DWR recommends updates to deer management plan, hunt strategies research and other items

Salt Lake City — Utah's current statewide deer management plan was approved in 2019 and will expire in December. As a result, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is proposing an updated mule deer management plan and is also recommending the implementation of some new hunt strategies for a research study, as well as a few other items. The DWR is seeking the public's feedback on the proposals.

Proposed changes to Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan

In updating the Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan, the DWR formed a committee of a diverse group of stakeholders to provide input on the new plan. If approved by the Utah Wildlife Board, the new management plan would go into effect Dec. 12 and would run until December 2030 (for a total of six years, encompassing two, three-year cycles for setting hunting season structures and season dates).

"This updated management plan incorporates all the latest scientific studies and research data about mule deer," DWR Big Game Coordinator Dax Mangus said. "We are taking all of the recent research and incorporating that into management efforts to increase deer populations in Utah. Part of that has involved identifying the limiting factors for deer population growth through our GPS collar data and working to address those factors. That includes increasing targeted predator removal, increasing the amount of habitat and associated restoration projects to benefit mule deer, and combating disease through targeted hunting strategies, among other things. Our main priorities with this latest management plan are to help increase our deer populations and to also provide hunting opportunities."

The plan features a few updated items, including:

• Information about the biology and management history of mule deer in Utah.
• Updated population management goals, objectives and strategies.
• Updated sustainable harvest goals. One of the new proposed strategies would adjust the general-season deer hunting unit objectives — by modifying some of the units' buck-to-doe ratios to 15-17 — in order to optimize herd productivity, reduce disease risks and increase hunter participation.
• An updated plan for managing chronic wasting disease in Utah's deer populations, including expanding disease testing, encouraging disposal of deer carcasses in approved landfills and having the ability to recommend targeted hunts in chronic wasting disease hotspot areas.

Part of the proposed plan also includes the ability to automatically adjust permit numbers annually up to 30% to respond to data from GPS tracking collars, animal health, current habitat conditions and weather conditions. The plan also proposes expanding deer hunting opportunities for youth.

Proposed hunt strategies research

Along with the proposed updated management plan, the DWR is also proposing implementing some new hunting strategies on five deer hunting units as part of a research study. The purpose of the study would be to determine if hunting restrictions based on antler points and weapon technology can improve mule deer population performance, hunting opportunity and/or hunter satisfaction. Some components of this research study were proposed last year, but were primarily focused on hunting units in southern Utah. This proposal expands the study to additional parts of the state and has additional modifications.

The proposed hunt strategies include:

• Implementing antler restrictions for four points or more (on at least one side) on the Pine Valley hunting unit. This restriction would only apply to adults — youth would still be able to harvest any buck on that unit.
• Restricted muzzleloader and restricted rifle hunts on the Beaver, West; Boulder/Kaiparowits and Cache hunting units. Archery would not be restricted. The weapons restrictions would be based on recently passed definitions of restricted weapons.
• Restricted archery, restricted muzzleloader and restricted rifle hunts on the Thousand Lakes hunting unit. The weapons restrictions for this hunt would also be based on recently passed definitions of restricted weapons.

As part of the research study, the DWR would recommend permit numbers on each of the hunt units annually to maintain the buck-to-doe ratios for each unit within the established objectives. If approved, the research study would be implemented for four hunting seasons (from 2025-28) in order to provide sufficient data to assess the effects on the deer populations and the social attitudes toward the hunt strategies.

"Utah has the largest active mule deer research and monitoring program in the Western U.S. and is constantly seeking to learn and improve mule deer management," DWR Big Game Projects Coordinator Kent Hersey said. "Sometimes, the public asks the DWR to test new strategies or to take a fresh look at management practices that may have been implemented and discontinued in the past. The mule deer hunting strategies most frequently asked about and requested by hunters include antler point restrictions and restrictions on hunting weapon technology. These strategies are often viewed as ways to increase hunting opportunity while also managing for more mature bucks. Many of these strategies have been tested in the past in Utah and other western states with mixed results. However, with new research capabilities in place, along with different hunt structures and an intense and growing demand and interest in mule deer hunting, we are proposing to implement these strategies on a few units in Utah on a trial basis. We want to research their impacts on mule deer populations and understand the social implications of these strategies."

