Mule Deer populations were very high in Utah and surrounding states until the early 1970s. Cougars and bears were not considered game animals and were killed year round with no protections, and yes bounties were paid in some areas. Coyotes were poisoned with strychnine and later the more selective and highly effective 1080.

When Nixon banned 1080 for coyote control in 1972, cougars and bears had already been classed as big game animals and their harvest was restricted. Predator populations exploded.

This was a big pivot point for mule deer population dynamics. Prior to that, when a deer population was reduced due to severe winters, or very liberal doe hunts to reduce habitat destruction in overpopulated areas, the herd bounced back within a few years. With the increased predator populations deer populations have dramatically declined throughout the western states. There is no bounce back after severe winters.

In college I worked a couple summers for the Utah Division of Wildlife resources on a fawn mortality study in southern Utah. We put radio collars on newborn fawns. When a collar stopped moving the beeping rate changed and we immediatly hiked in to find the fawns and determine cause of death. Both years I worked the study we had fawns killed by golden eagles, bobcats, coyotes, cougars and black bears. Predation was definitely limiting recruitment into that population.

All predators take advantage of easy meals at fawning time. But loss of adult deer is also a problem where cougar and black bear populations are relatively high together. Without bears, adult cougars kill an average of one deer a week. Where bear numbers are also high the cougars routinely lose a large percentage of their kills to scavaging bears.So the cougars may have to kill two deer a week to provide for themselves and their kittens while the bears are out of their dens.

Coyote predation on deer peaks at fawning time and during periods of deep snow where packs hunting together routinely kill adult deer. And don't discount the impact of Golden Eagles on newborn fawns. Also don't forget the bobcats taking their share of the pie.

We are losing deer habitat to housing developments and other "improvements" every year to make the future of mule deer populations even more bleak.

I applaud my state trying to make a difference on the predator front.

Good post Dan....loaded with info to support the Bounty Program.
Question....does the bounty require THE WHOLE animal or just parts?

Game and Fish Departments long did not realize that predators were the wildlife managers and biologists were the regulators. It wasnt until several years after the fur market crash of 1988 that became so evident - probably more-so in the southeastern US than the rest of the country because a lot of fur - coons and coyotes in particular - became basically worthless down here.

In the 1980’s, there were a lot of folks with bird dogs. I was killing between 100 and 200 bobwhite quail a year. I was not hunting old grown up farms and field edges - I was hunting commercial timberland clearcuts - which are still very common today. But by the mid 1990’s, it was hard to find a quail. In my area, in the 1980’s, hearing multiple turkeys in a morning was the norm. By mid 1990’s, our state was sponsoring studies to determine what was happening to all the turkeys. Lack of poult production due to nest predation was found to be the cause - with coons being the number one predator. Same thing was happening to quail, and rabbits, and cotton rats. Any of the smaller animals that nested on the ground were experiencing difficulty producing young. Deer were not so much affected; because coyotes were not widespread across the SE - yet. But that was soon to come.

Game departments had just taken predators for granted - and folks who hunted and trapped them. When folks quit hunting and trapping them large-scale - we started running low on turkeys, quail, rabbits, etc. Yes, there have been some peaks and valleys that are largely weather related - but the ability to maintain adequate populations of small game through thick and thin was no more. Game departments, for the most part, dont really directly manage the game - they manage the hunters and trappers who take the game.

With some exceptions, game dept employees are not out there planting food plots all over the state, or burning, or removing invasive plants, or removing predators. Most land is not owned by game depts and it falls on the shoulders of private landowners - with the possible exception of out west where there is so much federal land. Game departments in the south can regulate hunters - but they cant produce quail, or turkeys, or rabbits or deer. If regulation changes alone can not effect population changes, then the game is at the mercy of the predators.

In the SE, game depts could stop all quail or rabbit hunting and it would make no difference. And now, coyotes are fully occupying all available habitat across the SE and fawn recruitment is beginning to suffer. In my own state of AR, we now average .4 fawns per doe. Fifteen years ago it was .8 fawns per doe. And our game dept can not regulate our way to increased fawn production. We are currently able to hunt or trap coyotes year round, 24 hrs a day. Coyotes and weather control fawn production - not the game department - just as coons and weather control turkey and quail populations.

Animals that largely control their own destiny when it comes to reproduction - bears, coyotes, gators, etc are expanding and prospering - they can still be controlled by regulation alone.

Another good informative post!