Depending on your age, we all have our glory days of mule deer hunting. My hunting career started in the early nineties. Utah issued more than 200,000 general season deer licenses and very few states had a point system. I literally remember scouting in the summer and seeing hundreds of bucks over a weekend trip. Nowadays, on this particular unit, it’s hard to find a dozen deer let alone strings of bachelor bucks. Many things have changed in these thirty years. Not all of them are adversely impacting herd numbers but a lot are having dramatic impact. In this article, I’ll try and give my opinions on what has happened and the things we can do.
HABITAT
One big factor over time is most certainly human population growth and urban sprawl. Neighborhoods are pushing further into the hills and development seems to have no boundaries. Places I used to hunt and explore as a youth, are now subdivisions and shopping centers. Connecting all of these are roadways of all speeds and sizes. All these things are impacting wildlife negatively. So, what can we do?
We can get involved with organizations that work on habitat restoration. Every state has numerous chapters of the Mule Deer Foundation, SFW, or Muley Fanatics. Become a member and help fund projects that make a difference. Each of these entities have fundraising banquets can be a good time with food, games, raffles and auctions. Our Utah County Mule Deer banquet will be March 7th this year.
As sportsman, we can put boots on the ground to help with conservation projects. Each western state lists projects on their website with dates, needs, and desired outcomes. I’ve done things as simple as picking up garbage in Wildlife Management Areas to heavy lifting of wilderness area water guzzler repairs. There are plenty of projects available to match your available resources. I would love to see more sportsman involved in true conservation efforts.
We as sportsman can set an example in the woods of cleanliness. Something driven into me at a young age was the principle of “Leave no trace.” It really doesn’t take a lot of effort to make sure areas we use remain pristine. It is saddening to see how much trash is left in public spaces. Teach those around us how to be better stewards of the land. I did a service project picking up garbage around Strawberry Reservoir this past year that the group Fish for Garbage put on. Within a matter of a few hours, we had a 40-yard dumpster completely full of tires, propane tanks, shoes, bottles, and everything else you can imagine. We can do better as stewards of our public lands.
PREDATORS
Nature needs balance and predators play a role in maintaining this balance. I would argue that in specific areas, this predator-prey relationship is awry. For numerous years, on certain trail cameras, I was getting more pictures of mountain lions than mature bucks. In one particular pocket, I had a group of bucks I was attempting to let grow up. I was devastated to shed hunt this spot the following spring to find all of these up and commers dead from a lion that had taken up residence. For numerous years this lion along with countless others decimated deer numbers on this unit. Finally, the state stepped in with government trappers and houndsman and culled a large number of cats. The deer are slowly rebounding.
Coyotes still pose a real problem with fawn recruitment and can restrict a herd’s ability to grow. Many states have now instituted a bounty on coyotes and have eased regulations on cougar harvest. We as sportsman, need to do our part and take advantage of these programs.
Utah recently raised the coyote bounty from $50 per dog to $100 in designated mule deer areas. This seems to be adding some extra incentive as current numbers show roughly 1,000 more coyotes being turned in for 2025 over those of 2024. Unfortunately, Utah is the only state with a modern statewide coyote bounty program that publishes annual numeric totals. Other states do pay bounties in certain areas, but no other western state has numbers comparable in scope or tracking detail to Utah. Surrounding states should look to adopt these programs and sportsman should be letting their voices be heard with law makers. If you need something to pass the time in winter months, take up coyote hunting and save some fawns.
Lions are trickier as it’s tough to be impactful without hounds. Many houndsman are reluctant to shoot female cats. Guided hunts for lions are costly. Many cats live away from roads where trucks with dogs can access. In Utah, we need to be opportunists while in the field with the year long, no tag requirements that currently exist. You don’t see lions frequently, but it does happen. Many times, over the years, I’ve seen cats in places that had I had a rifle with me, I would have had a chance.
Another option to make a difference on the lion front is trapping. Here in Utah, the same law that made cougar hunting year-round, legalized trapping. It takes time and persistence, but it is doable. I have a group of friends that have caught several cats and are having a lot of fun helping save some deer.
HERD MANAGEMENT
When I think about a healthy deer herd, I think of numbers equal to carrying capacities and a healthy distribution of age class. Carrying capacities can be debatable. How do you really define how many animals a certain area can hold? Age class, however, especially on bucks, is easier to define. It doesn’t take a lot of observation effort to determine whether an area holds a range of older animals or not.
