Details: Last Updated: Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 1:17 pm

Dealing with drought

Drought affects many fish and wildlife species and can impact their population numbers. More animals may die due to competition for increasingly limited resources. Drought may lead some animals to seek food and water in urban areas, causing conflicts with humans. When drought reduces the amount of water in lakes, reservoirs and streams, the remaining water heats up quickly and has less oxygen, stressing fish and causing die-offs.

This page is a resource for describing the effects of Utah's current drought on wildlife in the state, as well as explaining how the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is working to try and mitigate these effects.

For more information on current drought conditions across the state, visit the drought conditions website at drought.utah.gov.

Wildlife

Deer and other big game species can be severely affected by drought. The limited availability of food and water can lead to a reduced number of newborn fawns and fewer fawns that survive their first year. The harsh conditions can also reduce the number of huntable buck deer and result in lower overall deer population numbers.

Pahvaunt Unit, Millard County, May 2021

Does struggle with drought largely because the decreased food supply either limits their ability to get pregnant, or, if their body condition is poor during pregnancy, the growth of the fetus may be impacted. The in utero impacts of drought will be felt for the entire life of the deer, and for male offspring, may result in relatively smaller antlers even after reaching maturity.

Drought can also impact antler growth for buck deer because a sparse food supply provides fewer nutrients, which bucks need to grow antlers.

Deer and other wildlife can end up in your yard or garden to find food, although there are ways to deter them. It is important that you not try to feed animals such as deer, moose or bear yourself, as you may cause more harm than good. The animals could become habituated and lose their natural fear of people, or they could attract predators.

Upland game and migratory birds are also impacted by drought conditions. In addition to ongoing drought impacting the Great Salt Lake, Utah’s wetlands provide a crucial source of food for migrating birds. Reduced water in wetland environments means not having aquatic invertebrates or vegetation, food sources that waterfowl, shorebirds and other birds such as pelicans, ibises and herons depend upon. There has been an extreme reduction in foraging habitat for birds over the last decade due to ongoing drought and decreased water levels. This results in reduced fat accumulations for birds to complete long migrations, and increased disease transmission (such as avian influenza) from populations concentrating at remaining water sources.

In other areas of Utah, drought impacts upland game animals — including grouse, quail, partridges, pheasants, turkeys, rabbits and hares — in a diverse range of habitats. In many cases, these species rely upon winter snowpack, spring precipitation and/or summer monsoons for replenishing water sources. When pressured by drought, these species decline due to adult die-off, but predominantly due to having smaller clutch sizes and lower nest success rates. Drought often results in higher mortality for chicks due to the lack of good cover (making them easy prey for also-stressed predators) and fewer bugs (their major food source).

Cottontail rabbits and snowshoe hares are also impacted by drought. Although they don't require free-standing water, they do rely on grasses and other forage for hydration. This is true for many upland game species, especially outside of brood-rearing seasons. Upland species may move into more urban or agricultural areas due to less water, especially quail, turkey, pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse and partridge.

The best way to help wildlife is to leave them alone and let them stay wild. If, however, you see an animal that looks sick, is injured or is acting aggressively, you should report it to the nearest DWR office. ( Here are other common wildlife scenarios where you should contact the DWR.)

Fish

Drought impacts fish by reducing the amount of water available in lakes, reservoirs and streams. Less water heats up more quickly and has less oxygen, stressing the fish and causing more to die. Trout in low-elevation waterbodies are most likely to be impacted by drought, although all fish species can be affected.

Otter Creek, May 2021

Drought also impacts flows in our hatcheries. Natural springs that feed our hatcheries can experience reduced flows when snowpack is at low levels (like we experienced in the winter of 2025-2026). This means that there are often too many fish in the hatchery for the amount of water available, and fish have to go out the door earlier than what is ideal to take advantage of spring zooplankton blooms. However, stocking fish earlier than desired is far better than losing hatchery fish when the water is running low.

If you like to fish, you should visit your favorite lakes and reservoirs early in the year. Water levels at some places can be so low during summer months that boat ramps won't be functional. Also, go fishing in the mornings when temperatures are cooler — fish are more likely to be active at this time of day anyway. And if you release your fish, minimize handling as much as possible and release it in deeper, cooler water (try using a descending device) so they are more likely to survive.