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Show Deer hiinters can look for mece CKDAR CITY - The 1982 deer hunt will open this Saturday and is expected to be a good one. According to Grant Jease, big game coordinator coor-dinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources, it will not be as good as last year's record buck harvest, but should be about as good as the 1980 season. Last year's very high success rate was due to a number of factors. During the summer of 1980, an above average number of fawns were born and with the following mild winter most of those fawns survived. The yearling bucks in the 1981 harvest accounted ac-counted for a large portion of the 76,000 deer harvested and the 41 percent success rate, he said. However, the past winter of 1981 82 was not as mild and some areas of the state experienced a record snowfall which resulted in heavy lawn losses. . "There w ill be fewer yearling bucks, which generally make up the bulk of the harvest, but the carry over of two year olds from the year More should be good," Jense said. Depending on the weatherconditions between now and the deer opener, Jense feels the deer will be at intermediate in-termediate and higher elevations, especially in the south basin slopes. Many of the south basin slopes are free of snow and deer are using the available food. The general deer season is for bucks only. Jense urged hunters to be sure of their target. Not only must hunters be able to identify the target as a deer, but they must also see antlers five inches or longer to make it a legal buck. "There is no excuse l or shooting elk or moose by mistake," Jense said. The hunting in southern Utah is expected to be better than average according to Jim Guymon a biologist with the Department of Wildlife Resources in Cedar City. "Overall we're expecting a pretty good hunt," he said. "The units along the south are a little depressed right now but other areas are pretty good." Regional Outlook Several areas in southern Utah are ex pected to provide good hunting, with others only fair to poor hunting. Here is a brief deer hunt outlook lor the regions in southern Utah. Unit Hit'. Terrvox, will be open 1 1 days with buck only hunting. A good hunt can be expected here. Unit HIB. West Fine Valley, is also open lor 11 days with buck- only hunting. Unit 61A, East Pine Valley is closed once again this year. Unit 58, West Zion, is also open for the 11 day hunt. Officials mentioned that much of the land is private and in Zion Park and hunters should be aware of this. Unit 59, East Zion: Hunters should only expect a fair hunt as deer numbers are low in this unit. Unit K0A, Paunsaugunt, is closed to all hunting. Unit tiOR, Kaiparowits, is a semi desert region, and hunters should not expect much in this area. Unit 51K, South Boulder Mountain: Hunters in this area can look forward to a lair to good hunt. Ac cess is good in the area with much of the land in Dixie National Forest. Hunters should be wary of logging activity going on here. Unit 50, Mt. Dutton: This area should provide hunters with a lair to good hunt with best results on the north end. Access to the area is excellent. Unit 57A, Parowan: Hunting here should be good with no access problems, but hunting pressure will be high here as in all the Parowan areas. Unit STB, Parowan, will also feature heavy hunting pressure. Unit 5KB, South Beaver, will provide good hunting with access listed as good. The hunting here is tetter when the weather is bad. Unit 56C, Mineral Mountains, will give hunters a good chance, but pressure here could be quite high. Unit 5A, North Beaver: Hunting in this area is expected . to be really good. Much of the area is in the high country ' with snow a possibility. Check pi oi Lunation Hunters are urged to check the 1982 Utah Big Game Proclamation lor area boundaries as to avoid hunting in a closed area. All hunters are asked to , strictly observe the safety requirements. Every year someone is killed or injured due to carelessness. State law dictates that all hunters must wear at least 400 square inches of hunter orange color on head, chest and back. During snowstorms hunters should jemember to brush snow from their jacket and hat so they may be clear to identify. Jense is excited about this year's hunt, and those hunting in southern Utah are sharing in his excitement as opening day approaches. areas. Winn reminds everyone to hunt safely and observe the law while hunting. Dull Winn checks a tag on a deer taken in last year's hunt. The 1982 deer hunt will open this Saturday, with good results expected in most |