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Show ' -. " , , -4 V : ' . i ':- V ' j -A-. ' 4 ' : ":.A ' . ' . S " ' ' "V ' 'f ..-. : ' i . ... " .... , . t fc u ' k: ' . DEER PERMITS This scene shows hunting conditions that should prevail during the Davis County December anterlsss deer hunt, i. e., snow and lack of leaves should make deer easier to spot. With the publishing and distribution dis-tribution to license agents of the 1981 Big Game Proclamation Proclama-tion comes the time of year when all big game hunters begin be-gin the application procedure for special permits. The proclamation proc-lamation format appears similar simi-lar to last year but the regulations regula-tions have changed. SOME OF the changes from last year include the following: a new antelope unit, new regulations reg-ulations for checking bighorn sheep, some special hunt boundaries have changed, bow hunters must keep arrows quivered in vehicles, buffalo hunters may pursue buffalo with bow and arrow, postage and handling fee of $ 1 for each permit, residency requirements require-ments have increased to six months, first rocky mountain goat hunt established, 7-day buck only season areas established, estab-lished, and Davis County to have a late antlerless deer hunt. For details about these and other changes, hunters should pick up a free copy of the proclamation at any place hunting or fishing licenses are sold. Permit applications for antelope, ante-lope, moose, buffalo, bighorn sheep, goats, and restricted area elk may be filed between July I -July 31. Open area bull elk applications will be accepted until August 7 as well as archery elk. Archery deer permits will be available from July 15-September 7 and muzzle-loader deer permits can be obtained from September 2-October 2-October 16. Drawings for successful suc-cessful applicants will be on August 14 with the exception of archery elk hunters choice permits which will be drawn on August 5. DAVIS COUNTY will again have some special antlerless (deer without antlers or with antlers less than five inches in length) deer permits available for the regular hunt (October 12-27) but the number will not be as great as last year and hunters will have five less days with which to harvest a doe as compared to last years extended ex-tended hunt. This means that the antlerless regular season hunt will end on the same day as the buck hunt, and hunters with a regular season antlerless antler-less permit must fill it in that time period. A large number of regular season antlerless permits per-mits will be available for other areas of the state. In addition to the regular hunt, antlerless deer permits have been established for Davis County during the first three weekends in December. Hunting dates for any of the 400 late permits will be December Decem-ber 5-6. 12-13. and 19-20 which are weekend hunts only. Since the regular season deer hunt in Davis County achieves only a 46 percent antlerless permit success rale and thus has the lowest hunter success of any regular season antlerless hunt it was decided to shift a bulk of antlerless permits to a later hunt. The counties wintering deer population is not usually forced down to more access-able access-able areas and doesn't concentrate concen-trate until about the last of November. LEAVES ARE completely off the scrub oak and this should increase hunter success suc-cess on the late hunt. Part of the reason why success is so low in the county is the lack of roads onto the mountainside. Many hunters in the past have concentrated in Farmington Canyon or on the Bountiful Loop road in hopes of shooting a deer nearer the road. There is a good possibility that the Farmington Canyon road will be closed off during the late hunt in an attempt to force hunters to spread out more and also to avoid safety hazards of vehicles sliding off into the steep canyon when snow ii on the road. Ai many a successful hunter will attest, there are many deer in the county's mountains but they must be pushed out of the brush by hunters walking through the brush, not by driving driv-ing the roads. LATE SEASON applicants should therefore keep it in mind that if they draw out on a late antlerless permit for the county, Farmington Canyon may be closed to traffic and most hunting will be by foot or horseback. Late season hunters hun-ters should have much better success at filling their permits in the county than regular season sea-son permit holders. Hopefully a map will be prepared listing access points along the face of the mountains where landowners landown-ers will allow hunters access to the hillside and this will probably prob-ably be mailed along with the late season permit. Due to already limited access ac-cess along the Davis County front for hunters, a more efficient effi-cient method of increasing the success rate is needed. Less hunters need to be more effective effec-tive in harvesting excess deer and yet not stimulate landowner landown-er complaints. THE CURRENT vegetative trend in many areas of the county seems to be toward killing kill-ing off of sagebrush and small forbes. This trend will create additional pressure on existing plants and orchards. In 1980 a total of $5625.04 was spent by the Division of Wildlife Resources Re-sources on deer proof fencing and damages to orchards by deer. The county-wide deer road kill rate has increased by about 26 deer over last year's rate and will again break the record for the county. For these reasons and since post season deer classification studies show that the deer herd has increased above last year's number, more liberal hunts are to be expected in the future if deer are not adequately harvested har-vested this year. Nearly 600 antlerless permits were issued in Davis County last year and the herd has still continued its growth. For more information, contact Davis County Conservation Conser-vation Officer. |