LAST EDITED ON Mar-06-15 AT 08:16PM (MST)[p]I say yes it's worth it. We could sit back and do nothing, or we can fight to save mule deer. Trapping urban deer and relocating them is better than seeing them dead in the road, or killed by the DWR.
I'm not familiar with how or when they trapped deer in Logan. I was able to help multiple times in Bountiful with their urban deer transplant. I was there working as a SFW volunteer. We used three different methods in capturing deer. The three methods were a drop net, a drive where we herded the deer into a net, and a clover trap. I observed that the clover trap caused the least amount of stress to the deer. We would set the trap at night and check them early the next morning. The traps were effective but time consuming. When a drop net was used we were able to catch more deer at a time. I personally wasn't a fan of this method because it did seem to cause more stress on the deer. The drive method wasnt very successful when I was present due to the urban setting. The idea that mule deer could not be relocated successfully is being debunked. I applaud the UDWR for their efforts. Im not sure what method was used to capture the deer in Logan, I can say that I witnessed first hand the success in Bountiful. There were volunteers from both SFW and MDF that with the help of the DWR got to be very effecient in processing the deer without causing much stress at all on the them. It's been a learning process for all involved. The deer captured in Bountiful were all trapped in highly populated urban areas. The deer were not returning to the foothills and were living year round in city limits. With the deer being in such a populated area it would be very difficult to have a archery hunt to allow hunting as a method to control the heard. There are costs in relocating deer, but with the help of sportsmen groups and volunteers they can be reduced. SFW has been helping fund the relocating efforts for the past two years. This year MDF stepped up and paid for a trailer to allow volunteers to transport the deer to their new locations. If I was smart enough to post a picture I would include some of the deer being transported in the MDF trailer being towed with the SFW truck. Myself and other SFW volunteers were able to meet some good guys involved with MDF. It's always fun to meet others who are passionate about wildlife, and are willing to get out and help find solutions to improve our herds.