It's always easy to blame the DWR for the deer decline because it looks like such an easy fix, just stop issuing so many buck tags. But the harvest stats for the last few years (since Option #2) show that the number of buck tags issued isn't the problem.
It's hard to get very accurate stats prior to unit hunter management, but between 2013 and 2018 all 5 of the units mentioned above (Beaver, Fillmore, Monroe, Mt Dutton and SW Desert) show pretty level tag numbers, hunters afield and harvest numbers. While the DWR could certainly better adjust the number of buck tags according to the current herd populations and buck to doe ratios, those tag numbers don't drive the decline. On the shorter term basis, it's the weather, but on the longer term basis it's habitat quality and quantity loss due to drought, invasive plant and animal species, and increased human populations and activities. Harsh winters, dry summers, cheatgrass, roads and freeways, suburbs, wildfires, feral horses, predators, fences, poachers, diseases, bark beetles, increased elk herds, P & J encroachment, ATV's, and myriads of other things have taken their toll. But the harvesting of bucks would be way down near the bottom of the list of causes for the decline.
So, what happened in 2019? The stats show a significant drop in overall harvest percentages (except for Fillmore Pahvant).
Unit---------2013---2014---2015---2016----2017---2018---2019
Beaver------37.4%--41.0%--48.1%--44.9%--42.7%--39.7%--27.3%
Pahvant----37.1%--30.9%--40.8%--37.0%--32.4%--33.8%--32.0%
Monroe----55.4%--56.3%--54.9%--54.3%--51.4%--52/6%--42.4%
MtDutton--41.5%--46.8%--45.2%--54.4%--53.0%--43.3%--25.5%
SW Desert-29.3%--24.1%--37.3%--32.2%--33.2%--37.3%--20.7%
What happened?
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Harsh winter and, hopefully, the end of a 7 year long drought ending with an extreme drought year (2018). Note that in the last 31 years we've had 21 dry years, but only 9 wet ones with 2019 still not listed. (Hopefully, the weather in the Southern Region looks like the weather in Southeastern Region in 2019, an extremely wet year.) In any case, you can blame the number of buck tags for the decline, but I, for one, think otherwise!
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(The link address says it's the 2019 Southern Region Report, but it's actually the 2019 Southeastern Region Report. The DWR made a mistake.
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