Mule deer are falling victim to Utah\u2019s drought conditions, but the state is spending millions to help them rebound.<\/p>\n
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources\u2019 goal for the state\u2019s mule deer population is about 405,000 animals by 2030. That mark, set in 2024, has been one of the agency\u2019s top priorities in recent years \u2014 and in 2025 it spent over $55 million on projects aimed at helping the species. <\/p>\n
These projects will do more than just boost the state\u2019s top hunting draw. Mule deer populations are also crucial to animals higher up the food chain, and benefiting these animals will create more stability for ecosystems throughout the state, wildlife officials said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeer [are] probably our No. 1 game species by far, really important to people, and so what we\u2019re trying to do is increase those populations as much as we can, where we can, so that we can provide as much viewing and hunting opportunity,\u201d DWR big game projects coordinator Kent Hersey said. \u201cIt\u2019s part of our heritage, and it\u2019s just something people really like.\u201d<\/p>\n
Utah is about 80,000 animals away from its goal, according to the most recent numbers from the wildlife agency. Hersey is optimistic, but said the deer population is somewhat at the whim of weather conditions over the next five years.<\/p>\n
(Utah Division of Wildlife Resources) Utah wildlife officials are working on projects to help mule deer populations statewide.<\/p>\n
How drought affects Utah\u2019s deer population<\/p>\n
The winter of 2022-2023 saw the biggest reduction in deer numbers over the past 15 years after Utah received record-breaking snow. The wet winter followed nearly all of the state suffering from severe drought, and contributed to the deer population plummeting by nearly 57,000, according to state data. <\/p>\n
Adult bucks are usually fine throughout hot and dry months, but fawns, which are typically born in the summer, can struggle if they aren\u2019t fattened up come wintertime. Does rely on plants with high moisture content to produce the milk that helps the babies thrive, but that\u2019s tough to do in dry conditions. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to have a certain size and a certain weight of fawn to have a chance of surviving the winter,\u201d Hersey said. \u201cIt all comes down to how much it affects the nutrition that the deer get, and how nutrition affects their ability to live.\u201d <\/p>\n
Fewer fawns surviving winter means fewer hunting permits issued in the spring. <\/p>\n
Dwindling deer populations also affect other animals higher up the food chain. When deer are affected by drought, a University of Michigan study of Utah and Nevada populations found, impacts to predators like black bears and cougars are intensified. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs deer decline, the reality is deer are cougar food,\u201d Hersey said. \u201cAnything that eats deer is going to have to work harder or switch to something else, so it can have effects on other species. If deer stay down for long periods, the things that rely on deer, they\u2019ll eventually have to come down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Predators like cougars won\u2019t immediately die off after deer suffer a population hit one winter, Hersey said. It\u2019s often a more subtle effect, where cougars won\u2019t produce as many kittens over the years after a consistent lack of a healthy deer herd to prey on.<\/p>\n
Efforts to help the herd<\/p>\n
Utah wildlife officials want to prevent that ripple effect of impacts before it happens. The state is planning to improve vegetation for mule deer on at least 600,000 acres of crucial range across the state. <\/p>\n
So far, the agency has completed over 130 habitat restoration projects to boost deer populations. One of its main undertakings has been to reduce pinyon pines and juniper trees, Hersey said, because they use a lot of water and reduce vegetation that deer often eat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do a lot of work in those habitats to try and get more sagebrush habitats, which are better for mule deer and for a bunch of other species as well,\u201d Hersey said. \u201cIt also frees up moisture, and you can get springs flowing again, and it does some good things from a water side of things as well.\u201d<\/p>\n