Whitetail Deer in Utah?

[coyote22250]

Has anyone else seen whitetail deer in central Utah? I managed to get a few pics today of one, there is no doubt it's a whitetail.

 

[treedagain]

post them up...

 

[one_dryboot]

They are in the Northern part, have been 10+ years. not many but they are around

 

[HorseCreek]

Saw giant buck on the South Slope archery hunting bout 10-11 years ago. Tried to kill it but never found him again.


Traditional >>>------->

 

[utarchery]

my friends have the sheds off of a whitetail from central utah, and i have seen them while hunting. there is no boubt that they are here

"THERES MORE TO LIFE THAN HUNTING,
BUT HOW FUN WOULD THAT BE"

 

[coyote22250]

The pics were taken with my phone, the small ears and white tail are a dead giveaway not to mention the white ring around his nose.

 

[Dikndirt]

Yes for sure it is a whitetail....hope the DWR doesnt see it or it will be gone. They have a zero tolerance policy on whitetail it seems.

 

[tallbuck1]

Dikndirt:

Will the DWR shoot it on site??? I have seen them around the Bear River Bird refuge a few years ago but nothing further south than that.

Tallbuck1

 

[justr_86]

We don't want whitetail's here! They are a lot more aggressive than muleys so it will be another competitor to a dwindleing mule deer herd...

People that think they will be something else to hunt, yes it will if you own or have access to private land... They settle in lower elevation and river bottom areas which in utah are primarily tribal or private... As well as more agricultural "problem animals...."

 

[Dikndirt]

justr, I understand your concerns about whitetail causing problems with our mule deer here in Utah. I have spent the better part of the past month in WY. MT. and S. Dakota and I am not sure your fears are based on fact or fiction. The two species occupy different habitat and where they do overlap I didnt notice a big drop off in muley numbers. In Wyoming the muleys were actually doing better than the whitetail in Numbers and quality. I have a good friend who bowhunts the eastern plains of Colorado and he says the muleys are more than holding their own. When you say "We dont want whitetail" in Utah are you assuming everyone feels the same? If so then you are not speaking for me. I am not advocating transplants or relocation but if natural migration occurs [which it undoubtedly will] I dont think it will necessarily be a negative thing.

 

[justr_86]

True, We is a blanket statement.

I'm not a fan of whitetails in Utah.. I'm seeing the whitetails on a high incline and muleys on a steep decline in a area I hunt in Nebraska. Our mule deer herd sucks.. I dont think it would be a good idea to have another competitor.. Whitetails are also very disease prone. Ya they do coexist, same as elk and deer but out of the 2 the muleys are not as aggressive and will lose....

Todd Black also has a report written up on the issue. Do a search you will find it..

 

[2lumpy]

I watched a whitetail doe running with a small herd of mule deer doe in the Sevier River between Richfield and Annabelle 12 or 13 years ago.

Never seen nor heard of another one in this area.

DC

 

[mickeyelk]

The crossbreed mix is not a good one! Remove them.

 

[tallbuck1]

Again, will the DWR shoot it on site if seen by them? What is the policy from there standpoint? Will they do nothing about it due to "Migration Routes"?


Tallbuck1

 

[justr_86]

There's no law against taking one during the deer hunt, but its not a shoot on sight type deal...

 

[tallbuck1]

I understand that for the average Utahan, but what about from the DWR's standpoint? What is there "official" policy for a conservation officer if he see's one in the field? Can he shoot it to remove it from the pool? Any Idea's?


Tallbuck1

 

[Dikndirt]

I cant say for sure if whitetails are shot on sight by DWR. I have never seen it happen, however whenever a whitetail is reported or a small group as was the case in wasatch county recently...they seem to disapear. Eventually they will come and in numbers that will be hard to eradicate unless they are considered in the same category as coyote and jackrabbits. Tallbuck1 maybe you should call Utah DWR and ask them what the official policy concerning whitetail really is.

 

[tallbuck1]

Thanks, Very interesting, I didn't hear what happened up in wasatch county, please fill me in!

I have a friend who is a CO for the DWR, I will ask him and see what he says!


Tallbuck1

 

[justr_86]

Let us know what he says.

 

[Zeke]

I have known dickndirt for over 50 years and must say damn few guy have as much hunting experience on trophy deer from both species as does he. (that makes us sound really old)

Having hunted with him and without him, in several State where the herds overlap, I have to agree. Let nature take it's course, on this topic anyway. They are very rare and unique deer in Utah. The competition between the species would be very minor. They would generally dwell where we cannot gain access anyway!

Zeke

 

[timothymarks]

so they would not have to compete for winter range???

 

[3blade]

What the heck, let em come. The wolves are going to need something else to eat at some point any way.

 

[swbuckmaster]

Dickinthedirt

The main reason whitetail deer are being shot by the division are:

In Utah there isn't hardly any land with water where whitetail deer would naturally live that is public land. This would result in whitetail deer doing major problems with crop damage which will require the division to pay for damages.

The other reasons are our mule deer are having a hard enough time competing with elk. The last thing they need to do is compete with whitetail deer on the winter ranges.

Simple really it all comes down to money$$$

 

[tworivers]

Whitetails will live anywhere they need to, from the highest mountains down to the riverbottoms and in the high desert... They are just a flat out survivor, and their breeding style is more aggressive i.e they don't harem and guard does similiar to a muley buck, they run all over and pound as much doe as they can either species. Valerious Geist talks about this in his books. They generally have twin or triplets in areas that they are pioneering. In the area I live... it is triplets. There is a remnant population of muleys here..... for now..
Freedom is not Free!
RIP Lil Bro' "Huntnfever"

 

[ELKOHOLIC]

Where was this pic taken? You never know where Central Utah is. Some people think it is anywhere south of Salt Lake.

 

[BigMedicine]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-09-11 AT 03:10PM (MST)[p]Is it DWR policy to shoot whitetail on sight then? I wonder what the game warder would do if a sportsmen did that? Try shooting a whiletail out of season without a permit and see what happens...

I say, let 'em come. When the numbers get high enough that they start causing problems for agricuture, then create private lands only deer tags that are valid for either sex, unlimited, and have long season dates. Manage them on public lands with the public and permits with quotas, etc. But, give landowners that don't want whitetail more flexibility with how they can handle deer on their own property. The smart landowners will soon figure out they can make more money with deer than farming. Whitetail would take some hunting pressue off mule deer and in most places their habitat overlap would be minimal.

If were gonna get them anyways, might as well bring in some good ones from Alberta or Sask ;-)