Proposed Changes in General-Season Deer Hunting

Proposed Changes in General Season Deer Hunting

• Will present three options• The first 2 options:

– Will help increase buck:doe ratios– Will reduce hunting opportunity

• The third option is a slightly modified version of the current system

• None of these options will increase deer populations

Option 1 - DWR Preferred Option

• Unit-by-unit deer management, but will allow regional hunting

• Manage all units for a 3-year average of 15–25 bucks/100 does with a regional management target of 18 bucks/100 does – If regional 3-year average buck:doe ratio falls below

18, the regional cap will be reduced proportionally – When regional average meets or exceeds 18

bucks/100 does, permit numbers will return to the baseline

– If a unit’s 3-year average buck:doe ratio falls below 12, that unit will be removed from the regional hunt and will be managed as a recovery unit until it returns to a 3-year average buck:doe ratio of 15

Pros of Option 1

• Allows biological management on a unit level

• Hunters have more flexibility in where to hunt (Region vs. Unit)

• Easier for families or groups to hunt together

• Minimizes law enforcement problems• Dedicated Hunter Program will not

have to change

Cons of Option 1

• Does not allow us to distribute hunting pressure evenly

• Relies on hunters to evenly distribute themselves

• Some management units will have <18 bucks/100 does

Option 2

• Hunt and manage on a unit-by-unit basis

• 29 general-season units• All units will be managed for 18-25

bucks/100 does– Permits for a unit will be decreased if

the buck:doe ratio falls below 18 and increased if the buck:doe ratio exceeds 25

• Cannot be implemented until 2012

Pros of Option 2

• Allows for more precise management of general season units

• Allows us to distribute hunting pressure more evenly

• All units will have at least 18 bucks/100 does

• Improves harvest data collection

Cons of Option 2

• Limits hunters to 1 general-season unit

• Makes it harder to draw popular units

• Dedicated hunters will have to draw their unit, and the program will become a one-year program

• Law enforcement issues• Will make it harder to hunt as a

family or group

UnitsUnit # Unit Name

3 year average Bucks/100 does

1 Box Elder 19

2 Cache 15

3 Ogden 17

4/5/6Morgan Rich/East Canyon/ Chalk Creek 33

7 Kamas 19

8 North Slope 19

9A South Slope Yellowstone 15

9B/9D South Slope Vernal/Bonanza 12

11 Nine Mile 25

13 La Sal 17

14 San Juan 22

16A Central Mountains Nebo 18

16B/12 Central Mountains Manti/San Rafael 16

17A Wasatch Mountains West 18

UnitsUnit # Unit Name

3-year average Bucks/100 does

17B/17CWasatch Mountains Currant Creek/Avintaquin 15

18 Oquirrh Stansbury 10

19 West Desert 19

20 Southwest Desert 29

21A Fillmore Oak Creek 27

21B Fillmore Pahvant 21

22 Beaver 17

23 Monroe 11

24 Mt Dutton 20

25A Plateau Fishlake 16

25B Plateau Thousand Lakes 18

25C/26 Plateau Boulder/Kaiparowits 14

28 Panguitch Lake 20

29 Zion 24

30 Pine Valley 21

Unit-by-Unit Considerations

• Two subunits that need consideration:– Plateau Thousand Lakes – Fillmore Oak Creek subunit

• Both subunits currently are Limited Entry on public land and General Season on private land

Unit-by-Unit Considerations

• Plateau Thousand Lakes – Unit is not meeting the buck:doe ratio

objective for a limited-entry unit – Recommend making it a general-season

unit

• Fillmore Oak Creek– This unit is meeting the buck:doe ratio

objective for a limited-entry unit – Recommend maintaining this unit as

limited entry on public land and general season on private land

Option 3

• Unit-by-unit deer management, but will allow regional hunting

• Manage all units for a 3-year average of 15–25 bucks/100 does with a regional management target of 15 bucks/100 does– Maintain current regional permit allocations– If a unit’s 3-year average buck:doe ratio falls

below 12, that unit will be removed from the regional hunt and will be managed as a recovery unit until it returns to a 3-year average buck:doe ratio of 15

Comparing the 3 OptionsOption 1 Option 2 Option 3

Objective All Units 15-25

All Units 18-25 All Units 15-25

Regional 18-25 NA 15-25

Drawing Region Unit Region

Dedicated Hunters No change

Draw unit and 1 year

programNo change

Archery Statewide Statewide/Unit Statewide

Lifetime Region choice Unit choice Region choice

Landowner

Easier to draw

Harder to draw

Easier to draw

Popular unit

Easier to draw

Harder to draw

Easier to draw

Permit cuts

~ 7,000 ~ 13,000 ~ 3,000

Permit Cost

May increase Likely increase No increase

Current Statewide Plan• Manage general season units for a 3-year

average of 15–25 bucks/100 does and a 9-day long any weapon season– If a unit/subunit in a given region falls below a 3-year

average of 15 bucks/100 does, the season length for all hunting seasons on that unit/subunit will be shortened by 45% in the following hunting season. The season length will remain shortened until the 3-year average buck:doe ratio increases to >15/100

– If a unit/subunit in a given region falls below a 3-year average of 10 bucks/100 does, that unit/subunit will be managed on a limited entry basis in the following hunting season. The unit/subunit will continue under limited entry management until the 3-year average buck:doe ratio >15/100

Statewide Plan Amendment for Option 1

• Manage general season units for a 3-year average of 15–25 bucks/100 does with a regional management objective of 18 bucks/100 does– If regional 3 year average buck:doe ratio falls

below 18, regional permit numbers will be reduced to increase it back to or above 18

– When regional 3 year average > 18, permit numbers will return to the baseline

– If a unit/subunit in a given region falls below a 3-year average of 12 bucks/100 does, that unit/subunit will be removed from the regional hunt and managed as recovery unit for 3 years. The unit/subunit will remain a recovery unit until the 3-year average buck:doe ratio >15/100

Statewide Plan Amendment for Option 2

• Manage 29 general season units for a postseason 3-year average of 18–25 bucks/100 does– Permit numbers for a unit will be

decreased if the buck:doe ratio falls below 18 and increased if it exceeds 25

Statewide Plan Amendment for Option 3

• Manage general season units for a 3-year average of 15–25 bucks/100 does with a regional management objective of 15 bucks/100 does– If a unit/subunit in a given region falls

below a 3-year average of 12 bucks/100 does, that unit/subunit will be removed from the regional hunt and managed as recovery unit for a minimum of 3 years. The unit/subunit will remain a recovery unit until the 3-year average buck:doe ratio >15/100

Rule changes needed to hold the permit drawing for all these

options • The following rules will require changes to

make the permit drawing possible• In those rules that refer to regions, wording

will be changed to Region or UnitR657-5-Taking Big GameR657-17-Lifetime Hunting and Fishing LicensesR657-38-Dedicated Hunter ProgramR657-43-Landowner PermitsR657-62-Drawing Application Procedures

Thank You