Proposed deer, elk and pronghorn hunting season dates and new hunts

As part of the updated recommendations, the DWR is also proposing the dates for the 2025-27 hunting seasons for deer, elk and pronghorn. A few new hunts are also being proposed, including:

• A new "extended archery only" general-season deer permit application option that would allow successful applicants to hunt only the extended archery hunt areas during the extended season dates (existing extended archery deer hunting opportunities would remain unchanged).
• New general-season deer hunts on five hunting units that the DWR is proposing some updated boundary changes for, as part of the updates to the management plan.
• An early any-legal-weapon buck deer season on the Box Elder general-season hunting unit to help address concerns with crowding.
• Adding the five-day early any-legal-weapon buck deer season on the Fillmore, Oak Creek limited-entry hunting unit to address concerns with crowding.
• A new late-season handgun-archery-muzzleloader-shotgun-straight walled rifle-only buck deer hunt on the San Juan, Mancos Mesa area.
• A new late-season any-legal-weapon buck deer hunt in the Henry Mtns, Little Rockies area.
• Two targeted any-legal-weapon buck deer hunts in mid-November in the La Sal, Castle Valley area and the La Sal, Moab Valley area to address chronic wasting disease. Hunters would be required to submit a chronic wasting disease sample when harvesting a deer in these hunts.
• New pronghorn muzzleloader hunting seasons on the Box Elder, West and Box Elder, Snowville hunting units to address crowding concerns.
• A new general-season bull elk hunt on private lands within the Uinta Basin, in order to address depredation issues on agricultural properties.
• Two new limited-entry elk hunts for nine days in late December on two general-season elk units in northern Utah to address elk populations over their current objectives.

Proposed updates to bison, bighorn sheep, moose and mountain goat hunts

• The DWR is also proposing the dates for the 2025-27 hunting seasons for bison, bighorn sheep, moose and mountain goat, as well as a few new hunts for some of these species, including:
• Splitting the Kaiparowits, Escalante desert bighorn sheep hunting unit into two new desert bighorn sheep units, in order to better distribute hunters in the area.
• A new Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep hunt on Antelope Island.
• A new bull moose hunt in Box Elder.
• Discontinuing a bison hunt in the Book Cliffs, Little Creek/South unit in order to reduce hunting pressure in that unit.

Other items

The DWR is also proposing a few rule updates, including:

• Defining three-point and four-point antler point restrictions in rule.
• Clarifying that a person may not use protected GPS location data or other radio collar data to locate, track, harvest or attempt to harvest or retrieve any big game animals, upland game, waterfowl, cougar, bear, turkey or furbearer species or their parts.
• Allowing all first-time youth general-season buck deer applicants to receive one general-season buck deer preference point. (Currently, only 44% of first-time youth applicants are successful in drawing a general-season buck deer permit, so this would help increase those chances.)
• Allowing the DWR to convert any remaining general-season buck deer permits from the unutilized youth allocation to any-legal-weapon regular season youth permits after all the youth permit applications have been received and evaluated. (Currently, there is a 20% allocation to youth for general-season buck deer permits, but not all of the percentage is used, due to not enough youth archery, early any-legal-weapon, and muzzleloader applications on certain hunting units. This proposal would allow those permits to be used by other willing youth hunters).
• Only allowing hunters to apply for the Dedicated Hunter COR/point or apply for a general-season buck deer permit/point but not for both types of permits. (This would reduce applications and decrease the number of points being accrued, which would improve overall draw odds).
• The DWR is also proposing a total of 424 private permits and 93 public permits be allocated for 128 Cooperative Wildlife Management Units in Utah.

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 on Oct. 22 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:

• Northern Utah RAC meeting: Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. at the Weber County Commission Chambers at 2380 Washington Blvd. #240 in Ogden. (Online comments must be submitted by Oct. 31 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Central Utah RAC meeting: Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. at the DWR Springville Office at 1115 N. Main St. in Springville. (Online comments must be submitted by Oct. 31 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Southern Utah RAC meeting: Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. at Southern Utah University in the Charles R. Hunter Room at the Hunter Conference Center. (Online comments must be submitted by Nov. 7 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Southeastern Utah RAC meeting: Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the John Wesley Powell Museum at 1765 E. Main St. in Green River. (Online comments must be submitted by Nov. 7 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Northeastern Utah RAC meeting: Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Uintah Conference Center at 313 E. 200 South in Vernal. (Online comments must be submitted by Nov. 7 at 11:59 p.m.)
• Utah Wildlife Board meeting: Dec. 12 at 9 a.m. at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center at 1157 South Waterfowl Way in Farmington. (Online comments must be submitted by Nov. 21 at 11:59 p.m.)