lows. SFW has worked closely with the governor and wildlife officials to identify the problems and what can be done to ease pressure on deer.
“Data has shown that coyote predation is a major negative contributor to Utah’s deer survival,” according to SFW President Byron Bateman. “Our deer numbers are dwindling despite tens of millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to protect winter habitat, fence highways and improve conditions for Utah’s deer. This is some of the most important legislation related to deer management that Utah has seen in many years. We are very optimistic it will have a positive impact over time for mule deer recovery.”
The event was held at Hoyt Archery and Easton Technical new production facility in Salt Lake City. The world’s leader in Archery equipment is a strong supporter of SFW and mule deer recovery effortd. On hand at the signing event was state Senator Ralph Okerlund, state Senator David Hinkins, and House of Representative Kay McKiff, all leading legislative sponsors. SFW and the governor also thanked Senators Allen Christensen and Margaret Dayton and Representatives Mike Noel as well. Randy and Coni Brooks, major SFW sponsors, and many SFW volunteers and chapter leaders were on hand with several Hoyt employees.
The Utah Division of Wildlife will be working with sportsmen and the Department of Agriculture to get the most bang for the buck on this coyote control program. It will be centered around rural, private contractors who will be compensated on performance-based programs, and augmenting the current aerial gunning and local county coyote bounty programs.
Sign SFW’s Mule Deer Petition here
Watch the SFW Mule Deer video here
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Hunters Show Support for SFW’s Mule Deer Initiative
Hunters show support Utah Governor Herbert they support SFW's Mule Deer Initiative
Sportsmen for Fish & Wildlife (SFW) held several town hall-style meetings with hunters in many parts of the Beehive State in recent weeks. The purpose was to outline SFW’s Mule Deer Now initiative, a bold new plan to increase Utah’s Mule Deer populations. Roughly 360 SFW members/hunters met with Utah Governor Herbert in Cache Valley and a week earlier more than 400 hunters attended the meeting in Cedar City.
“Mule deer is our number one priority species, and our members are focused keenly on improving both quantity and quality of our deer population,” said SFW President Byron Bateman. “There is a lot of energy among hunters to do something to fix the declining deer herds in Utah, and we need to do it now.”
Such support and hunter turn out at these meetings sends clear messages to state game and fish managers and elected officials. SFW Founder Don Peay said, “In a small northern Utah town, 400 people came to a public meeting with Utah Governor Gary Herbert. Forty of them came to talk about taxes, energy, education and immigration. But 360 of them were hunters who want to fix our deer herd and keep wolves out of Utah.”
Governor Herbert made it clear that restoring Utah’s mule deer numbers is a big priority for him. Dr. Dwight Israelsen, a passionate mule deer hunter and chair of Utah State’s economics department, also addressed the crowd and Governor Herbert regarding the critical need to fix Utah’s mule deer.
On Governor Herbert’s Facebook page was posted this message about the Mule Deer meeting: “Had a great time last night in Wellsville speaking with an auditorium full of Sportsman about public lands and wildlife management. Thanks to the Cache Republican Party for hosting a great event.”
SFW is holding additional meetings throughout the state in partnership with Big Game Forever, an organization dedicated to preserving ungulate species of North America. SFW’s Mule Deer Now initiative outlines four major objectives for Utah Mule Deer:
- Make Mule Deer recovery in Utah a primary objective.
- Manage Mule Deer to produce and sustain a minimum 400,000 mule deer population statewide.
- Dramatically increase predator control funding and efforts in each county within Utah.
- Set Mule Deer hunting permit numbers annually, and decrease the number of tags when necessary, according to mule deer populations and buck-to-doe ratios within each of Utah’s 30 individual mule deer regions.
Utah’s Conservation Permits Program Found “Beneficial” by Legislative Auditor General
Conservation Permits and Cooperative Wildlife Management Units – Beneficial
Parleys Canyon Wildlife Fence Reduces Roadkill
BY LEE DAVIDSON
The Salt Lake Tribune
Far fewer cars are crashing into deer, elk and moose along Interstate 80 in Parleys Canyon after federal stimulus money paid for a high fence to reduce roadkill along a deadly three-mile segment. Read more …
Thirty deer hunting units in 2012
Originally published here.
General season deer hunting in Utah in 2012 will happen within 30 smaller areas known as hunting units. Photo by Mike Keller
Salt Lake City — Deer hunters, the wait is over. The number of smaller areas Utah’s five general season regions will be split into for the 2012 season has been decided.
And that number is 30.
The decision to split Utah into 30 smaller areas called units was made June 9 by the Utah Wildlife Board.
The boundaries for the 30 hunting units mirror the boundaries for management areas the Division of Wildlife Resources set up decades ago. The DWR split the state into management areas to help biologists gather biological data about the wildlife in each area.
“These unit boundaries were established a long time ago to encompass deer populations in the state,” says Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the DWR. “The units have clear, definable boundaries. The boundaries should be easy for hunters to follow.”
See maps that show the boundaries for each of the 30 units.
The Wildlife Board will determine the number of permits for each unit in spring 2012.
