No. Utah's 2013 deer hunt will be very similar to the 2012 hunt. It will again take place in 30 hunting units. If you've always hunted a particular area, you'll need to look at the online map to determine which of the 30 units contains that area.

You can apply for a general-season deer permit in the 2013 Big Game Drawing. The application period runs from Feb. 1, 2013 until 11 p.m. on March 4, 2013. See the 2013 Utah Big Game Application Guidebook for details.

You'll find the information you need in the 2012 general-season deer preference point purchase, bonus points and drawing odds report.

You can see view a statewide map of the 30 deer hunting units on our website. You can also view interactive maps of each of the 30 general-season deer units. You can also find a large printed map at Division offices. If you draw a general-season deer permit, a map will accompany your permit in the mail.

Some of the 30 units are made up of smaller subunits. (For example, three subunits make up the unit 12/16B/16C.) The DWR has years of historical harvest and management data for these subunits, which can be useful if you’re researching a particular area.

DWR biologists will recommend permit numbers in April 2013. The Utah Wildlife Board will decide on final permit numbers—for both the Big Game and Antlerless hunts—in May 2013. This is not a change from the timeline or process the DWR followed in 2012.

Your best—and possibly only—opportunity to obtain a general-season deer permit is in the 2013 Big Game Drawing. If any permits are available after the drawing, they will go on sale in July 2013.

In 2012, the Utah Legislature passed the Mule Deer Protection Act, which added a $5 fee to all Utah big game hunting permits. The fee went into effect on July 1, 2012. This fee is funding Utah's Predator Control Program, which pays participants $50 for each properly documented coyote that they kill in Utah.

Yes. If you apply for a general-season deer permit and don't draw one, you will receive a preference point. In fact, if you aren't successful in drawing your first choice—but you draw your second, third, fourth or fifth choice—you will still receive a preference point.

You will receive a general-season deer permit for the unit of your choice if you complete the Lifetime Questionnaire during the 2013 Big Game Application Period. Visit the DWR website between Feb. 1 and March 4, 2013 to access the application, complete the questionnaire and select a unit. If you do not complete the lifetime license questionnaire by March 4, 2013, you will automatically receive a permit for the unit you selected in 2012. For additional details, see page 19 of the 2013 Utah Big Game Application Guidebook or visit the Lifetime License page.

The Dedicated Hunter Program drawing will take place as part of the 2013 Big Game drawing. The application dates are from Feb. 1 to March 4, 2013. For more information on the program, visit the Dedicated Hunter Program website. For program drawing odds, see the 2012 Dedicated Hunter Odds Report. If you are already a Dedicated Hunter in the second or third year of the program, you will have the same unit that you had in 2012.

As in the past, these permits will be available from DWR regional offices on a first-come, first-served basis. If you qualify for a permit, it will only be valid for the unit in which you own land. If you own land in more than one unit, you must select the unit you want to hunt. See the Landowner Permits rule to learn more about eligibility for these permits.

Over the past five years, we have invested tens of millions of dollars to help our struggling herds. Read a quick overview of the ongoing, multi-pronged effort to help Utah's mule deer. You can also read in-depth information on habitat restoration, predators, research, disease and supplemental feeding.