*Utah Wildlife Board approves permits for 2017 big game hunts*
Drought conditions, followed by a tough winter in parts of Utah, means 1,625 fewer hunters will be hunting buck deer during the state’s general hunt this fall. More hunters will be hunting desert bighorn sheep, bison and pronghorn, though.
After hearing presentations from Division of Wildlife Resources biologists, chairmen from Utah’s five Regional Advisory Councils and members of the public, the Utah Wildlife Board—a panel of seven citizens appointed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert—approved permits for this fall’s hunts. The following are the total number of permits the board approved:
*Hunt* *2016* *2017*
General buck deer 90,675 89,050
Premium limited entry deer 184 184
Management buck deer 55 61
Limited entry deer 1,166 1,191
Doe deer 755 1,470
General any bull elk 15,000 15,000
Youth any bull elk 500 500
General spike bull elk 15,000 15,000
Limited entry bull elk 2,752 2,833
Cow elk, public draw 13,680 10,060
Cow elk, private lands only 12,010 8,915
Buck pronghorn 771 849
Doe pronghorn 630 750
Bull moose 68 68
Cow moose 20 22
Bison 96 148
Bison (archery only) 0 10
Desert bighorn sheep 42 53
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep 35 32
Mountain goat 102 106
Mountain goat (archery only) 0 2
*General buck deer permits*
During the 2016 general buck deer hunt, 90,675 hunters took 31,800 buck deer. That’s the highest success rate in Utah since 1996, when nearly 104,000 hunters took almost 33,000 bucks.
Even though hunters harvested plenty of bucks last fall, that’s not the main reason the number of bucks per 100 does has declined slightly in some areas in the state. Justin Shannon, big game coordinator for the DWR, says a difficult winter two years ago, followed by drought conditions in 2016—and then a severe winter this past winter—have reduced the number of younger bucks in some areas.
“Before this winter started,” he says, “we found a statewide average of 59 fawns per 100 does. In some parts of Utah, the winter of 2016 – 2017 was pretty severe, and we know some fawns died. In northern Utah, there will probably be fewer 1½-year-old bucks on some of the units this fall.”
The hunting units that were hardest hit last winter are the units on which the number of permits was decreased.
On a positive note, after the hunts were over last fall, the statewide buck-to-doe ratio, on general season units in Utah, averaged 21 bucks per 100 does. That’s slightly higher than the 15 to 17 bucks per 100 does objective, and 18 to 20 bucks per 100 does objective, that the various general season units are managed for. “There should still be plenty of bucks to hunt in Utah this fall,” Shannon says.
*Doe deer permits*
While buck deer permit numbers went down a bit—from 90,675 in 2016 to 89,050 in 2017—the number of doe deer permits went up.
Minimizing depredation in agricultural fields is the main reason for the increase. If the board didn’t allow public hunters to take the does, private landowners would end up taking many of them.
All of the additional doe deer permits are for units in southern Utah.
“We recommended the increase to reduce the number of deer that are getting into farmers’ fields and eating their crops,” he says. “We want to give public hunters a chance to take the deer before the does get into the farmers’ fields.”
*Permit increases*
While the number of buck deer has decreased slightly in Utah, other big game populations are growing. Desert bighorn sheep, bison and pronghorn are three examples. Here’s a recap of the number of permits the Wildlife Board approved for the three species:
*Hunt* *2016* *2017*
Desert bighorn sheep 42 53
Bison 96 148
Bison (archery only) 0 10
Buck pronghorn 771 849
Doe pronghorn 630 750