DWR proposes updates to mountain goat and bighorn sheep statewide management plans, deer unit plans

Salt Lake City — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is proposing a few updates to the mountain goat and bighorn sheep statewide management plans during the midplan review, as well as a few updates to population objectives for deer on three hunting units in southeastern Utah. The DWR is seeking the public's feedback on the proposals.

The Utah Mountain Goat Statewide Management Plan and the Utah Bighorn Sheep Statewide Management Plan are each 10-year plans that went into effect in 2018. Each plan is subject to review during that time frame. The DWR recently convened an advisory committee to review both plans. A few updates are being proposed, including:

• Adding information about the process that occurs prior to a bighorn sheep transplant (regarding the public process and writing unit/mitigation plans)
• Adding information about involving public hunters in disease prevention and response incidents (while also prioritizing herd health and fair chase standards)
• Adding Fremont Island as a potential site for future Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep reintroduction
• Adding the Boulder hunting unit as a potential location for future desert bighorn sheep reintroduction
• Adding a few other clerical updates to documents and references
• Updating state code references in both plans to reflect recent legislative changes

"These plans are really important in guiding our objectives to maintain healthy mountain goat and bighorn sheep populations in Utah," DWR Once-in-a-Lifetime Species Coordinator Rusty Robinson said. "We really appreciate those who serve on the committees and provide input on these plans and the associated updates."

In addition, the advisory committee expressed interest in prioritizing a more streamlined approach to the bighorn removal MOU process, as well as utilizing public hunters for bighorn disease prevention, whenever possible, while allowing the DWR to maintain management flexibility to preserve herd health.

The DWR is also proposing a few updates to deer population objectives on three hunting units in southeastern Utah. Mule deer unit plans are revised on a five-year rotational schedule, incorporating data from the Utah Range Trend Monitoring Project and updates to the Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan. The statewide plan directs that unit plans with minor updates are reviewed and approved by the DWR director. However, unit plans with significant changes, including changes to population objectives and/or unit boundaries, should be presented to the public through Regional Advisory Council meetings and then approved by the Utah Wildlife Board.

The DWR is proposing increases to population objectives for deer on the La Sal, La Sal Mountains unit; the Manti/San Rafael unit; and the San Juan, Abajos unit. These increases are due to changes in statewide modeling efforts, which have caused an increased shift in current population estimates and now exceed current population objectives. The proposed changes to the unit plans include:

• Increasing the population objective on the La Sal, La Sal Mountains unit from 8,000 to 11,500
• Increasing the population objective on the Manti/San Rafael unit from 28,000 to 38,000
• Increasing the population objective on the San Juan, Abajos unit from 13,500 to 17,000

Give feedback

The public meetings for the recommendations can either be viewed virtually or attended in person. You can view the biologists' presentations before the meetings and share your feedback about them on the DWR website. The presentations are also available on the DWR YouTube channel, but comments can only be submitted through the forms on the DWR website.

The public comment period opened Aug. 5 for each of the five regional advisory council meetings and for the Utah Wildlife Board meeting. Public comments submitted within the online-comment timeframes listed below will be shared with the RAC and wildlife board members at each respective meeting. Members of the public can choose to either watch the meetings online or attend them in person. If you wish to comment during the meeting, you must attend in person. Online comments will only be accepted until the deadlines listed below.

The meetings will be held on the following dates and times:

• Central Utah RAC meeting: Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. at the DWR Springville Office at 1115 N. Main St. in Springville. (Online comments must be submitted by Aug. 21 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Northern Utah RAC meeting: Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. at the Weber County Commission Chambers at 2380 Washington Blvd. #240 in Ogden. (Online comments must be submitted by Aug. 21 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Southern Utah RAC meeting: Sept. 2 at 6 p.m. at the DNR Richfield City Complex at 2031 Industrial Park Road in Richfield. (Online comments must be submitted by Aug. 28 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Southeastern Utah RAC meeting: Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. at the John Wesley Powell Museum at 1765 E. Main St. in Green River. (Online comments must be submitted by Aug. 28 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Northeastern Utah RAC meeting: Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. at the DWR Vernal Office at 318 N. Vernal Ave. (Online comments must be submitted by Aug. 28 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Utah Wildlife Board meeting: Sept. 18 at 9 a.m. at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center at 1157 South Waterfowl Way in Farmington. (Online comments must be submitted by Sept. 10 at 11:59 p.m.)