For me, I would love to see more herd diversity. Too many of our units are managed for very low post hunt buck to doe ratios. With these low buck numbers, age is hard to come by. The opportunity vs quality debate comes into play as agencies try to appease majorities. So, what can we do? As hunters, we should strive to take mature animals. If we as hunters want to see more age class in a herd, we need to stop shooting the 1.5-to-3.5-year old bucks. Am I saying I condemn shooting yearlings, no. For people that truly need the meat or inexperienced hunters looking to grow skills, I am in total support of them harvesting whatever makes them happy.
I am saying it doesn’t always have to be about punching a tag. Being a conservationist means we need to start doing what is needed most to have healthier herds. With severe drought hitting much of the west for the past decade and certain areas still trying to rebound from extremely fatal winters, we should consider being more selective in what we harvest. If more hunters would have this mentality, I feel we would see a difference in a very short amount of time.
We need to stop shooting does. I don’t agree with any antlerless deer harvesting anywhere in the west currently. Many areas with high depredation become a juggling act for agencies to manage crop damage costs vs the cost of depredation permits. I would love to see more funding put into high fenced crop options vs shooting deer in fields on depredation type permits. Sickens me to watch deer migrate to winter ground to only be shot in fields for depredation reasons. If we want more deer on the landscape, the does are the key.
ELK
Guess what, elk numbers keep growing throughout the west. New studies are starting to show that elk and deer don’t coexist as well as once perceived. There’s a reason that the very best deer units in the west have extremely aggressive elk harvests. The Paunsaugunt, Henry Mnts, Kiabab, and Arizona Strip all are managed to keep elk numbers as low as possible. The unit that I grew up hunting as a youth that once was a deer factory, guess what, the elk have taken the mountain over. Deer have been pushed out of areas they used to love and I feel as a result they are more susceptible to predators. These sub-prime areas also typically offer less than ideal forage resulting in an overall lower animal health.
During drought and severe winters, elk will push deer off the best feed. A relatively small group of elk can strip an exposed face of prime feed that would support deer for substantially more time in rough winters. It is much easier for elk to travel to find forage in deep snow and winter mortality rates on elk are consistently much lower than on deer herds. Elk can also handle supplemental feeding much easier than deer do.
In the previous section I talked about my distain for shooting does. People that want more time in the field and desire to fill the freezer need to look at hunting cow elk. Tags are relatively easy to come by and success rates, depending on the units, are decent. Many landowners allow access to hunt elk in winter months due to their destructive nature. In many areas, archery seasons are either sex tags for elk. This allows those that really are hunting to fill the freezer, ample opportunities to do so.
GIVE THEM SPACE
During crucial winter months deer need to conserve as much energy as possible. Too often I witness photographers, shed hunters, dog walkers, etc. pushing animals. This burns unnecessary calories during these rough months and really can mean the difference between life and death.
It is almost comical to watch the foot race the ensues when the first critter drops its antlers here on the Wasatch Front. Not much thought is given by many as the only thing that matters is racing their rival to the spot the antler fell. If we as sportsman don’t want more regulation, we should start showing that we can discipline ourselves to do what is best for the animals we love. Observe from a distance. Wait for animals to feed off before moving in to look for antlers. Show respect and set an example.
Be mindful of your pets. Countless times now, I have witnessed neighborhood dogs chasing deer around the ridges they spend the winter on. Owners seem oblivious in many instances. One year during a rough winter, I witnessed two dogs kill several deer. As I looked around the hills, I noticed dozens of deer that had met their demise from these two pets. I called Fish and Game, and an officer arrived not long after. Unfortunately, the officer had to make the tough decision to shoot both dogs as he watched them tackle and maul another deer. Don’t be afraid to make that call. If you know the owners, start with them. If you don’t, call the Division of Wildlife and let them handle it. Really this goes for any violation we witness. The poaching hotline number (800-662-DEER) should be saved on everyone’s phone.
CONCLUSION
We as sportsman really can’t afford to sit idly by. Armchair quarterbacking is not a great way to pass the great legacy of mule deer onto future generations. Hopefully this article has given you some ideas on what you can do. Whether it is fundraising, habitat restoration, predator control, or thinking twice about shooting an immature buck, we all need to do something. None of us can do it all, but all of us can do something. I challenge you all to get involved in some way or another. Muleys should matter!
