Deseret Land and Livestock-
I guided there for about 10 years.....crazy fun Elk Hunting even knowing you're not going to even see a bull over 360".
It's happened yes, but they are rare.
Arguably the healthiest free ranging elk herd in the entire country.
Bull to Cow ratio 1:1 and has been for 3 decades.
200,000 acre low fence Cattle Ranch at 6000-9000 ft elevation in Northeastern Utah to the Wyoming border near the Monte Cristo area.
Approximately 8,500 head of grazing cattle.
Approximately 2500 elk utilize the ranches pristine habitat, 10,000 big game animals combined between Elk, Mule Deer, Pronghorn and Moose.
Hunting Permits-
110 Elk
90 Deer
40 Pronghorn
4 Moose
110 Bulls culled from 1,250 bulls (2500÷2 @ 1:1 ratio) leaves 1,140 bulls as carryover stock.
Cow numbers culled to match.
No designated spike hunts and hunters aren't harvesting branch antlered bulls by choice.
330" average on bull score with success rates close to 100%.
DLL doesn't manage for quality, they manage for quantity (opportunity) of mature bulls and an outstanding Elk Hunting experience.
What's The Difference?-
They have adopted a "Rest Rotation" program of the land and it's habitat for grazing cattle.
The ranch is grazed in a Grid System of 100 acre parcels that allows the habitat to rest and recover by herding the cattle at different periods throughout the season.
Could this system be a key process to Utah's public lands as well and is it even feasible?
It's no secret that the Cattlemen Society has major pull in our wildlife management.
Could it be a possibility to force free ranging Cattlemen and Sheep to rotate their Livestock better to rest the Habitat?
If we can find a more sound way to take care of our Habitat, maybe we could stop harvesting spike bulls and open far more opportunities for LE tags where more mature bulls are culled off the top.
There will always be "Stud Bulls" on most LE units, we don't kill them all.
It is simply impossible to manage for 380+ Trophy Bulls without culling bulls somewhere, otherwise the balance tips and we are Bull Heavy because we are not killing enough bulls in trying to grow 10 "Trophies" out of 100 bulls.
In turn, we would have to remove Cows to sustain overall herd numbers which is an absurd philosophy.
If we are to think a phenomenal elk hunt consists of seeing 10 mature bulls fighting over 3 cows, we've lost or minds.
BALANCE AND OPPORTUNITY