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Show ft .i H DWR Chief negates Predator Deer Kill "No where near the pressure puton deer to hamper their production" I WILDLIFE DIRECTOR MEETS PUBLIC. Don Smith, newly appointed ap-pointed director of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, met Cedar residents in an open meeting Saturday. Smith said he feels the buck only hunt does not harm the deer population. Coyotes are not depressing deer numbers num-bers and the relationship between the two animals is not as close as once thought, Don Smith, newly appointed Director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Services, said Saturday. Speaking to a group of about, 40 sportsmen sport-smen as part of statewide public forums, Smith said studies have shown that the major periods coyotes are found with deer in their systems is immediately following the bow hunt and again after the general rifle season. He said it does not necessarily follow that high predator numbers mean a low deer population. Smith said a wildlife biologist collared 22 young deer in the Spanish Fork Canyon area and after an extended period of time 19 were still alive. The three that had died, Smith said, died from natural, internal problems. "We have trailed coyotes all winter and have yet to find a coyote-killed deer," Smith said. "There are intensive studies right now to study the question." Smith said the cougar-coyote-deer relationship is still being studied. All types of predator control, he said, are not a panecea and only a small part of game management. Responding to questions following a 20 minute film explaining the organization of the Division of Wildlife Resources, Smith also said there is "no sense closing down the deer season. There is no where near the pressure put on deer to hamper the production of deer." He said the buck-only hunt will definitely be around for a year or two. Deer are still able to have good harvests, he said, with as low as a 1-16 buck-doe ratio. Smith said the present buck-doe ratio is about 1-4 or 1-5. i ! i Describing himself as a "flatlander from Nebraska," Smith took the reins of the DWR in October. He said he has 20 years of experience in Utah game' management after his graduation from Utah State University. The open meeting in Cedar City was the 13th public forum Smith and his agency has held "to get public imput and gain a written record of questions concerning sportsmen." Smith also said he would like to see an electric powered aerator installed in Navajo Lake to improve the carryover of fish. He said until such a device is installed, in-stalled, there will be no significant populations offish live through the winter. The DWR is "banking on the landscaped overpasses," Smith said, to allow deer to migrate from summer and winter ranges. He said some deer herds are completely cut-off from their winter feeding areas and the overpasses have been constructed at Department of Transportation expense to allow better migrations. He said the overpass idea is still under study but he hopes it bears fruit so more can be constructed. Smith also called on the gathered sportsmen to police one another. He said no significant decline in poaching and illegal kills will occur until that happens. He suggested finding the camp and logging the license plate numbers of hunters seen to be leaving game after shooting it. Rewards of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of those guilty of leaving buffalo, bighorn sheep, moose and elk re offered, he said. A reward of $50 is offered similarly for illegal deer kills. This years hunt, he said, was about five percentage points more successful than last year's. He said hunters reported seeing a lot of does and f aw ns, reflecting a good harvest. t t |